What’s the first thing that comes to mind when you think about August 2022? For us, it’s the fact that it rained for maybe two combined minutes throughout the entire month. Golf course superintendents and their teams were challenged to keep their facilities playable while Mother Nature refused to offer much in the way of assistance when it comes to moisture. So, before we dip into what happened at tournaments during this month, let’s pause and take a moment to thank those men and women for their long hours to make golf possible. Not just during a dry August, but throughout the entire year.

John Ballard, CGCS and his crew opened Valhalla Golf Club to new turf with zeon zoysia replacing bent grass across much of the property this year. At the ISCO Industries Youth on Course Kentucky Pro-Am, more than 170 men and women came out to the famed property for a day of fun on its freshly-installed grass while benefiting one of the Kentucky Golf Foundation’s core programs. In doing so, more than $70,000 was raised which will continue to allow kids across the state to play golf for $5 or less at more than sixty facilities statewide. Logan Watts, PGA, Mike Kosztowny, Bill Straub, and Nick Kramer won the team competition while Ben Silverman was the low pro after carding an impressive round of 66 (-6). Golf was played until just about the last possible second that day and after some stress of not every player being able to complete the round, there was a very nice sunset that people on-site were rewarded with.

One day later in Bowling Green, the best nine-hole score of the season was turned in at the U.S. Mid-Am qualifier by Alex Turner. The Prospect resident teed off on hole 10 and made six birdies plus one eagle on Bowling Green Country Club’s back nine. That gave him a score of 28 (-8) and 59-watch was officially on. He got as low as -9 before a few late bogeys left him “settling” for a 66 (-6). Turner was the day’s medalist and was joined by fellow Kentuckian Taylor Thompson plus Rosario Falzone of Nashville, Tennessee as the day’s qualifiers. Each player competed from Erin Hills in Wisconsin the next month at one of the USGA’s last National Championships of the year.

Frankfort Country Club was the hub for the Kentucky Senior PGA Professional Championship where Bruce Oldendick, PGA was trying to become the first player to ever win that trophy five years in a row. For a point in time, it seemed like he was destined to make history, but Kelly Maxwell, PGA had other ideas. Maxwell overcame the two-shot deficit Oldendick had on him going into the final round and forced a playoff with the four-time defending champ. After they matched scores on the first extra hole, Maxwell sunk a birdie putt from twenty feet away on their second playoff hole to pull off one of the biggest upsets seen throughout the season. It made Maxwell a champion of the Senior Section Championship for the first time and goes alongside his 2003 and 2009 wins at the Kentucky PGA Professional Championship.

Following the Professionals’ premier senior competition, the amateurs above age 50 had their marquee tournament the next week at Kearney Hill Golf Links with the Clark’s Pump-N-Shop Kentucky Senior Amateur. After not being able to participate in the tournament the last couple years due to health reasons, Gary Backlund returned and made history by becoming the oldest champion in the event’s history at 65. It was his third time winning the tournament and the first since 2015. Known as one of the steadiest players in the state, Backlund was rock solid during the 36-hole event, making seven birdies and just one bogey while a slew of pars were present elsewhere on his scorecards. Davis Boland made a valiant effort to chase him down during the closing stretch, but Backlund held him off with a birdie on the final hole clinching a one-shot victory.

The Kentucky Women’s Amateur Stroke Play Championship featured its first runaway winner in its three-year history. Taylor Edlin dominated at University Club of Kentucky – Big Blue with a four-shot win where the margin was as many as six shots during the final round. Her former high school teammate at Sacred Heart, Ryan Bender, finished runner-up.

Internally, history at Golf House Kentucky was made when Hannah Randolph joined the staff as the organization’s first-ever PGA WORKS Fellow. Designed to introduce diverse individuals (gender, race or age) to the golf industry, the San Antono native made a blind move to Kentucky having never visited the Commonwealth before. Randolph is now four months into her twelve-month employment as Kentucky’s Fellow and has quickly become very well-versed with the sport. The Foundation is her primary point of focus, and PGA HOPE Kentucky participants have already taken very kindly to the positive spirit Randolph has injected within the organization.

Other notable August results:

• August 8 – Kentucky’s best advance through the state’s Drive, Chip & Putt qualifiers and secure spots in the Regional qualifier at Scioto Country Club
• August 14 – Derby City tops PGA Jr. League’s Section Championship
• August 22 – Eric King wins GHK Classic #3 supported by Hole-In-One U.S.A.
• August 29 – Eldridge, Oldendick, Miller, and Fuldner capture 2x2 Pro-Am supported by Sun Mountain and ahead