WKU freshman edges 2017 Miss Golf to capture State Amateur title

A pair of college freshmen battled down to the wire for the Women’s Kentucky State Amateur Championship on Wednesday.

Lizzie Loy, who just completed her first season at Western Kentucky University, turned back a late charge from Lipscomb’s Sarah Hinton to capture the title on the first playoff hole of the match-play golf event at Danville Country Club.

Loy, a Russell County High School graduate, was 3-up on Hinton as the pair made the turn. Hinton, an Elizabethtown alumna, trimmed the deficit to one with a birdie on No. 15, then ran in another long birdie from a few feet off the front of the green on No. 17 to even the match. Both golfers parred No. 18 to send the match to a playoff, where Loy parred the first hole to seal the victory.

Loy, who was named 9th Region Player of the Year and a First-Team All-State selection after winning five tournaments as a senior at Russell County in 2017, competed in all 10 tournaments for the Hilltoppers this season. She had two top-20 finishes, including a tie for 12th at the Western Kentucky University Spring Break Shootout, and posted a stroke average of 77 on the year.

Hinton had a brilliant senior season at Elizabethtown. She was named First-Team All-State and 2017 Miss Golf, as well as the Kentucky Golf Coaches Association and Kentucky Golf House Player of the Year. Hinton finished 23rd in the Atlantic Sun Conference championship in April, leading Lipscomb with a final-round score of 81.

This story was originally published June 26, 2019 at 6:05 PM.