LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- They've been playing the Kentucky Open Golf Tournament for 102 years. J.B. Williams is the first to win the event three straight times.
The 26-year-old Danville native made key birdies at 14 and 15, then another at 18 for a final round 67 and a one-shot victory over Louisville's Clay Amlung. Louisville's Brendon Doyle, the second-round leader finished another shot back in third on a hot, humid day at Persimmon Ridge Golf Club.
Williams said the key shot of his day was his second at the par 5 18th from 260 yards to about 40 feet on the right fringe of the green. He then putted to a foot and waited while Amlung lipped out a long birdie attempt that would have forced a playoff. Williams then calmly closed out his third consecutive Open triumph.
“I went to the 18th thinking I haven’t had sole possession of the lead once this week, so let’s get it right here,” Williams explained. “That was a big motivator for me and inspired me to hit two quality shots into that green. It just gives me a lot of confidence knowing each time I won this trophy, I did it a different way and on three unique courses with their own set of different traits. In 2019 I had a neck-and-neck battle with Evan Davis during the last few holes, in 2020 I led wire-to-wire, this time I had to come from behind trailing almost the entire way.”
Williams is a University of Akron product who has spent much of the last couple of years playing on a version of the Canadian Tour. The $10,000 first prize will be a nice wedding present after he was just married a month ago.
Amlung, a former standout at St. Xavier High School is still an amateur and will head back to the University of Cincinnati for a fifth year there.
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