Kasey Miller has topped the field at Frankfort Country Club to capture the 23^rd Kentucky Women’s Open. The professional out of Findlay, Ohio came from one stroke behind at the start of the day to capture the championship after rounds of 73-72 for a 145 (+1) winning score, edging Mikhaela Denise Fortuna by a stroke.

Moyea Russell began the final round up by a stroke over Miller, Fortuna and Sarah Hinton. Russell made birdie on her opening hole, but a triple bogey on the par-five 3^rd dropped her out of the lead and brought twelve players within four shots of the lead during the midway point of the opening nine holes. Birdies from Miller on the par-five 5^th and par-four 9^th holes put her in the lead when she made the turn, and despite a bogey on the par-three 10^th, nobody was able to catch her. Eight straight pars from Miller to finish the round proved to be enough when Fortuna missed a birdie putt on the final hole from fifteen feet that would have forced a playoff. The resulting par gave Fortuna second place and this year’s Low Amateur Award.

“I’ve played in a lot of tournaments this year where I’ve been in the same situation at the start of the final round,” Miller said. “All I could think about was holding the trophy at the end of the day and I was going to do whatever it takes to win. I knew I was ahead of my playing partners (Russell and Hinton) around midway through the round. I just told myself to be aggressive on holes where I had a wedge in my hand and be smart on tougher holes and two-putt for par on those. It feels great to win; this was one of the first events I played as a professional in 2016 and I won the Low Professional Award that year. This time I decided it would be better to be named as overall champion. I’m just thrilled. This does a lot for my confidence going into Q-School this fall.”

ROUND TWO NOTES:

• Today’s most difficult hole was the par-four 9^th which played at an average score-to-par of +0.84. Miller was one of just two players in the field to make birdie on the 9^th during the second round.
• The par-four 13^th was the easiest hole during round two at +0.10.
• The low round of the day was 71 (-1) which was recorded by Carly Haines (T3), Taryn Walker (T3), Victoria Elizabeth (6), Rebecca Black (T8), and Ryan Bender (T12). Each player shot 76 (+4) or higher during the first round.
• The lone eagle of the day was made on the par-four 11^th by Ke’asha Phillips. Phillips went onto finish T3, two strokes behind Miller.
• For her win, Miller earns a first-place check of $1,800.

The Kentucky PGA would like to thank Frankfort Country Club for hosting this year’s championship and providing players with a beautifully conditioned golf course to compete on. The Section would also like to thank the volunteers, fans and players who made the 23^rd Kentucky Women’s Open a resounding success. Congratulations to Kasey on her victory!

Click here for the final results.