LEXINGTON, KY - The stage is set for the 28th Kentucky Women's Open at Kearney Hills Golf Links. On July 15-16, 2024, 59 of the best female golfers in the state will battle through two rounds of stroke play. Play kicks off at 8:00 a.m. on Monday. 
 

The field consists of 11 professionals and 48 amateurs. Owensboro native Ke'Asha Phillips (2022) and Glasgow's Taryn (Durham) Walker are two returning champions in this year's edition of the tournament who are both seeking another big win. Many competitors are notable junior golfers or play collegiately around the country, including current Middle Tennessee State University golfer Abbie Lee who has already won two events this summer.

Below is a list of notable players in the field, their tee-times for the first round, and a brief description of their career highlights. 

• Ke'Asha Phillips: (10:00 a.m.) - Phillips graduated from Owensboro High School in 2017 having won several junior golf tournaments including the 2015 Kentucky Junior Amateur Championship and the 2nd region championship twice. She also won the 2020 Kentucky Women’s Stroke Play Championship and the 2022 Kentucky Women’s Open Championship. Phillips has three Top-10 finishes in AJGA events.Following a successful junior career in Kentucky, Phillips went on to play on the women's golf team at Xavier University and then Akron University. She now serves as an assistant coach and athletic mentor at Brescia University. 
• Martha Leach: (9:10 a.m.) - Martha Leach is a legend of the women's game, proven by her membership in both the Kentucky and Georgia Golf Hall of Fame. Leach has a long list of impressive accolades, including winning the 2009 US Women's Mid-Amateur, the 2020 and 2021 North and South Senior Women's Championship, the 1992 Texas Women's Amateur Championship, and many other events. Leach was an All-SEC talent at the University of Georgia in the 1980s and has continued to rack up accolades for decades, including the 2016 and 2017 Kentucky Female Golfer of the Year. The Hebron resident is by far the most accomplished and experienced player in the field. 
• Abbie Lee: (10:40 a.m.) - Abbie Lee has started off the 2024 summer season on fire, winning both the Kentucky Women's State Amateur and the KGA Women's Stroke Play Championship. The Glasgow native won various awards throughout her high school career including 2020 KADA 3rd region female athlete of the year, 2020 KYGCA 3rd region female golfer of the year, and multiple all-state/all-region awards. Abbie had multiple wins in her junior career including the Kentucky Junior PGA Match Play Championship, the Marion Miley Invitational, and multiple Sneds Tour wins. Lee is now a rising senior at Middle Tennessee State University and finished 17th at the USA Intercollegiate Championship last fall with a score of 220 (+4).As she has already proven over the last month and a half, Lee is primed for a massive summer! 
• Taryn Walker: (10:30 a.m.) - Taryn is the most decorated women’s golfer in Middle Tennessee State University history, earning All-Sun Belt Conference honors all four years she played (2005-08). While at Middle Tennessee, Walker won a staggering school-record six individual titles, while leading the Blue Raiders to five team championships during her career. She ranked third nationally for individual tournaments won at the end of her collegiate career. When Walker exited the Blue Raider golf program she owned every record in the program’s record book, including low round (66), low 36-hole total (139), low 54-hole total (214), career stroke average (74.3) and single-season par or better rounds (8), among others. After multiple years on professional circuts, Walker regained her amateur status in December 2022 and soon after won the KGA Women’s Stroke Play Championship in June 2023. Most recently, Walker reached the quarterfinals of the US Mid-Amateur last year. 

CLICK HERE FOR A FULL LIST OF TEE TIMES AND LIVE SCORING

Golf House Kentucky will have full coverage of the championship on its Facebook and Instagram pages. Patrons are welcome to attend the championship each day free of charge.

Built in 1989, Kearney Hill Golf Links is a premier public golf course, located in northwest Fayette County. Totally unlike any other golf course in the area, Kearney Hill Links has drawn rave reviews from golfers. It is a Scottish links-style course, characterized by open, rolling terrain, deep sand and grass bunkers, and a few trees. Kearney Hill has had the privilege to host such events as the Senior PGA Tour, Celebrity Players Tour, PGA Junior Series, the 1998 Men’s United States Amateur Public Links Championship as well as many local and state championships. The course was designed by famous golf course architects Pete and P.B. Dye, who have designed numerous unusual courses around the country, including the PGA West Stadium Course in Palm Springs, CA. the TPA at Sawgrass in Palm Beach, FL., and Crooked Stick Golf Club in Carmal, IN. They now have added a Lexington landmark to their list of creative masterpieces. For the 2024 Kentucky Women's Open, the par-72 course will play 6150 yards. 

About the Kentucky PGA:

The Kentucky PGA (KPGA) is one of the 41 sections that comprise The PGA of America.  Formed in 1925, the Kentucky PGA has a professional membership of more than 325 men and women professionals across the Commonwealth of Kentucky, each of whom is dedicated to promoting the game in Kentucky.

The Kentucky PGA is dedicated to the promotion of the game of golf and providing ongoing education and professional development of Kentucky PGA Professionals.  Kentucky PGA Professionals are responsible for conducting a variety of golf-related functions, which include general management, golf instruction, tournament operations, golf shop merchandising, junior golf programs, golf club repair, and much more.  KPGA is a founding member of Golf House Kentucky, the umbrella organization that manages Kentucky’s Family of Golf Organizations.

Media Contact:

Carter Hammond | Golf House Kentucky | chammond@kygolf.org | (859) 333-1098