George Rogers Clark’s boys golf team earned first place honors at the KHSAA Leachman Buick-GMC State First First Round held at StoneCrest Golf Course in Prestonsburg on Monday.
Three Cardinals golfers finished in the tournament’s top 20 led by Andrew Perry’s even par round on the mountain course’s 6,565-yard, par-70 layout.
Lexington Christian’s Luke Ebel took first place in the individual competition with a 3-under 67. He’ll be joined in Bowling Green by Lexington golfers Lane McConathy, Lexington Catholic (-2); Carson Nicholas, Henry Clay (-1); and Anderson Lang (even) and Ashton Gordon (+4) of Frederick Douglass. All State Final Round qualifiers are listed below.
The top four of GRC’s five golfers combined for 9-over par to win the prelude event by four shots over Rockcastle County. Rowan County’s team (16-over par) also qualified for next week’s State Final Round Tournament at Bowling Green Country Club.
“It was close and then my guys locked in coming down the stretch, so that was fun,” Clark coach Stuart Taylor said. “You’re just trying to make it through, man. It was crazy.”
Clark reached the Bowling Green round for the first time since 2023 thanks to clutch play over the final nine holes. Perry’s even-par round included birdies on 15 and 18. Knox Taylor also birdied 18 to finish at 1-over. Ahead of them on the course, Jackson Kincaid caught fire with birdies on 14, 15 and 18 to help rally the team out front and finish 3-over. Mason Morton shrugged off a double bogey on 12 and a bogey on 14 to par his way home for a 5-over par finish.
“It’s a great feeling,” said Stuart, whose team hadn’t laid eyes on StoneCrest’s breathtaking layout until the practice round a day earlier.
Last year, Lang ranked as Clark’s only State First Round qualifier as the 9th Region champion a week earlier, but missed the State Final Round cut for Bowling Green. This year’s Cardinals finished runner-up to Douglass in last week’s 9th Region Championship at the University Club at Arlington in Richmond, but will be the only Central Kentucky boys team represented in Bowling Green next week.
“You never know,” Stuart said. “You’ve got to show up for this day and you never know what’s going to happen on the golf course.”
Frederick Douglass won its first regional and individual boys golf title at University Club on Sept. 22, but finished two shots behind Rowan County for the final team qualifying spot for Bowling Green.
Douglass junior Anderson Lang fired a 5-under round of 67 at University Club to take the individual region title last week. He shot even-par 70 at StoneCrest on Monday and will be joined by teammate Ashton Gordon (+4) in Bowling Green.
“The greens were a little tricky. The greens were pretty fast. We hit some untimely shots that we didn’t need to, but we battled and we stayed in it until the end,” said Douglass coach Rhett Robinson, who liked his players’ chances next week. “Both should be in the hunt if they play well.”
The Kentucky High School Athletic Association’s golf postseason has been split into State First Round and State Final Round sections since 2024. The State First Round is an 18-hole test held at three locations that divide up the state’s golf teams by geographic area. In addition to Monday’s round for Regions 9-12 at StoneCrest, Regions 1-4 played at Bardstown Country Club and Regions 5-8 played at Kenton County Golf Course.
The top three teams from each site and the top 10 individuals outside those teams qualify for the 36-hole State Final Round Championship at Bowling Green Country Club in Bowling Green to be held Oct. 6-7.
Boys State First Round Golf Tournament
At Stonecrest Golf Course, Prestonsburg (Par 70), Monday.
Satellite State First Round For Regions 9-12. Top three teams and top 10 individuals outside those teams qualify for next week’s State Final Round Championships in Bowling Green. Full results at KHSAA.org.
State Final Round individual top finishes, including state qualifiers: 1. Luke Ebel, Lexington Christian, -3; 2. Lane McConathy, Lexington Catholic, -2; T3. Waylon Clutts, Hazard, -1; T3. Carson Nicholas, Henry Clay, -1; T3. Zeke Fain, Rockcastle County, -1; T6. Conner Ford, Rockcastle County, E; T6. Anderson Lang, Frederick Douglass, E; T6. Andrew Perry, George Rogers Clark, E; T9. Rylan Beighle, Rowan County, +1; T9. Noah Mullins, Hazard, +1; T9. Knox Taylor, George Rogers Clark, +1; T9. Brooks Bonfield, Montgomery County, +1; T13. Wil Sutton, North Laurel, +2; T13. Ben Rickey, Rowan County, +2; T13. Coby Tucker, Prestonsburg, +2; T13. Maddox Earlywine, Fleming County, +2 ; T17. Clay Wachter, Scott County, +3; T17. Kooper Gehring, Wayne County +3; T17. Jackson Kincaid, George Rogers Clark +3; T17. Luke Ellis, Rockcastle County +3 ; T17. Noah BaldridgeShelby Valley +3; T22. Cole Cornett, Harlan County +4; T22. Ashton GordonFrederick Douglass +4.
Team standings (top three teams advance): 1. George Rogers Clark +9 (Andrew Perry, E; Knox Taylor, +1; Jackson Kincaid, +3; Mason Morton, +5; Trip Neely, +10); 2. Rockcastle County +13 (Zeke Fain, -1; Conner Ford, E; Luke Ellis, +3; Carson Neely, +11; Sawyer Yates, +29); 3. Rowan County +16 (Rylan Beighle, +1; Ben Rickey, +2; Will Jones, +6; Braden Furman, +7; Carson Robinson, +10); 4. Frederick Douglass +18; 5. Pulaski County +27; 6. Johnson Central +28; 7. Montgomery County +32; 8. Russell +42; 9. Shelby Valley +58.
Region 9 Boys Golf Championship
At University Club at Arlington (Par 72), Richmond, Sept. 22.
Top two teams and top 10 qualifiers outside of those teams qualified for State First Round. Team scores include the top four players.
Medalists: 1. Anderson Lang, Frederick Douglass, 67; 2. Ashton Gordon, Frederick Douglass, 69; 3. Andrew Perry, George Rogers Clark, 69; 4. Carson Nicholas, Henry Clay, 70; 5. Carter Woltenberg, Frederick Douglass, 71; 6. Blake Thomas, Frederick Douglass, 72; 7. Luke Ebel, Lexington Christian, 72; 8. Henry Chiles, Lexington Catholic, 73; 9. Clay Wachter, Scott County, 73; 10. Lane McConathy, Lexington Catholic, 73.
Top teams: 1. Frederick Douglass, 279 (Lang, 67; Gordon, 69; Woltenberg, 71; Thomas, 72; Luc Kiper, 82); 2. George Rogers Clark 294 (Perry, 69; Knox Taylor, 74; Jackson Kincaid, 75; Mason Morton, 76; Trip Neely, 84); 3. Lexington Catholic 295; Henry Clay, 297; Lexington Christian, 303.
Other state qualifiers: Luca Cropper, Madison Central, 73; Josh Tandy, Frankfort, 73; Myle Williams, Franklin County, 73; Parker Geldhof, Lexington Christian, 74; Connor Cassidy; Lexington Catholic, 74.