Topeka CC, Topeka, KS – Denise Desilet and Patricia Sherwood extended their lead with strong play in the Chapman Alternate Shot format on the second day of competition to claim the Overall Gross championship by a ten shot margin.  They got off to a hot start in the difficult format carding three birdies in their first nine and turned at -1 to par.  Second place finishers Beth Kuckelman and Kim Wright had a very strong performance in the Chapman format with a score of 74 (+1), but could not close the gap with Desilet and Sherwood.  This is Desilet’s third victory of three Association events played this year, and she takes a lead in the Senior Women’s Player of the Year standings into the fall with only a few events remaining.

Christy Kleweno and Jillayne Tillman claimed the Overall Net championship by a single stroke in a closely contested division with a 66-69=135 (-11).  Kuckelman and Wright came up one shot short in the Net Division along with Joyce Anderson/Judy Baltuska, Cindy MacDonald/Renee Montoya, and Michele Falley/Jaena Greenwood.

Almost 70 players took to Oakwood CC on Monday August 6th for a chance to qualify for a USGA Championship. US Mid-Am qualifying took place in conjuction with US Women’s Mid-Am Qualifying with the ladies teeing off first.

Six women fought for two qualifying spots for the 2018 US Women’s Mid Amateur Championship held September 22-27 at Norwood Hills Country Club in St Louis. Martha Linscott, from Mission Hills, Kansas, got off to a great start on her front nine. Linscott would birdie three out of her first eight holes followed by six pars. Linscott would have a few hiccups on her last few holes, but her great start would give her medalist honors and the top qualifying spot with a two-over, 74.

Pam Simpson claimed runner-up and the final qualifying spot with a round of 81, highlighted by a birdie on the Par-3, 5th. Carmen Titus is the first alternate from this field with an 82 (+10).

Over sixty men competed in the US Mid-Am qualifying portion that allowed only three qualifying spots for the Championship on September 22-27 at Charlotte Country Club and Carolina Golf Club. In a two-way tie for first place, Brad Nurski and Mathew Murray would each card an incredible round of five-under, 67. Nurski, from St. Joseph, Missouri, only carded one bogey on his round with four birdies and an eagle on the Par-5, 17th. Murray, from Bolivar, Missouri, carded only one bogey as well, but had six birdies with four in a row on Holes 11-14. Both players grabbed the top two qualifying spots for the USGA Championship with only one remaining.

Solo third place by one stroke and the final qualifying spot would go to Kory Bowman, from Springfield, Missouri, with a four-under, 68. Bowman carded four birdies and an eagle on the Par-5, 6th, but his two lone bogeys would keep up out off the top of the leaderboard by one. First alternate for this field is Park Ulrich, who shot a three-under, 69, highlighted by four birdies on the day.

Congratulations to all of our qualifiers moving on to the Mid-Am Championships at the end of September. For more information about these championships, see the USGA website.

For a full field of results, see here.

 

 

The 2018 Tee-Fore-Two Championship kicked off today at Topeka Country Club in what would be a full field of 40 partner teams on a cool, cloudy Monday.

Coming off a win at the Kansas Senior Women’s Amateur, Denise Desilet and her partner Patricia Sherwood got off to a hot start on day one of the championship. Between the pair of them, five birdies were carded and counted in the four-ball style tournament format. With only two bogeys counted, Desilet and Sherwood were able to sign for a great score of 7o (-3) to become the leaders in the clubhouse by five strokes.

In a close second place in overall gross, Jayne Clarke and Jordan Patterson shot a consistent round with 14 pars counted on their score card and a birdie on the Par-4, 16th. The pair carded a 39 front nine and 36 on the back nine to post a two-over, 75 round.

Rounding up the top three is a two way tie between Beth Kuckelman/Kim Wright and Renee Montoya/Cindy MacDonald, both shooting five-over, 78 rounds.

