The fifth month of 2022 was a busy one on Kentucky golf courses. But the top story in May from a historical perspective came in Tulsa, Oklahoma when Justin Thomas won a thrilling edition of the PGA Championship at Southern Hills Country Club. The Louisville native became the first Kentuckian ever to win multiple major championships with a playoff victory over Will Zalatoris. Thomas started the final round seven shots behind which made it the third-largest 54-hole comeback in men’s major history. The Kentucky golf community, and surely Thomas himself, can hardly wait for May 2024 when Thomas competes in the PGA Championship in his home city when Valhalla Golf Club hosts the tournament for the fourth time in its history.

While Thomas has achieved a career’s worth of greatness, a single shot of greatness was seen at the Kentucky Team Championship from Frankfort Country Club. During the final round of the tournament, Garth Waterfield recorded the first albatross seen at a GHK-sanctioned event in a number of years when he holed out on the par-five 18^th from nearly 250 yards away. It’s arguably the shot of the year from any Kentucky facility in 2022, and his just so happened to take place at a premier tournament.

Waterfield had the limelight in that moment, but the tournament as a whole belonged to the Brothers of Destruction, aka Hayden and Stephen Warren. The Owensboro siblings dominated the tournament to the tune of a four-shot victory as they each claimed their first KGA championship titles in the process.

One of the most exciting days on the competitive calendar returned to Kearney Hill Golf Links as the state’s U.S. Open Local Qualifier played out in Lexington. 100 players arrived trying to get one step closer to the third men’s major of the season, but only six would depart having succeeded in their mission. Kentucky natives Jacob Cook and Erik Edwards got medalist honors with rounds of 66 (-6). Matt Picanso of Bakersfield, California got the third guaranteed spot while a sudden-death playoff was needed to determine the remaining three spots. They ultimately went to Chris Francoeur of the Louisville Cardinals, another player with Kentucky ties in Andrew Stephens, PGA, and Canadian Joey Savoie after three extra holes were necessary to get those results. While none of the six advanced from Final Qualifying into the U.S. Open, moving on through Local Qualifying remains a major success given the strength of the field Kentucky produces year after year. And all the combatants treated viewers to a drama-filled tournament that went down as one of the most compelling evenings of the season.

Taking place during a new date in the season, the Kentucky Match Play Championships developed their own bit of excitement at Griffin Gate Golf Club. Honors for match of the tournament go to Aaron Yarmuth and Blake Evans who played a quarterfinal contest that required 21 holes that Mother Nature couldn’t even stop. After their 20^th hole, a small but potent thunderstorm rolled through north Lexington and forced players to take cover for half an hour. They returned with light fading quickly, but a birdie from Yarmuth ended the lengthy battle.

Unfortunately for Yarmuth, he could not advance past the semifinals as Denver Haddix and Justin Tereshko would win in that round to set up the title match. In a match that also offered plenty of compelling golf, the finalists were tied heading to the 18^th tee with the match – and championship in the balance. Haddix would ultimately edge out Tereshko, however, after an out-of-bounds tee shot from Tereshko steered the result in Haddix’s favor. That allowed him to lift that trophy for the fourth time in his career and for the first since 2017. Simultaneously, Tom Campbell claimed the Senior Match Play title with a 4&3 victory over Stefan Robbins for the first major title of his senior golf career.

In the January-April review piece, we documented how the Lexington Junior City Championship got a facelift with a new partnership between the Kentucky PGA Junior Tour and Play Golf Lex. That same positive momentum took place with Louisville’s most prestigious junior championship in May. Together with Louisville Metro Parks, the Junior Falls Cities took place at Seneca Golf Course with a huge field containing some of the state’s best young players. The event was shortened because of weather, but even with some inclement conditions, the event’s resurgence was undeniable. Now, after a questionable future plagued the event in the late 2010s, the Junior Falls Cities is now reinstated as one of the premier events in youth golf with its long, storied history set to be added to for many more years. Athena Singh and Tyler Wirth are now in the record books as the championship’s 2022 overall victors.

May offered more feel-good stories with a couple of Foundation items. First, five golfers involved with PGA HOPE Kentucky got to represent the state in the PGA HOPE Secretary’s Cup from Oklahoma – right before Justin Thomas captured the Wanamaker Trophy. One of the Louisville Chapter’s instructors, Tim Reeves, PGA, was joined by HOPE graduates Roth Coleman, Lloyd Hall, Jen Nunez, and Steve Skaggs in a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Lives were also changed forever through the KGF’s Gay Brewer, Jr. and Justin Thomas Grants. This year, five golfers and their families were the recipients of money generously donated by the Brewer and Thomas families that are designed to increase each player’s competitive opportunities as they pursue scholarships centered around playing college golf. Trinity Beth, Weston Miller, Cailyn Rogers, Jacob Settles, and Warren Thomis were this year’s grateful recipients.

Other notable May results:

• May 2 – Nick Johnston double-dips for multiple wins at the Pro-Senior
• May 9 – Woodhaven’s duo of Mahan/Massie team up to win Pro-Pro Challenge presented by Evolve Golf
• May 16- Hunting Creek’s Sanders propels team to title at Pro-Am Championship supported by Sun Mountain
• May 23 – Olde Stone’s Hincks and Childers win together again, this time at Callaway Pro-Assistant
• May 24 – Boland and Chancey victorious in Kentucky Senior Team Championship
• May 31 – Oldendick wins in stableford-style at GHK Classic #2 presented by Cunningham | Yamaha