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Day One Recap from the Kentucky Match Play Championships
Kentucky Match Play Championships kick off at Griffin Gate.
LEXINGTON, KY (May 17, 2022) – One of the Kentucky Golf Association’s most prestigious tournaments began on Tuesday at Griffin Gate Golf Club with the State Match Play Championships. Two competitions are taking place based on players’ age divisions, with the Open Division featuring players aged 49 or younger while the Senior Division contains those 50 years of age or older.
31 players in the Open Division and 27 players in the Senior Division arrived at the Rees Jones layout on Tuesday morning ready to embark on their respective competition, which began with a stroke play seeding round before knockout matches took place in the afternoon. Denver Haddix shot 69 (-3) to set the pace in the Open Division, which gave him a first-round bye and straight into the Round of 16 which is scheduled to take place on Wednesday morning. Tommy Fike led the way amongst the Seniors with 71 (-1) which enabled him to take the afternoon off, as did the rest of the top-five, Bryan Baysinger, Greg Engle, David Horning, and Stefan Robbins.
For everyone else, the afternoon called for Round of 32 matches which trimmed the total number of players competing from 58 to 32. Between both divisions, there were seven “upsets” based on the stroke play seeding round where the higher-seeded player eliminated the lower-seeded player. Four of those came in the Senior Division and three took place in the Open Division.
The biggest upset of the day from a seeding perspective came in the 3-30 match from the Open Division. After an 18-shot difference between stroke play scores from Eric King and Aaron Yarmuth, the 30th seeded Yarmuth knocked off King 1 UP to move on and will face Matt Epperson (14) in the next round.
The longest match of the day needed 21 holes and came in the Senior Division’s 8-25 match. Jim Murphy was 3 UP over Dennis Long midway through their match, but Long battled back to tie it and send them past their 18th hole. On the 21st hole of the match and on their 39th of the day, Murphy was able to prevail which sets him up for a meeting with Jerry Mayes (9).
Wednesday’s play will launch in the morning with the Round of 16 matches in both brackets. Once complete, quarterfinal matches in each division will take place in the afternoon. Both tournaments’ semifinal matches will be held Thursday morning before the championship matches on Thursday afternoon.
Golf House Kentucky will have full coverage of the Kentucky Match Play Championships on its Facebook, Instagram and Twitter pages. Spectators are permitted at the venue throughout the competition and are welcome free of charge.
Click here to view the Open Division bracket
Click here to view the Senior Division bracket
Click here to view Wednesday’s tee times
Click here to view the photo gallery
About the Kentucky Golf Association:
The Kentucky Golf Association (KGA) is one of the three organizations encompassed under Golf House Kentucky, in addition to the Kentucky Golf Foundation (KGF) and Kentucky PGA Section (KPGA). The Kentucky Golf Association represents the amateur body of Kentucky’s golfers working in assistance with the United States Golf Association (USGA). The KGA provides a wide range of services, including handicapping, USGA course and slope ratings, and tournament management software to its Member Clubs. The KGA also operates the state’s premier amateur tournaments along with USGA National Championship qualifiers. Alongside the KGF and KPGA, the KGA strives to promote the benefits and enjoyment of golf while continuing to grow the sport across the Commonwealth.
Media Contact:
Ethan Fisher, PGA | Golf House Kentucky | efisher@kygolf.org | (502) 792-9703