In the overall net race, Desilet/Sherwood are tied for first place with a nine-under, 64’s. Tied for third place in the overall net is Cindy MacDonald/Renee Montoya and Joyce Andersen/Judy Baltuska with eight-under, 65’s.

Anything is possible in Round 2 of the Tee-Fore-Two Championship as we change from fourball format to chapman alternate shot in which both golfers on each side (team) hit drives. After their drive, each player plays their team mate’s ball and the best of the second shot is played, alternating until holed.

Despite a five shot lead, Desilet/Sherwood have tough competition at their heels, and it should be an exciting finish at Topeka Country Club tomorrow morning. Good luck to all 40 our teams.

Live scoring will be available during the round through Golf Genius with the code: TEEFORETWO18.

What a great summer of junior golf we had this year at the KCGA. So many great kids and some great talent showed up week in and week out for the past three months and we could not be more grateful for all the kids who choose to play on the KC Junior Tour.

Finishing off a great season, 100 kids played in the KCJT Championship at Lake Quivira CC August 2nd. All five division squared for a chance to win the KCJT Champion and Runner-up trophy, as well as our 2018 Player of the Year award. All summer long throughout the junior season, points are accumulated for each player based on how many events they play and how well they place in each event. The player with the most points in each division wins the big honor.

The 16+ Boys division went off first at 7:30 AM and had almost 40 players trying to win one of the three awards. Coming in to the championship, the Player of the Year looked to be between Michael Garcia and Griffin Brassell. As we know in golf, the unexpected can always happen. Daniel Duffin sat in third in Player of the Year rankings as he teed off in the second to last pairing in the 16+ Boys division. He would go on to shoot a 73 (+2), which would win him KCJT Runner-Up and secure him enough points in the POY race to jump in front of both Garcia and Brassell in a surprise Player of the Year win.

After the round, Duffin credited staying in the fairway and actually leaving his driver at home as to what helped him win runner-up and POY. It was a great scene after the round as everyone looked on nervously to see how things would shake out.

Zach Molzer, would shoot a great round of even par 71 to claim the KCJT Champion trophy. Molzer had four bogeys and four birdies on his round to beat out the field by two and get to hoist his KCJT Champion trophy at Lake Quivira.

Jack Dwyer and Michael Bessenbacher tied for third place with a round of 75 (+4). Michael Garcia won solo fifth with a 78 and Brooks Baldwin and Griffin Brassell tied for sixth with rounds of 79.

Next was the Girls 16+ division, which had 20 girls battling it out. Player of the Year had narrowed itself down to Maggie King and Vera Bohning, both great talents that had performed consistently well throughout almost all our KCJT events this summer. It would be Vera Bohning that would come out on top after edging out Maggie King by five strokes with an 83. Bohning face was filled with excitement as she realized her tied for third place finish in the championship would be enough to win her POY.

She says that after winning her first KCJT event at St. Andrew’s GC earlier in the summer is when she realized she had a real shot to take him POY. Her hard work certainly paid off and it was great to see such a happy, grateful reaction from Bohning.

Our 16+ Girls KCJT Champion was Abby Howard after turning in a round of 79. Coming off a disappointing performance in the Prairie Invitational, Howard was looking to bounce back and in a big way. Howard’s three birdies would help propel her to the top of the leaderboard, edging out Sarah Lawson by one stroke. Lawson secured her KCJT Runner-Up with a great round of 80 and four birdies on her round.

Vera Bohning, Martha Saferstein and Brianne Arello tied for third place with an 83. Leah McFee won solo sixth place with an 85. Jaclyn Koziol would take home seventh place with an 87.

Another tight race for both Player of the Year and KCJT Champion was in the Boys 13-15 division. Player of the Year had come down to Patrick Neal and Benjamin Bessette and the two squared off in the final pairing of their division to determine the winner. It would be Benjamin Bessette to win not only Player of the Year honors, but also KCJT Champion with a great round of 78. Bessette and Neal have battled it out all summer and it was an honor to watch both compete.

