Watterson and Singh headline list of major champions in Kentucky PGA Junior Tour’s 2022 sendoff.

GEORGETOWN, KY (October 16, 2022) – The 35^th and final event of 2022 for the Kentucky PGA Junior Tour concluded with Zach Watterson and Athena Singh each winning their second major championships of the season. The Beattyville and Morehead products took the overall crowns from Cherry Blossom Golf Club to end highlight reel years for each player.

Watterson entered the final round leading the Boys 16-18 Division by a stroke and was presented with a strong challenge from Landon Bergman, who started the day trailing Watterson by two. Bergman was -2 thru 10 holes on Sunday which put him into a tie for first with Watterson. The winner of the Kentucky Boys Junior PGA Championship responded however with a birdie on the par-three 12^th to re-take the lead, but Bergman joined him at the top once more with a birdie of his own on hole 15. Entering the 18^th hole tied, Watterson capped his outstanding season in style by holing a putt from forty feet away to clinch the title. In the process, it also put the finishing touches on what will be his second consecutive year winning the division’s Player of the Year title.

While Athena Singh already had the Girls 16-18 Division’s Player of the Year honor secured entering this tournament, she expanded her margin of victory in the points standings by virtue of a four-shot victory this weekend. Singh posted 74 (+2) on Sunday to add this major title alongside her previous major victory at the Kentucky Girls Junior Amateur. She also ends the season with six victories in seven total starts on Tour, one of the more remarkable campaigns in recent history from the Kentucky PGA Junior Tour’s top divisions.

Seven other players won their respective divisions in the younger age groups, beginning with Will Judd who is one of three players to earn a Grand Slam by winning all three majors across 2022 in his/her respective division. Judd has done so in the Boys 13-15 ranks after extending his two-shot lead entering Sunday to a five-stroke margin of victory. Judd shot 70 (-2) for the second consecutive day with five birdies scattered across his final round scorecard.

Mackenzie Federspiel also backed up her Saturday score with the same number on Sunday, posting 76 (+4) once again to win the Girls 13-15 Division by five shots. Five is a common number around Federspiel, as this victory made it five wins in five starts for her on the Kentucky PGA Junior Tour this year.

Luke Ebel overcame a two-stroke deficit entering the final round to take the title in the ultra-competitive Boys 11-12 Division. Ebel had the round of the day amongst his peers with 34 (-2) to post 70 (-2) for the tournament which edged Grant Guetig by a stroke. Ebel made three birdies over the course of his last five holes to mount a charge and complete the impressive comeback.

Carol Ann Mendenhall is a Grand Slam champion in the Girls 10-12 Division, concluding a dominant season with an equally dominant eight-shot win. Across any division, Mendenhall had arguably the top performance of the day with a bogey-free round of 33 (-3). This victory gives her eleven total wins in twelve starts on Tour in 2022, helping her claim the Player of the Year title for the second consecutive season.  

The Boys 10 & Under Division started play on Sunday with a three-way tie at the top, but Greyson Cloern broke that stalemate with a round of 35 (-1) to help him win the trophy by two shots. It’s Cloern’s second major of the season and his sixth total victory of the season.

Parker Haddix went from leading by one stroke entering Sunday in the Girls 9 & Under Division to quickly winning it with ease. She put ten strokes worth of cushion on her competitors in the final round, leading to a victory by eleven strokes. Haddix shot an eye-catching round of 37 (+1) with one birdie and seven pars on her scorecard to earn her ninth win of the season in perhaps the best performance of her year, signaling a strong 2023 could be on the way.

Much like Haddix, Redick Johnson went from a close battle to winning comfortably in the Boys 8 & Under Division. Coming into the final round tied, Johnson shot 35 (-1) to win by eight strokes and end a literal perfect season with nine wins in nine starts. He also rounds out the list of Grand Slam winners this year, with three major titles included in that vast success.

NOTES & STATS

• For the second consecutive day, there were two eagles posted. After both came on the front-nine on Saturday, each came on the inward half on Sunday. Jacob Aldridge got the first on the par-five 14^th while Landen Howard followed suit on the par-five 17^th.
• The par-five 5^th was Sunday’s easiest hole with a stroke-to-par average of +0.05. It and the 17^th tied with most birdies made in the final round with fourteen.
• Hole 18 was the hardest hole of the final round at +0.82.
• The differential in scores between the front nine and back nine was lessened on Sunday, but the front side was still more than a stroke easier. It yielded an average of 39.53 (+3.53) compared to 40.63 (+4.63) on holes 10-18.
• Sunday’s course average was 80.16 (+8.16), a drop of more than two strokes after Saturday’s average was 82.56 (+10.56).

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The Kentucky PGA Junior Tour extends its thanks to Luther Conley, PGA General Manager and the entire staff at Cherry Blossom Golf Club for their assistance in hosting this championship. Additionally, appreciation is sent towards each player who competed in today’s event and all tournaments throughout the Tour’s season.

Each of the Tour’s 2022 Players of the Year will be recognized individually in the coming weeks. The 2022 Golf House Kentucky Junior Players of the Year will also be announced later this fall, which accounts for results in the Kentucky PGA Junior Tour’s top events and other prestigious tournaments across the state.

The 2023 Kentucky PGA Junior Tour schedule will be released this winter with the season expected to begin during the first weekend of April.

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