Was there a better month that showcased the raw talent of Kentucky golfers than June? There might not be… not just in 2022, but ever. With some of the most prestigious championships of the season taking place in month number six, many of those events saw arguably their most exciting finishes ever take place.

We’ll begin with the Clark’s Pump-N-Shop Kentucky Amateur, which Indian Hills Country Club got to host for the first time. Before we revisit the tournament itself, we should note how much of an accomplishment it was that Indian Hills was able to host in the first place. Just six months removed from receiving significant damage thanks to the devastating tornadoes of December 10, 2021, a new-look Indian Hills recovered from significant damage that cost the property about 200 trees. Consequently, multiple holes on the back nine looked completely different than they did in 2021, but the tournament started and ended without a hitch.

And what a finish it was. During the final round, six players had a piece of the lead as a jampacked leaderboard duked it out in Bowling Green. Owen Stamper, Evan Davis, Campbell Kremer, Jansen Preston, Jay Kirchdorfer, and Matthew Troutman all jockeyed for position with the leaderboard seemingly turning upside down every ten minutes. Birdies were just as common as double bogeys in the late stages and after 54 holes of regulation were complete, Stamper, Davis, Kirchdorfer, and Troutman all found themselves tied with total scores of 204 (-8). A four-person playoff followed, which was the largest playoff in the championship’s 100+ year history. After two holes, Troutman had clinched the title despite not leading the tournament by himself at all during regulation. It solidified Troutman as one of the best junior golfers Kentucky has ever produced, as he became one of the youngest champions in Men’s State Amateur history. He also became the first player ever to hold both the State Amateur and State High School Championship trophies at the same time, having just captured the KHSAA’s crown eight months earlier at Bowling Green Country Club.

While the finish to the Men’s State Amateur was a Royal Rumble type of affair given the number of players in contention, the Clark’s Pump-N-Shop Women’s Kentucky Amateur was more like a prize contest between two all-time great punchers. At Cherry Blossom Golf Club, Payton Carter of Murray State met defending champion Rylea Marcum from Eastern Kentucky in the championship round of the match play tournament. With Marcum playing as the 1-seed and on her home course, the Georgetown resident appeared poised to go back-to-back, especially after Marcum went 2 UP after three holes. What followed was what Kentucky Golf Hall of Fame member Marsha Bordas called the “greatest match in the history of women’s golf in Kentucky.”

Carter and Marcum played a best-ball round of eleven under-par where only one hole was won with a par. As Carter said after the round, she knew it would take birdies to win. It truly did on this occasion as the Henderson native came back to knock off the previous year’s winner 2&1, with a birdie on the par-five 17^th hole ending the match. Carter hit every green during the match and believed it was the greatest round of golf she had ever played. In a match that won’t soon be forgotten between the championship’s 2022 and 2021 winners, Carter and Marcum showcased how strong the top level of women’s golf in Kentucky is.

A couple of players who could find themselves winning State Amateurs in a couple years did claim the opening major championships on the Kentucky PGA Junior Tour’s schedule. During the Junior PGA Championships in Richmond, Zach Watterson and Cathryn Brown topped two of the strongest fields in Kentucky Junior Golf with their respective victories.

In 2021, Watterson technically finished T2 at the Boys Championship following a three-way tie at the top that lacked enough light to conduct a sudden-death playoff. This time, he made sure no player or natural elements would stop him from finishing in first at Gibson Bay Golf Course. The Beattyville native protected the one-shot lead he had entering the final round to win with a total score of 140 (-4) by a stroke over Clay Pendergrass. Afterwards, Watterson provided one of the quotes of the year. “It just feels like a dream come true. I’ve grown up thinking about doing things like this but never fully expected these results to happen. It’s an amazing feeling.”

Just down the street, Cathryn Brown picked up her maiden major on the Kentucky PGA Junior Tour at The University Club at Arlington. Going into the final round tied with Isabella Christy, Brown steered herself into a playoff for the title with another player named Brown. That being Macie Brown, with whom there is no relation, met Cathryn in sudden-death to decide the champion. With a birdie on the first extra hole, Cathryn quickly won the battle between two future SEC golfers in the Kentucky-Vanderbilt duel of commits. Following in the footsteps of her brother Cullan, Cathryn continued the work her older brother had started when it came to their family making waves in the Kentucky Junior Golf world.

A few weeks after that triumph, the script shifted from juniors to seniors at Arlington with the Kentucky Senior Open. Bruce Oldendick, PGA had enjoyed a stellar career dating back to his junior days, but in his near decade since turning 50, the State Senior Open had alluded him and it was the trophy he coveted most. Going into the final round tied with two decorated players from outside of Kentucky in Cliff Kresge and Jon Stanley, Oldendick had the opportunity to win that long-awaited trophy but had to take down two senior juggernauts to do so. With a round of 69 (-3), Oldendick got the job done and captured the trophy with two strokes worth of cushion. After being presented with the trophy, he broke down in an interview with Keith Farmer from NBC-LEX during one of the most emotional moments of the year. Between him and every other player who captured a prestigious title in June, the month illustrated how hard these players work and what it means emotionally to have all those hours pay off on the state’s grandest stages.

Other notable June results:

• June 6 – Massie and company win Pro-Lady supported by Mobile Pro Shop and Corkcicle
• June 20 – Nick Johnston’s professional swan song ends with victory at Bill Long Mega Pro-Am presented by Cunningham | Yamaha and supported by Bushnell
• June 29 – Athena Singh continues dominant season with Kentucky Girls Junior Amateur triumph