June is the time of year when things really start to escalate in terms of tournament days. It’s a fun time of year when nearly every day brings something different in terms of an event. It’s also the beginning of major championship season in Kentucky golf, as the Clark’s Pump-N-Shop Kentucky Amateur kicks off the state’s list of key championships.

The 105^th edition took place on June 18-20 at Country Club of Paducah which immediately went down as one of the all-time great tournaments in Kentucky golf history. The final round was full of twists and turns as half a dozen players had a shot at the title at some point during the home stretch. But in the end, Louisville’s Nick Johnston became a part of history as he defeated Jacob Poore on the first hole of a sudden-death playoff. It was as good as it gets for drama in a golf tournament and fosters lots of excitement for future editions of the historic competition. Lexington Country Club will host the 106^th playing of the event next June.

Junior golfers also began major championship season at the beginning of the month as the Kentucky Junior PGA Championships took place in Richmond. Laney Frye won a thriller herself in the Girls’ edition as she came from behind in the final round to beat Rylea Marcum by one stroke at The University Club at Arlington. Across the way at Gibson Bay Golf Course, Benny Haggin won the Boys’ edition in a playoff over Campbell Kremer. To do so, Haggin holed a birdie putt on the second hole from nearly fifty feet which proved to be the difference-maker.

The Kentucky Senior Team Championship was held on June 3-4 at Winchester Country Club where Dave Macke and Jim Volpenhein came up victorious. The event served as a nice omen of things to come for Volpenhein, who would be inducted into the Kentucky Golf Hall of Fame five months later. (More on that when November is recapped.) This event, like many others, needed a playoff to determine first place and Macke/Volpenhein beat out Buddy Bryant and Scott Ray to lock up the title.

A couple of Pro-Ams on the Section side of things also took place this month which featured Grover Justice coming on top both times. June 10^th saw the 2x2 Pro-Am at Bardstown Country Club occur where Justice won the Gross Division alongside Evan Davis, Scott Webb and Tyler Sharpe. Winning the Net Division that day was Aaron McDowell, Robbie Baldwin, Jason Cole, and Justin Charles. Two weeks later at Wildwood Country Club, the Bill Long Mega Pro-Am presented by Jet’s Pizza was completed despite an onslaught of rain in the middle of the day. Justice won this time with partners Jimmy Stanley, Shane Perry, and Eric Robertson.