Final major championship of Kentucky PGA Junior Tour’s season starts on Saturday.

GEORGETOWN, KY (October 14, 2022) – A memorable year on the Kentucky PGA Junior Tour and within Kentucky Junior Golf in general will culminate with the Lou Perry Tour Championship this weekend. Cherry Blossom Golf Club will be the site of a two-day stroke play competition featuring many of the Tour’s top players as they pursue one of the biggest titles in the state and attempt to lock up the Tour’s Player of the Year titles in the process.

While the event does have a long history of excellent champions, this is just the third edition with Lou Perry’s name in the title. Before passing away at the age of 67, Mr. Perry generously left a donation worth several tens of thousands of dollars to the Kentucky Golf Foundation. As his wife Mary Shields Perry said at the time of the tournament’s re-naming announcement in 2020, “golf was a joy to Lou.”

“The sport taught him so much about life and helped contribute to his future success,” she added. “He believed golf would help young people learn how to interact with others and learn good patterns of behavior. He left the money the way he did so Kentucky’s youth could benefit from it on the golf course to learn more about the game itself, and life.”

It is because of contributions like that which make the Kentucky PGA Junior Tour possible, which has been the site of many memorable moments for the players in this weekend’s field. Some of the notable names and leaders of the respective Player of the Year races are as follows, with each player’s opening round tee time on Saturday listed in parenthesis.

Boys 16-18:

• Zach Watterson (9:54 a.m. EDT off #10) – Leading the Boys 16-18 Division standings coming in, Watterson’s year to date has been highlighted by winning the Tour’s first major of the year, the Kentucky Boys Junior PGA Championship. Another solid major performance this week would clinch a second consecutive season winning the Tour’s Player of the Year honor for the Boys 16-18 Division.
• Hayden Wasch (9:54 a.m. off #10) – Wasch enters the weekend in fourth place in the Player of the Year race but could leapfrog Watterson depending on each player’s respective results. He won the Tour’s first event of the season in March and will attempt to bookend the year with victories in his attempt to chase down Watterson.

Girls 16-18:

• Athena Singh (11:51 a.m. off #10) – Singh has already clinched the Girls 16-18 Division Player of the Year title after winning five times in six starts this season on Tour. The biggest of which was the Kentucky Girls Junior Amateur, her first overall major title on Tour. This has all been accomplished with Singh just 13 years of age and five years younger than some of her competition.

Boys 13-15:

• Will Judd (11:06 a.m. off #10) – Each of the first two majors of the season in the Boys 13-15 ranks have gone Judd’s way, with six-stroke and three-stroke victories capping off his performances at Gibson Bay Golf Course and University of Louisville Golf Club. He has that division’s Player of the Year title locked up and now has the opportunity to cap the season off with a Grand Slam.

Girls 13-15:

• Mackenzie Federspiel (12:00 p.m. off #10) – Leader of the Girls 13-15 Division, Federspiel has made four starts on Tour this season and won each of them, including one major victory at Bardstown Country Club. Victory this weekend would give her two majors on the year and a one-to-one ratio in victories to starts.

Boys 11-12:

• Grant Guetig (10:30 a.m. off #1) – Guetig leads the Boys 11-12 Division’s standings entering the final tournament, and this division has arguably been the most competitive of all nine throughout the year. Guetig has made nine starts and won four times which includes one major victory. He has factored in every tournament he has competed in with all but one of his starts yielding a top-five result.
• Hunter Majors (10:12 a.m. off #1) – Majors is in second place in the Boys 11-12 Division trying to chase down Guetig. Like Guetig, he also has four victories on his resume this year. One more victory this weekend could result in him leapfrogging Guetig and getting the Player of the Year title.
• Andrew Perry (10:12 a.m. off #1) – Three is the magic number for Perry to this point, as he enters at third place in the Player of the Year standings, has won three times, and has three runner-up finishes. A victory on Sunday afternoon would offer him a chance to snag the season-long title.
• Alex Hasselbeck (10:39 a.m. off #1) – Hasselbeck also enters this weekend with a chance to get the Player of the Year title. He already has a pair of victories in two-day tournaments this year, securing the Callaway Shootout and Battle at Boone’s Trace National. One last two-day triumph might launch him past the three players currently ahead of him.

Girls 10-12:

• Carol Ann Mendenhall (9:36 a.m. off #10) – A machine-like season from Mendenhall has netted ten victories in eleven starts including each of the first two major titles in the Girls 10-12 ranks. Consequently, the Player of the Year title is assured to be hers. A possible Grand Slam is within reach for her to put an emphatic stamp to her 2022.

Boys 10 & Under:

• Paxton Fuqua (10:03 a.m. off #1) – Six wins in ten starts have blanketed a strong season for the Bowling Green youngster. He won his division’s title at the Kentucky Boys Junior PGA and then finished as runner-up in the State Junior Amateur. There has only been one tournament this season where he has finished outside of the top-two.
• Max DeHaven (10:03 a.m. off #1) – A four-time winner to this point in the season, DeHaven could chase down Fuqua pending each player’s finish on the leaderboard. He has top-five finishes in each start he’s made this year.

Girls 9 & Under:

• Kylie Miller (9:18 a.m. off #1) – Fresh off earning a spot in the 2023 Drive, Chip & Putt National Finals, Miller turns her attention to a weekend that could result in her getting a Grand Slam in this division. She won each of the first two majors and captured another title in the Independence Bank Western Kentucky Junior Championship.
• Charlie Hix (9:18 a.m. off #1) – Hix could overtake Miller for the Player of the Year title with a win this weekend. She has already captured one marquee event this year by virtue of taking the Lexington Junior City Championship.

Boys 8 & Under:

• Redick Johnson (9:00 a.m. off #1) – A pal of Justin Thomas, Johnson has had a year that would make the two-time PGA Champion proud with eight victories in each of his eight starts on Tour. He rounds out the list of players who has the opportunity to secure a Grand Slam.

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FAST FACTS

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