Steve Cox leads team to victory in shortened Bill Long Mega Pro-Am presented by Cunningham Yamaha and Branded Bills

LOUISVILLE, KY (June 19, 2023) – The Bill Long Mega Pro-Am presented by Cunningham Yamaha and Branded Bills was set back by a mega storm cell that forced the event to be shortened. Wildwood Country Club and the Kentucky PGA were prepared to stage a competition that featured 212 players competing in teams of four with one professional and three amateurs, but due to inclement weather throughout the day that worsened in the afternoon, only those who teed off in the morning wave were able to complete the event while all players in the afternoon wave will receive a full refund.

The team of Steve Cox/Cory Cox/Mike Abell/Buck Wiedeman have been declared the champions, as the foursome recorded a score of 123 (-21) where the day’s format counted the two best net scores from each team on every hole. The squad from Larue County Country Club was propelled by Mike Abell who was able record an impressive six net birdies and one net eagle throughout his round. The impressive play led to a wide margin of victory, with Dan Utley/Brandon Maggard/Greg Charmoli/Bill Faulkner finishing 7 shots back as the runner-up team.

Low professional honors on the day go to Associate Professional Jeremy Martin. Martin continues his impressive play on the season as sits just 143.3 points behind Daniel Iceman for the 2023 KPGA Assistant POY honors. Perhaps the most impressive round of the day, Martin battled through multiple periods of downpours to fire a bogey free 67 (-5). The round which included three birdies and an eagle was good enough to top Aaron Eldridge by five shots who finishes runner-up.

Dan Utley was the low senior professional as he played to his usual high standard of play with a round of 74 (+2) in tough conditions. That should lead to good momentum for him heading into next week’s Kentucky Senior Open, a championship he seeks to win in his debut appearance at Frankfort Country Club on June 26-27.

NOTES & STATS

• Play was first suspended because of lightning in the area at 3:40 p.m. EDT while the decision to end the event came just over a half hour later at 4:25 p.m.
• Using gross scores, the par-four 5^th was the hardest hole of the event. Its stroke-to-par average was +1.32 and did not see one birdie recorded on it.
• The par-five 16^th was much gentler and the day’s easiest hole. With an average of +0.20 that included one eagle and twenty-one birdies.
• There was little disparity in the difficulty gap between the front nine and back nine. Holes 10-18 played averaged 0.5 strokes more than the opening half of the golf course, where the day’s average score accumulated to 82.76.

The Kentucky PGA Section extends its thanks to Josh Griffin PGA Head Golf Professional and his team at Wildwood for their assistance in hosting the tournament. Appreciation is also expressed to Cunningham Yamaha and Branded Bills for their support and partnership with the Section all year including today.

CLICK HERE TO VIEW FINAL RESULTS

As was previously referenced, next up on the Kentucky PGA’s tournament calendar is the 24^th playing of the Kentucky Senior Open. The 36-hole competition takes place on June 26-27 at Frankfort Country Club.

About the Kentucky PGA:
The Kentucky PGA Section (KPGA) is one of forty-one Sections across the country representing the PGA of America and its Members. It is also one of three organizations encompassed within Golf House Kentucky, which also includes the Kentucky Golf Association (KGA) and Kentucky Golf Foundation (KGF). The KPGA contains more than 275 Members and more than 30 Associates working in various roles across Kentucky; all of whom share the goal of bettering the game and its players. The KPGA and its Members assist with the organization of many chief growth-of-the-game initiatives including PGA HOPE and PGA Jr. League among others. The Section also operates more than thirty tournaments throughout the golf season, including the three State Open championships and qualifiers for the Barbasol Championship