Cathryn Brown and Isabella Christy lead crowded leaderboard at Kentucky Girls Junior PGA Championship.

RICHMOND, KY (May 31, 2022) – The halfway mark of the Kentucky Girls Junior PGA Championship boasts one of the most jampacked leaderboards in recent memory on the Kentucky PGA Junior Tour. Eddyville’s Cathryn Brown and Paintsville’s Isabella Christy set the bar high during Tuesday’s opening round, with each player shooting 70 (-2) to put them two shots clear of third place.

Behind them is a logjam, however, with every player in the top-ten sitting within three strokes of the lead. This championship’s runner-up in 2021, Claira Beth Ramsey, is in solo third thanks to a round of 72 (E). Behind her in a tie for fourth at 73 (+1) are seven players, including Isabella Wiley, Macie Brown, Cailyn Rogers, Keira Yun, Elizabeth Eberle, C.A. Carter, and Athena Singh.

That signals Wednesday’s final round could be one of the most exciting finishes of the season. Each of those ten players made at least two birdies during their round on Tuesday, while Christy and Rogers each made five. Fireworks could be plentiful with the first major championship  of the season at stake while the top-two finishers will clinch spots in the National Girls Junior PGA Championship just outside of Chicago in August.

Several other divisions are taking place at Arlington, including the Girls 13-15 Division which is also sporting ladies playing 18-hole rounds. Morgan Kennedy shot a fine round of 74 (+2) to take the overnight lead which leads Anna Simpson by one stroke and Eva Maley by two.

Grant Guetig was the lone player from the Boys 11-12 Division to turn in an even-par round. One birdie and one bogey complemented by seven pars gave him a tidy scorecard to take a two-shot lead over Ashton Gordon and Griffin Jackson.

Carol Ann Mendenhall continued her strong play this season to take a five-shot lead in the Girls 10-12 Division. Like Guetig, she posted 36 (E) with one birdie, one bogey and seven pars.

Another even-par round leads the Boys 10 & Under Division courtesy of Paxton Fuqua. Fuqua turned in the cleanest scorecard of any player from any division with nine pars gracing his round. He was the only player in the field to go bogey-free. That has him three shots clear of Austin Britt going into Wednesday’s play.

The last even-par leader comes via Redick Johnson who also took 36 strokes around The University Club at Arlington on Tuesday. Johnson’s round got off to a blistering start, with three birdies in his first three holes getting his day underway.

Kylie Miller leads the Girls 9 & Under Division in a tight race with Molly Amos who is just one stroke behind her. Miller shot 43 (+7) to take the early lead.

NOTES & STATS

• All players started on hole 10 in this round.
• Two eagles were made on Tuesday and both came on the par-four 11^th. Anna Simpson was the lone female to do so while Knox Taylor was the sole boy to accomplish that feat.
• Despite the two eagles, the 11^th was not the easiest hole on Tuesday as that distinction went to the par-five 9^th. Factoring in scores from each division, it had a stroke-to-par average of +0.34.
• The par-four 17^th was the hardest of the round coming in with an average exactly one over par. Co-leader in the Girls 16-18 Division, Isabella Christy, made the only birdie recorded here.
• 17 impacted the back nine playing exactly one shot easier than the front nine based on Tuesday’s averages. Holes 10-18 needed an average of 41.90 strokes compared to 40.90 on the front. That made the course average 82.80.

Click here to view the leaderboard

Click here to view Wednesday’s tee times

Click here to view the photo gallery

While the final round of play takes place from The University Club at Arlington on Wednesday, the Kentucky Boys Junior PGA Championship (18-hole divisions) will open at Gibson Bay Golf Course with its first round. Those tee times can be found by clicking here.

Kentucky Junior Golf will have full coverage of the Kentucky Junior PGA Championships on its Facebook, Instagram and Twitter pages. The final hole of the final group in the Girls 16-18 will be live-streamed during its final round on Wednesday while the same will be done for the Boys 16-18 Division on Thursday. Any playoffs necessary to decide those titles will also be live-streamed.

About Kentucky Junior Golf:
Kentucky Junior Golf is part of the Kentucky Golf Foundation, one of three organizations that comprises Golf House Kentucky. Kentucky Junior Golf includes the state’s top tournaments and programs for the state’s golfers aged 18 or younger, featuring the Kentucky PGA Junior Tour, Youth on Course, the Youth on Course caddie program, PGA Jr. League, and Drive, Chip & Putt. Kentucky Junior Golf is dedicated to introducing Kentucky’s youth to the game of golf, providing resources to further enjoyment within the sport, and developing the skills necessary for players to thrive both on and off the golf course.

Media Contact:
Ethan Fisher, PGA | Golf House Kentucky | efisher@kygolf.org | (502) 792-9703