T. Bruce Oldendick of Florence, KY shot rounds of 73-73—146 (+2) and defeated Keith Reese of Louisville, KY on the first playoff hole to capture the 2018 Kentucky Senior PGA Professional Championship. The tournament, which was played at Frankfort Country Club in Frankfort, KY, is open to all Kentucky PGA Professionals ages 50 and over .

Facing windy conditions and a course that demands precision off the tee, Oldendick began the day two behind Reese, who shot an round of 71 on Thursday to take the overnight lead. Reese never relinquished the lead the entire day, making three birdies on his back nine to take a two shot advantage over Oldendick heading to the 17th tee. However, Oldendick’s bogey-free back nine of nine straight pars always kept him within striking distance. With Reese making a pair of bogies on the closing holes, suddenly Oldendick found himself in a playoff and a chance at the title.

“Keith played great today. He hit it solid and putted really well, which made it hard to catch him,” said Oldendick. “I didn’t have my best today but I hung in there. The course played tough today and as good as the greens were, that really made it a challenge.”

Although Reese stumbled on the 18th hole, he recovered with a clutch six-foot putt for bogey, forcing Oldendick to make his four-foot par putt to get into a playoff. After his putt found the bottom of the cup, the two players headed to the 4th hole for a sudden death playoff. It would only take one hole to decide the champion, with Oldendick making par to capture the title.

Oldendick played steady golf throughout the entire day and despite some struggles on the greens, continued to stick to his game plan of fairways and greens. In similar fashion to his first round, he made fifteen pars, two bogies and a birdie. Oldendick, who is the Director of Golf at Twin Bridges Golf Club, has played remarkably solid all year, having finished third in the Kentucky Senior Open earlier this month along with three top-5 finishes in section pro-am events. With the win today, he will narrowly overtake Barry Bonifield as the leader in the KPGA Senior Player of the Year race.

“I really wanted to win this….it really means a lot to me,” said an emotional Oldendick, who captured his first Kentucky Senior PGA Professional title after finishing runner-up in 2017. “All I can say is never give up.”

Although Reese, who is the General Manager at Valhalla Golf Club, came up just short of his first senior professional victory, he successfully qualified for his first Senior PGA Professional Championship. He will be joined by Oldendick, Greg Meadors (Lexington, KY) and Barry Bonifield (Louisville, KY), all of whom will represent the bluegrass state on October 25-28 at PGA Golf Club in Port St. Lucie, Florida.

Up next for the Kentucky Section PGA is the Kentucky PGA Professional Championship, which will be played September 17th & 18th at Kearney Hill Golf Links in Lexington, KY. Complete coverage and results will be available at kygolf.org

Results

1) Bruce Oldendick (Florence) - 73-73—146 (+2)
*Won on first playoff hole

2) Keith Reese (Louisville) – 71-75—146 (+2)

3) Greg Meadors (Lexington) – 72-79—151 (+7)

4) Barry Bonifield (Louisville) – 75-79—153 (+9)

The above players qualified for the 30th Senior PGA Professional Championship

T5) Steve Cox (Hodgenville) – 77-78—155 (+11) *1st Alternate

T5) Greg Basham (Louisville) – 75-80—155 (+11) *2nd Alternate

7) Al Chrouser (Lexington) – 80-76—156 (+12) *3rd Alternate

8) Ralph Landrum (Crestview Hills) – 79-78—157 (+13) *4th Alternate

About the Kentucky PGA

The Kentucky PGA (KPGA) is one of the 41 sections that comprise The PGA of America.  Formed in 1925, the Kentucky PGA has a professional membership of more than 325 men and women professionals across the Commonwealth of Kentucky, each of whom is dedicated to promoting the game in Kentucky. Kentucky PGA Professionals are responsible for conducting a variety of golf-related functions, which include general management, golf instruction, tournament operations, golf shop merchandising, junior golf programs, golf club repair, and much more.  The KPGA is a founding member of Golf House Kentucky, the umbrella organization that manages Kentucky’s Family of Golf Organizations.