LEXINGTON, KY (September 10, 2020) – The best championship golf courses are those that clearly define who is playing the best and provides separation between those competitors and the rest of the pack. Two-thirds of the way into the 106^th Clark’s Pump-N-Shop Kentucky Amateur, Lexington Country Club is doing just that. Alex Goff takes a three-stroke lead into Thursday night after his second straight round of 67 (-5). Tied for second are Andy Roberts and Josh Rhodes, who will play with Goff in tomorrow’s final group at 10:30 a.m. EDT. Roberts and Rhodes have also navigated Lexington Country Club expertly thus far, as they sit four shots clear of the next closest player, being Bradley Sutherland who is in fourth place.

Goff made eight birdies on Thursday with blemishes only on holes 6 and 13, where he made double bogey and bogey, respectively. Despite being a North Carolina native, a victory tomorrow would mean a great deal to the redshirt sophomore at the University of Kentucky. Goff was a roommate of Cullan Brown’s, a popular Wildcat golfer who passed away last month after a battle with osteosarcoma.

“UK golf has been through a lot the last couple months with Cullan’s passing,” Goff said. “We’re just one big family and it would really mean a lot to win one for Cullan. As far as how the golf course is playing, I just think it’s about knowing how to get around it. The hole locations have been challenging this week and you need to hit your approach shots in the right place. I thought the hole locations today were a little tougher than yesterday so you just had to stay patient and make putts when you could.”

Aside from Goff, Roberts, Rhodes, and Sutherland, the only other players under par through two rounds are Jacob Cook in fifth place and Evan Davis in sixth place. To give a sense as to how the leaderboard has developed, players eleven shots back of Goff’s lead are in the top ten entering the final round.

NOTES & STATS

• Past champion Buddy Bryant made history today as he has officially now made the cut in the Clark’s Pump-N-Shop Kentucky Amateur in six different decades. After tomorrow, he will have played in the final round of the tournament at least one time in the 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, 2000s, 2010s, and 2020s.
• Five eagles were made over the course of round two. Simon Brown made one on the par-five 1^st, Spencer McKinney and Campbell Kremer on the par-five 7^th, along with Zac Viminitz and Alex Martin on the par-five 12^th.
• Brown’s eagle on the 1^st helped make it today’s easiest hole. Its stroke-to-par average on Thursday was -0.05.
• Today’s hardest hole was the par-four 14^th. It played +0.67 with no birdies recorded.

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Click here to view Friday’s tee times

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Golf House Kentucky will continue to have full coverage of the event on its Facebook, Instagram and Twitter pages. A live video will be available to view on Facebook when the final group reaches its last hole tomorrow afternoon. Another live video will become available if a playoff is needed to determine a champion. Please remember caddies and spectators remain prohibited throughout the competition.