Bessette would narrowly beat out both Christian Rischer and Jack Cobb, who would tie for KCJT Runner-Up with rounds of 79. Drake Krumme took home fourth place with an 80. In a three way tie for fith, Dominic Matteoni, Jeret Handley and Nate Saporito would all shoot rounds of 83.

In a division where Player of the Year was a little more up for grabs, the Girls 13-15 division brought a lot of excitement to the leaderboard. Lia Johnson would hold up the KCJT Champion trophy after shooting 81 on her round. Her two birdies on the day helped claim medalist honors over Elizabeth Grant, our KCJT Runner-Up with an 82.

Our 13-15 Player of the Year was between Tess Roman and the Gentry sisters: Madeline and Savannah. Roman was unable to attend the KCJT Championship which gave both Gentry sisters an opportunity to take home the award. Savannah Gentry’s face light up like a christmas tree after realizing she won our 2018 Player of the Year. Savannah would edge out Madeline by one stroke in the stroke play Championship to secure enough points to also win Player of the Year.

Savannah, in her favorite Stanford golf shirt, held her Player of the Year trophy with pride as her sister congratulated her. Her excitement as well as Johnson and Grant is why we love doing what we do here at the KCGA.

Our last division of the day was our Prep division. In our Prep division, players are aged between 10-12 and only compete in a nine-hole round format. Over the summer we have had a great turnout of around eight or nine boys compete against each other. Drew Krystyn would take home the KCJT Champion trophy after shooting an impressive nine-hole round of 40 on the difficult Lake Quivira front nine. Wylie Curtis would take home KCJT Runner-Up after carding a nine-hole score of 44.

Our 2018 Prep Player of the Year is Jacob Fratzel. Fratzel was unable to attend the KCJT Championship due to conflicting obligations, but after winning four of the seven KCJT events he played in Fratzel secured Player of the Year without playing. Fratzel was a consistent force to be reckoned with in the Prep division and has a great future ahead of him in golf.

It was a great day out at Lake Quivira CC as we were able to celebrate all of our juniors for a great season. Thank you to everyone who choose the KCJT to be a part of this summer. Junior golf is so important to both the KCGA and the game of golf and we hope the junior program continues to grow next year.

Also a big thank you to our awesome volunteers who without we couldn’t do what we do. For all the rules officiating and course set-up, thank you for all your time and effort.

For pictures of our champions and interviews of the Boys 16+ and Girls 16+ POY, see our Facebook and Twitter page.

For full tournament results, see here.

For final Player of the Year standings, see here.

 

The Kansas Women’s Four State team has been announced and is scheduled to compete at Muskogee Country Club (Muskogee, OK) on July 31 and August 1.  Four State is an annual Ryder Cup-style competition with teams from Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, and Arkansas competing.  Each team is comprised of six amateur golfers under age 40 and six amateur golfers over age 40.  Tuesday’s competition will feature four ball matches in the morning followed by alternate shot matches in the afternoon.  Wednesday’s competition is singles matches.

Kansas Team:

• Laine Evans – Wichita
• Bella Hadden – Shawnee
• Rosie Klausner – Olathe
• Audrey Meisch – Wichita
• Molly Saporito – Overland Park
• Jaci Weber – Wichita
• Jettie Bezek – Ottawa
• Denise Desilet – Wichita
• Barbara Cusick – Leawood
• Susan DeVoe – Overland Park
• Martha Linscott – Mission Hills
• Paula Routon – Wichita

Three rounds of golf and 54 holes later and the KC Amateur has six new champions. The Golf Club of Creekmoor hosted this year’s Kansas City Amateur Championship and despite threats of rain all weekend, what a great finish it was.

After day one of competition, three players tied at the top of the leaderboard in the Open Division with rounds of three-under 69: Blake Allen, Nick Kagy and Garrett Allen. Only five players carded red figures on their first round, including Shaun Campbell (70) and Christian Ghilardi (71).

