Tournament Champions
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For players searching for Kentucky amateur golf tournaments or premier Bluegrass region golf events, the Amateur Players Tour opened its 2027 season on Sunday, October 4th at Griffin Gate Marriott Resort & Spa. A field of 58 players began the chapter’s new campaign across five gross divisions and two net games, with the first points of the season on the board and the par-72 layout doing plenty of the talking.
In Division 1, Josh Earnest of Lawrenceburg produced the round of the day and never looked like surrendering it. Earnest turned in 1-over 37 and then flipped the switch coming home, stringing together four consecutive holes in 5-under beginning at the par-5 9th — birdies at the 9th, the par-5 10th and the par-3 11th, then an eagle at the par-5 12th. He signed for an inward 1-under 35 and an even-par 72, the low round of the entire field, for a five-shot win. Tony Brown of Georgetown took runner-up honors at 5-over 77 on the strength of a bogey-free-of-big-numbers card — 11 pars, no doubles, and a birdie at the par-3 4th sandwiched between nines of 2-over 38 and 3-over 39. John Buchanan of Lexington finished in 3rd, playing his back nine in 5-over 41 after a 7-over 43 start.
Division 2 delivered the tightest gross scoring of the morning at the top, and Kevin Hoffmann of Prospect won it with the busiest card on the property. Hoffmann made six birdies — at the par-5 1st, the par-3 4th, the par-3 8th, the par-5 9th, the par-5 12th and the par-4 17th — and crucially never made worse than bogey, turning in even-par 36 before coming home in 1-over 37 for a 1-over 73 and a two-shot victory. Tyler Whittaker of Frankfort went low early, playing the front nine in 1-under 35 with birdies at the 1st and the par-4 5th, and added two more at the par-5 10th and the par-4 14th before a 4-over 40 inward half left him at 3-over 75 to round out the money positions. Joseph Hayden of Lexington answered where it mattered most on the back, holing out for eagle at the par-5 10th en route to a 1-over 37 homeward nine and a 4-over 76. Only three players in the division finished within five shots of Hoffmann, with the bulk of the flight bunched at the other end — two apiece at 81 and 83, and three sitting on 84.
Division 3 belonged to Chris Woycke, the visitor from West Chester, Ohio and the Cincinnati/Dayton chapter, who needed every bit of a back nine that began with an exclamation point. Woycke eagled the par-5 10th and birdied the par-3 11th, turning a 3-over 39 start into a 2-over 38 finish and a 5-over 77 that held up by a single stroke. Jeff Clover of La Grange gave chase and fell short by that one shot, posting an even-par 36 on the front with birdies at the par-5 1st and the par-5 10th before a 6-over 42 inward nine left him at 6-over 78. Paul Wingate of Frankfort matched Clover’s even-par 36 going out, birdieing the 1st and the par-3 2nd, and his 7-over 79 was good for 3rd and rounded out the money positions. Three players finished within two shots of the lead in the division, which made the closing stretch the whole story.
Division 4 went to another traveling player, Joey Fyall II of Charleston, West Virginia and the Carolina Triad chapter, whose 4-over 76 was built on patience: 12 pars, birdies at the par-4 7th and the par-5 10th, and a closing six holes in just 1-over. The five-shot margin was the largest in any gross division on the day. Todd Gregory of Ashland took 2nd at 9-over 81, recovering from a 5-over 41 start with birdies at the par-3 4th and the par-4 6th and a steady 4-over 40 coming home. Charles Jason of Carlisle was 3rd at 11-over 83, making the turn in 3-over 39 with birdies at the par-3 2nd and the par-5 10th to round out the money positions.
Division 5 saw Aaron Holman, in from Nerk, Ohio and the Columbus chapter, take a three-shot win with a 15-over 87, his 3-over 39 opening nine providing the cushion he needed. Behind him came a three-way tie for runner-up honors at 18-over 90. Abigail Brooks of Lexington, Bill Curtin of Nicholasville and Devan Simpson of Clarksville, Indiana all arrived on the same number by different routes — Curtin opened in 7-over 43, Brooks in 8-over 44, and Simpson played matching nines of 9-over 45 with birdies at the par-5 10th and the par-4 17th. Five players in all finished within five shots of Holman.
The Mid-Am Net completed a memorable day for Joey Fyall II, who added the net title to his Division 4 win with a net 8-under 64, taking it by two and completing the double-dip. Jeff Clover made it two runner-up finishes on the afternoon with a net 6-under 66 to round out the money positions, and Devan Simpson was 3rd at net 4-under 68.
The Senior Net produced the deepest leaderboard of the day and the narrowest finish. Todd Courtney of Florence, playing out of the Cincinnati/Dayton chapter, went birdie-birdie-birdie to open at the par-5 1st, the par-3 2nd and the par-5 3rd, turned in 1-over 37, and his net 4-under 68 survived by a single stroke. Aaron Holman completed his own double-dip with a net 3-under 69 in 2nd, one day after — in the same round — winning Division 5. Three players tied for 3rd at net 1-under 71: Bert Bathiany of Fort Thomas, who birdied the par-5 10th and closed his last three in even par; Bruce Horton of Berea, who made birdies at the 1st and 10th, avoided a double all day and came home in 2-over 38; and Paul Wingate, adding a second placing to his Division 3 finish to round out the money positions. Ten players finished within five shots of Courtney.
The chapter stays busy. Kentucky joins Cincinnati/Dayton and Columbus on Monday, October 12th for an Elevated Event at TPC River’s Bend, with registration closing October 8th, before returning to its own schedule October 24th at Winchester CC, where registration closes October 21st.
