LOUISVILLE, KY (July 17, 2020) – The final match in the Kentucky State Match Play Championship between (10) Jay Kirchdorfer and (1) Josh Rhodes seemed destined to be a phenomenal heavyweight clash from the beginning. The two combatants took to Nevel Meade Golf Club early Friday morning and put on a show in an all-time great match in the tournament’s history.

All eighteen holes were required to determine a victor, and ultimately it was Kirchdorfer who prevailed 1 UP in a match that had many ebbs and flows. When the finalists made the turn, Rhodes was 3 UP having won three of the previous four holes to take a commanding lead entering the inward nine. Sparked by a drive that reached the green from the tee on the par-four 10^th, Kirchdorfer won that hole along with holes 11-13 to completely swing the momentum and enter the final stretch with the upper hand. Kirchdorfer pushed his lead to 2 UP after winning the par-three 15^th but gave that hole back on the par-four 16^th when he made bogey. After halving the 17^th, both players inexplicably lost both tee shots on the par-five 18^th with Kirchdorfer missing the fairway left while Rhodes missed right. The errors essentially canceled themselves out and sent both players back to the tee hitting their third shots under stroke and distance. With Kirchdorfer in with bogey, Rhodes was forced to hole a chip shot from thirty feet away for par to send the match to extra holes but was unable to do so which finalized the win for Kirchdorfer.

“I knew Josh was playing good golf on the front and I struggled at the beginning,” Kirchdorfer said. “I knew on the 10^th though that I could pump one on the green and I did to about forty feet. That got me rolling and birdies on 11 and 12 really brought me back into it. I felt pretty calm and comfortable during the back nine, but after missing short putts on the 14^th and 16^th, during the 17^th hole I was thinking ‘Man, I should have this put away by now.’”

Kirchdorfer would of course put it away on the next hole, however, giving the redshirt sophomore of Kentucky one of the biggest wins of his career. Kirchdorfer and Rhodes will both be in the field at the next marquee male event for Golf House Kentucky, which is the 101^st Kentucky Open at Triple Crown Country Club on July 28-30.

The Kentucky Golf Association would like to thank each player who competed this week along with Robert Costello, PGA and his staff at Nevel Meade Golf Club for their assistance in making this a phenomenal week. The KGA will be back in competitive action on Monday with an Amateur Series event at Indian Hills Country Club in Bowling Green.

Click here for the final results

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