In the Seniors Division, Mark Addington had three birdies on his round to claim an early lead with an even par 72 round, leading John Samples and Kevin Handlan by one stroke.  David Hamilton and Robert Nelson battled for the top spots in the Legends division while Michael Buckhouse and Carter Likes tied for the top spots in the Players Division.

Day two of competition saw even less red scores than the first. In the Open division, only three players carded under par rounds on day two: Carter Tumminia (70), Kris Casburn (69) and Jacob Hinck (71). Day one leaders struggled a bit on day two and all shot rounds over par. Blake Allen came in with a two-over 74, despite having six birdies on his day to battle back from a double bogey but still remained one under overall and atop the leaderboard heading into day three.

Mark Addington continued to distance himself from the field in his division by shooting a one-under 71 which was highlighted by his three birdies to lead second place Gregory Goode by two strokes. Michael Buckhouse and Carter Likes were separated by one stroke heading in to the final day of competition for the Players division. David Hamilton shot an even par 72 on his second round to lead second place Robert Nelson by six strokes.

Our final pairing for Championship Sunday for the Open division belonged to Blake Allen (-1), Nick Kagy (E) and Shaun Campbell (+1). Allen began his round with ten pars in a row followed by three birdies on his next four holes. A late charge by James Henderson, who began his round at +2 would have two birdies and two eagles to surge up the leaderboard. Heading in to the final stretch, Blake Allen would finish par-par-bogey-birdie to capture his first KC Amateur title with a clutch tap-in birdie on the Par-5, 18th. The birdie to win would mark his 15th birdie in the tournament.

Despite a great round of golf played by James Henderson, Allen’s mental toughness and clutch shot making would capture the championship by two strokes. Allen finished with a total score of 212 (69-74-69) with Henderson claiming runner-up with a 214 (72-74-68).

Addington shot his best round of the tournament on Championship Sunday with a three-under 69 after seven birdies on the day to claim the 2018 KC Amateur Senior title. Gregory Goode would shoot a two-under 70 to claim runner-up.

David Hamilton would run away with the Legends Gross Divison title with a one-under final round to make a total tournament score of 217 (74-72-71). Robert Nelson was the Legends Net Champion with a 70-72-69 (211).

The battle between Michael Buckhouse and Carter Likes was finally settled on Championship Sunday in the Players Gross Division with Buckhouse edging out Likes by two strokes. Buckhouse used his five birdies throughout the tournament to beat out Likes with a 73-76-73 (222). Carter Likes would be the Players Net Division champion with a 70-74-71 (215).

The Kansas City Amateur Championship was a great showing of all the great golf talent in Kansas City. We are so grateful to have the kind of competition we do in our regional championships. Thank you to the Golf Club of Creekmoor for hosting us this year as well as next! The 2019 KC Amateur Championship will return to Creekmoor next year and we hope it’s even better than this year’s. As always, thank you to all of our great volunteers and staff that do such a great job day in and day out.

Check out our social media outlets for pictures of the champions and an interview with Open Champion, Blake Allen.

For a full field of results, see here.

 

By Taylor Albritton, KCGA Intern

Indian Hills Country Club, Mission Hills, KS, July 25, 2018 –

Emma Whitaker of Wichita, Kansas captured The Prairie Invitational title in a two-hole playoff with defending champion Kristen Samp of Lawrence, Kansas.  This is the first appearance in The Prairie Invitational for Whitaker, who will be a sophomore at Oklahoma State University in the fall.

Competitors in The Prairie Invitational enjoyed great weather throughout the three days, but the course did not yield low scores easily.  An A.W. Tillinghast gem, the set up at Indian Hills proved challenging for players in both divisions.  The tree lined fairways and undulating greens proved to be a great test of golf, yielding a field-best single round score of 71 (+1 by Reagan Zibilski in round 1) and a winning three-round total of +14.

