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SIMPSONVILLE – Benton’s Patrick Newcomb has won the Kentucky State Amateur golf championship for the second year in a row.
Newcomb, a rising senior at Murray State University, shot a 7-under-par 206 with rounds of 68, 67 and 71 on the Cardinal Club course to win the 101st edition of the tournament. He won by four strokes over Ryan McCann of Crestwood, who carded scores of 71-69-70–210.
In Thursday’s final round, Newcomb was 2-under through the first eight holes before hitting a stretch of four holes with three bogeys.
He regained form with a birdie on the par-5 13th hole and played at par the rest of the way.
“This felt different this year because I had been through this before,” said Newcomb.
“At the start I was thinking I was going to cruise. I was 9-under through 7. Then I played No. 9 great, but had a three putt. It was a grind after that to keep it at even par for the day. I kept plodding along and hit a great shot from 250 yards out and made birdie on 13 and got in from there.”
Newcomb won his first Kentucky Am in 2011 at Kearney Hills in Lexington.
