2027 KY/CINCY/COL TPC River’s Bend

The Kentucky Amateur Players Tour joined forces with the Columbus and Cincinnati chapters on Monday, October 12, 2026 at TPC River’s Bend in Maineville, Ohio for a premier amateur golf tournament, and the combined date stood as one of the fall’s featured stops among Kentucky amateur golf tournaments. A field of 85 players competed across five divisions, with two net games running alongside, in an Elevated Event on the chapters’ 2027 schedule playing for a prize pool of $3,000. Players are flighted into divisions based on their APT Tournament Index.

The Arnold Palmer-designed layout was in outstanding condition and gave the three chapters a terrific stage for a day of competition. It also defended itself where it chose to. The par-4 9th was the hardest hole on the property, surrendering just three birdies in 84 plays and averaging better than a shot over par, while the par-4 15th gave up only one birdie all day. The par-5 8th was the one real scoring hole on the card, yielding 13 birdies and a pair of eagles — David Peterson and Jeremy Roush each made three there.

Division 1 belonged to Jon Kaplan of Powell, OH, who went out in 2-under 34 — the eagle coming at the par-5 6th — and came home in 1-under 35 for a 3-under 69, the low round of the day. It was closer than the three-shot final margin suggests: Levi Keith of Elizabethtown, KY actually held a one-stroke edge on Kaplan through fifteen holes before Kaplan closed with a birdie at the par-5 18th, his third of the round. Keith signed for an even-par 72 on the back of five birdies, including three in the closing stretch at the 13th, 14th and 17th, and shared runner-up honors with Eric King of Lexington, KY, who matched him at even-par 72 with nines of 36 and 36 and four birdies of his own. Cameron Buse of Louisville, KY posted 73 and Adam Yarbrough of Kingston, GA followed with 74. Five players finished within five of the lead.

In Division 2, Merlin Yoder of Dalton, OH made the turn in 2-under 34 and never gave the lead back, carding four birdies — at the 1st, the par-3 7th, the par-5 11th and the 15th — for a 1-over 73 and a three-shot victory. Tyler Whittaker of Frankfort, KY was within one after six holes before Yoder pulled clear, and Whittaker salvaged a strong finish, playing the last six in even par and covering the inward nine in 1-over 37 for a 4-over 76. Paul Baker of Lexington, KY turned in 1-over 37 and took third with a 7-over 79. T. Brown of Georgetown, KY finished fourth with 80, and Jeff Borders of Westerville, OH, Tony Murr of Louisville, KY and Michael Marinangeli of Grove City, OH all tied for fifth at 82.

Division 3 required extra holes, and it took Nathan Edwards of Rockbridge, OH just one of them to claim the title. Edwards, Steve Humphries of Prospect, KY and Andrew Ruzicho of Columbus, OH each posted 8-over 80 to force a three-way playoff, and Edwards came out on top. He had made up the ground on the inward half, playing his back nine in 3-over 39 after a 5-over 41 start to get in front of Ruzicho by two with six to play. Ruzicho’s 80 came the other way around, a 6-over 42 going out and a 2-over 38 coming home with four birdies, the last of them at the par-5 18th, and he played his final six holes in even par. Humphries birdied the 2nd and also closed with a 5-over 41. The division was the tightest on the property, with five players within two shots and eleven within seven. 2026 Player of the Year Jason Wright of Oak Hill, OH and Donald Dawson of Reynoldsburg, OH tied for fourth with 82.

Chanton Patel of Mt. Washington, KY made his APT Tour debut in style, capturing Division 4 with a 10-over 82 and winning by four. Patel was not in front for most of the day — Jason Earnest of Lawrenceburg, KY led him by two after six holes and still by one after twelve — but Patel’s steadiness told down the stretch, with nine pars on the card, a birdie at the par-5 8th and matching nines of 41. Earnest went out in 4-over 40 before the closing stretch got away from him, and his 14-over 86 took second. John Sherman of Ashville, OH finished third with 18-over 90, Mark Dail of Conway, AR posted 91 and Todd Gregory of Ashland, KY signed for 92.

Division 5 also went to a playoff. Kevin Forwith of Morrow, OH led Kevin Filby of Lewis Center, OH by three with three holes to play, but Filby erased the gap over the closing stretch and the two finished tied at 18-over 90. Forwith prevailed in sudden death for the title, with Filby taking runner-up honors. Doc Sherman of Pleasant City, OH was third at 21-over 93, three back of the playoff pair.

Mid-Am Net produced a three-way tie at the top. Eric King of Lexington, KY, Jonathan Feldkamp of Maineville, OH and Tyler Whittaker of Frankfort, KY all came in at net 1-under 71, one clear of the next card, and the three shared the points and the purse. For King it completed a double-dip to go with his runner-up finish in Division 1, and the same went for Whittaker, who was second in Division 2. Four players finished within two of the lead and eight within five.

Senior Net was the most decisive result of the afternoon. Kevin Forwith backed up his Division 5 title with a net 5-under 67, four shots clear of the field, and completed the double-dip as the only player to win twice on the day. Jason Wright of Oak Hill, OH and Nathan Edwards of Rockbridge, OH tied for second at net 1-under 71, Edwards adding the result to his Division 3 title. Paul Baker of Lexington, KY and Steve Humphries of Prospect, KY shared fourth at net even-par 72, with Baker rounding out the money positions.

Next up in the Kentucky chapter — a trip to Winchester Country Club on Saturday, October 24th. Space is limited and registration closes October 21st. The three chapters then regroup for another Elevated Event at NCR South on Monday, October 26th, with registration closing October 22nd.