The leader board was in a constant state of change throughout the day on Wednesday with Whitaker, Samp, Jess Meek (Columbia, MO), and Whitney Pyle (assistant professional at Ironhorse GC) all holding the lead at one point.  Chloe Kraus (Olathe, KS), Reagan Zibilksi (Nixa, MO), Ellen Port (St. Louis, MO), and Kirsten Baete (Beatrice, NE) all were within striking distance throughout the day.

Jess Meek had a very solid round going until back-to-back bogeys on 16 and 17 left her one shot out of the lead at the end of the day.  Whitney Pyle also bogeyed 17 to slip into a tie for third with Meek.  Chloe Kraus made a late charge with back-to-back birdies on 14 and 15, but a costly double bogey on 12 proved too much to overcome.  Reagan Zibilski had a very strong performance with a 74 on Wednesday after a difficult 81 in the second round.  Ellen Port had a very steady performance all three rounds.  Kraus, Zibilski, and Port all tied for 5th place at +16

Kristen Samp charged into the lead coming into the final hole with a birdie on the long and difficult #17.  Her lead was erased after a bogey on the par-5 18th, falling into a tie with Whitaker who parred the final five holes.  Both players tied the first playoff hole.  Samp’s drive on #2 found the left trees, while Whitaker hit a tremendous shot into the fairway.  Samp hit a great recovery shot, but was unable to find the green in regulation after being left with a long approach.  Whitaker hit the green in regulation.  Samp was unable to get up and down from the greenside bunker, and Whitaker ended the playoff with a two-putt.  Samp finished the event as the Open Division Runner-Up and claimed the Midwest Section PGA Women’s Championship trophy.

Along with her title in The Prairie Invitational, Whitaker also captured the Kansas Women’s Amateur title.  This is her first win in the Kansas Women’s Amateur as well.  Reagan Zibilski earned the Open Division Low Junior title, while Julia Misemer claimed the trophy for Kansas Low Junior.

The Prairie Invitational will next be contested at The National Golf Club of Kansas City in Parkville, Missouri in July of 2019.

Indian Hills Country Club, Mission Hills, Kansas

The Players Division wrapped up today with twins Hope and Hanna Robinett finishing first and second. Hope shot 16 over while Hanna shot 28 over. Hope shot one of her lowest rounds in a tournament on Monday with a seven over 77. She then played another great round with a 79 today. She shot an even par 35 on her first nine holes of the tournament which gave her a lot of momentum for the following holes. She then shot seven over 42 on the back nine.

The Prairie Invitational Open Division made cuts to the top 18 players plus ties after 36 holes. The remaining players will compete for the Prairie Invitational Champion and Kansas Women’s Amateur Champion titles tomorrow. Players to watch include leaders, Jessica Meek (+8) from Columbia, Missouri and Kirsten Baete (+8) from Beatrice, Nebraska. Local talent on the leaderboard is Assistant Golf Professional at Ironhorse Golf Club, Whitney Pyle (+9) of Overland Park, Kansas. Emma Whitaker (+10) of Wichita, Kansas and Chloe Kraus (+10) of Olathe, Kansas are also at the top of the Kansas Women’s Amateur leaderboard. The competition is close and the unique set up of the event allows for anyone to move up on the leaderboard.

About the event:

The Prairie Invitational is a premier women’s golf event in Kansas City for amateur and professional players. The purpose of the tournament is to enhance women’s golf and junior women’s golf not only in the Kansas City area, but on the regional level. The Prairie was formerly known as the Women’s Amateur of Kansas City, to find the best female golfer in the Midwest. The 2017 tournament was the first time the event was 54 holes of play in the Open Division with a cut after 36 holes played. 2017 was also the first year the tournament was included in the World Amateur Golf Rankings.

