LEXINGTON, KY (August 6, 2020) – The Kentucky Women’s Stroke Play Championship could not have had a more dramatic finish at Griffin Gate Golf Club to conclude its inaugural edition of the tournament. Ke’Asha Phillips headlines the winners from Lexington as the winner of the Open Gross Division which came in amazing fashion.

Phillips, who opened the final round with a three-stroke lead, saw her lead evaporate quickly after a couple of early bogeys on holes 1 and 4. MacKenzie Neal overtook the lead after playing the front nine in 30 (-6) to go from six shots back at the start of the day to leading by two by the time she reached the back nine. Neal made two more birdies on holes 10 and 16 to get as low as -8 for the day, but a critical bogey on the 18th put her in the clubhouse at -6 for the tournament. Phillips, meanwhile, went from making bogeys on the front to making birdies on the back, getting three on holes 10, 13 and 17 to come to the 18^th with the tournament’s fate in her hands. Needing birdie to win outright or par to force a playoff, Phillips left herself a birdie putt from across the green which she holed to lock up the title.

“I had no idea I had that putt to win the tournament,” Phillips said after the round. “I read it like any other putt and wasn’t really thinking it would cost the tournament or something. When I saw it go in I was like, ‘Okay maybe I am close to winning,’” she said with a laugh.

“The front nine was a little tough for me today, but I was thinking about it in that yesterday I made three bogeys and still had a good round, so I told myself there were nine more holes to play, I was going to tough it out and see what would happen.”

The championship also awarded four other players with first-place titles on Thursday, including the winner of the Open Net Division, Allison Gosney. Gosney ended the tournament with a total score of 126 (-18) while her Thursday score of 61 (-11) gave her the push she needed to assume the lead. It was a five-stroke win for Gosney over Amanda Barnsfather.

Cynthia Powell was the low scorer of the Senior Gross Division having recorded a score of 146 (+2) for the tournament. Powell followed up a 75 (+3) in the first round with an under-par score of 71 (-1) on Thursday to overtake runner-up Sherri Buster by two strokes.

Rounding out the winners from Thursday were Barbara Ernest and Roz Tender who share the Senior Net Division title after both players finished the event at 134 (-10). Ernest and Tender will be listed as co-champions while Sandra Morgan finished one shot behind the two winners.

NOTES AND STATS

• Neal’s round of 65 (-7) today sets the mark for the low-tournament round from a woman in Griffin Gate Golf Club’s history. 2001 PGA Champion David Toms has held the overall course record in competition for nearly thirty years after shooting 61 (-11) at a tournament in 1991.
• The short par-three 4^th was the easiest hole of the day which played at a stroke-to-par average of +0.18.
• The par-five 12^th was the most difficult hole for Thursday play, averaging out at +1.03.

Click here to view the final results

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The Kentucky Golf Association would like to thank each player who competed this week and appreciates their following of the adjusted tournament protocols due to COVID-19. The KGA also expresses its thanks towards Griffin Gate Golf Club and its staff for hosting the competition and being a tremendous host to the first edition of the championship. The KGA will host a Women’s Amateur Series event at Elizabethtown Country Club on Friday, September 25 which can be signed up for by clicking here.