The Prairie Invitational also hosted the KGA Kansas Women’s Amateur Championship. The two divisions are the Open division and the Player’s division. The Open division targets expert level players and they will play from the championship yardage of 6,000-6,200 yards. The Open division is 54 holes of play while the Players division is 36 holes with a division for gross and net. The Players division plays from the ladies’ tees.

This is the fourth year the Prairie Invitational has taken place. The first tournament took place at Falcon Ridge Golf Club with 49 players. The field has grown exponentially each year since. The winners for the first three years were amateurs, while last year Kristen Samp, was the first professional to win last year at Milburn Country Club.

-Teagan Noblit, Contributor

At what seemed like our first cloudy KCJT event, KCGA juniors carded some of our lowest scores all season and three new winners captured their Champion’s towel.

In our 16+ Boys division, Tanner Collins shot a 69 (-3) to capture his third KCJT win. Collins had four birdies and an eagle on the Par 5, 16th on his round to beat out second place finisher Michael Garcia by three strokes. Liam Coughlin won his first KCJT event in the 13-15 Boys division with a one-under 71. Despite four bogeys, Coughlin battled back with five birdies on the day to get the win by two strokes over Christian Rischer.

For the 16+ Girls division, Vera Bohning also took home her first win of the summer with a round of 80. Bohning has fought hard all season, playing in five out of seven events and finally getting the win she’s fought hard for.  Caroline Setter and Martha Saferstein tied for second place with an 84 (+12). All the way from Columbia came our division winner for the 13-15 Girls division. Audrey Rischer, brother of second place finisher Christian, took home her first win as well as playing in her first KCJT event. Rischer had three birdies on the day to get atop the leader board with a 77 (+5) over Savannah Gentry by five strokes.

No surprise for our Prep division. Jacob Fratzel took home his fourth win of the season with a nine-hole score of 40 over Fletcher Noblit by four strokes.

Our Player of the Year race is a tight one this year as we have two and sometimes three players all within reach each week. With only three KCJT events left in the season, it should be a great finish. Left on the schedule is Eagle’s Landing, Swope Memorial and the KCJT Championship at Lake Quivira on August 2nd. Get registered here.

For a full field of results see here.

For Player of the Year standings see here.

The best of the best competed at Milburn CC July 16th to win a ticket to the US Amateur Championship at the infamous Pebble Beach golf course on the Monterrey Peninsula in California.

Over 60 players fought through 36 holes of qualifying for the top two spots. After round one a familiar face found himself atop the leader board in a three way tie for first place. Andy Spencer, 2018 Watson Challenge Champion, shot a round one score of 65 (-7) at his home course. Spencer shot four birdies in a row on the front nine, eight total on the day and only one bogey. Spencer faced some competition as two others shot a round one 65: Brady Dixon and Denzel Ieremia.

Dixon had a bogey free round with five birdies and an eagle on the Par-4, 16th. Ieremia’s round was highlighted by eight birdies and only one bogey to claim a share of the top spot.

In a field of that featured a lot of low scores, Spencer, Dixon and Ieremia had to replicate their round one scoring in order to claim their spot in the US Amateur Championship. Andy Spencer started off his second round with two birdies on the front nine. After nine pars in a row, Spencer finished with two birdies in the last five holes to shoot a four under 68. Brady Dixon started his second round a little slower making the turn at even par for the day and two birdies on the back nine to finish at 70 (-2).

Spencer finished his 36 holes of qualifying with a total score of 133 (65, 68) to claim the top qualifying spot and edge out Brady Dixon by two. Dixon shot 65, 70 to come in at 135 and secure the second place finish and his spot at Pebble Beach. McCain Schellhardt came in a close third place with a total 136 (68, 68) to claim the first alternate spot for the US Amateur Championship. Lachlan Barker claimed the second alternate spot with a 137 total score (68, 69).

Good luck to both Andy Spencer and Brady Dixon as they go out to California and compete at the great Pebble Beach.

Full field of results is here.