He kicks footballs on Friday nights. Now, he might be state’s best golfer, too.
As his fellow competitors faltered on the back nine of the University Club of Kentucky’s Big Blue Course on Sunday, Lexington Catholic’s Charlie Spiller kept things simple: find fairways, hit greens, make pars.
Coming to the 565-yard, par-5 16th hole, Spiller knew he was among those in contention atop the leaderboard of the two-day KGCA All State Championships, an event that has brought Kentucky’s top high school boys and girls golfers and teams together in Lexington each of the last five years.
“I started checking the scores after I finished my ninth hole,” Spiller said. “I just hit a lot of greens today. I hit 17 out of 18 greens and made a lot of pars. ... I was trying to stay calm and collected the whole day.”
Spiller’s two-putt birdie on the 16th put the 6-foot-1 senior into the lead with two holes to play. He finished Big Blue with a bogey-free round of 4-under par on the day and a combined 5-under par for the tournament, good enough for a two-shot margin and the biggest win of his high school career. His two closest competitors each had bogeys down the stretch.
“I think it’s really huge for me because I was able to prove to myself that I can win against all these players, especially this year,” said Spiller, who doubles as LexCath football’s kicker on Friday nights. “Going into regions and semi-state and the state tournament, it feels great to know that I can win any given week.”
The Kentucky Golf Coaches Association’s annual All State Championships come just before the KHSAA’s region and state tournaments and serve as a top-flight tune-up for the postseason since only the top 15 boys and girls teams and the top 21 individual golfers outside those teams are invited. The boys and girls golfers play both the Wildcat and Big Blue courses at the U Club on alternating days.
Madison Central, the two-time defending KHSAA boys team state champions, lost out in a two-hole playoff to St. Xavier for the All State team title. Both teams finished a combined 4-over par. The Indians’ Jake Feldhaus and Seth Barker finished second and third in the individual standings, respectively, after a scorecard tiebreaker broke apart their 3-under par tallies.
On the girls’ side, Sacred Heart’s Keira Yun won her second straight KGCA All State individual title and helped the Valkyries capture their second straight All State team title. The Valkyries are also defending KHSAA state champions.
Yun, who placed second at last year’s KHSAA state tournament, finished Sunday as the only girls golfer under par with a two-day total of 2-under (70-71—141). The Valkyries as a whole ran away from the field, finishing at 39-over par, 15 strokes ahead of second place Lexington Christian. Madison Central’s girls finished third.
LCA’s Carter Lankford led the Eagles with a fourth place individual finish at 6-over par. Just a junior, Lankford is the oldest player on a young team. The Eagles roster this weekend also featured two sophomores, an eighth grader and a seventh grader. The seventh grader, Piper Dunn, aced Big Blue’s 128-yard, par-3 third hole on Saturday and had a team-low 73 in the opening round.
“I’m really proud of us,” Lankford said. “It wasn’t always perfect. We definitely had our rough moments. But overall we had a good finish. It’s definitely a confidence booster. It’s always great to have a good finish heading into regionals.”
Defending girls Region 9 champion Kylah Lunsford, a senior at Henry Clay who earned the KGCA’s Miss Golf honor last year, finished third with a 3-over par 146, one stroke behind Rowan County’s Athena Singh.
“I battled something that I couldn’t control today, and I’m pretty proud that I shot 73,” said Lunsford, who could be seen blowing on her fingers between shots to combat what she said was “a reaction” she was having in her hands. “My putting wasn’t the best, but you’re not going to have a great putting day every day, so I guess I’ll take it.”
All of the competitors have a little more than a week to prepare for their respective region tournaments, which are one-day qualifiers for the KHSAA’s State First Round events next month.
For Lexington and Central Kentucky golfers, the Region 9 girls tournament tees off on Sept. 24 at the University Club at Arlington in Richmond. The boys tournament tees off at Gibson Bay Golf Course in Richmond a day later.
KGCA All State Championships
Top teams and individual medalists from the two-day KGCA All State Championships at the University Club of Kentucky’s Big Blue (par 72, 6,808/5,552 yards) and Wildcat (par 71, 5,633/6,615 yards) courses. Complete results online at golfgenius.com/pages/10366928314941062850
GIRLS INDIVIDUAL STANDINGS
1. Keira Yun, Sacred Heart, -2, 70-71—141; 2. Athena Singh, Rowan County, 2, 75-70—145; 3. Kylah Lunsford, Henry Clay, 3, 73-73—146; 4. Carter Lankford, Lexington Christian, 6, 76-73—149; 5. Katie Roberts, Marshall County, 6, 77-72—149; 6. Reagan Ramage, Cooper, 9, 80-72—152; 7. Madison Glisson, Ballard Memorial, 9, 73-79—152; 8. Morgan Kennedy, Boyd County, 11, 79-75—154; 9. Emma Lindemoen, Sacred Heart, 12, 77-78—155; 10. Abigail Caine, Woodford County, 13, 78-78—156.
GIRLS TEAM STANDINGS
1. Sacred Heart, +39 (611); 2. Lexington Christian, +54 (626); 3. Madison Central, +63 (635); 4. Marshall County, +83 (655); 5. Owen County, +108 (680); 6. South Warren, +111 (683); 7. Franklin, +116 (688); 8. Bowling Green, +128 (700); 9. West Jessamine, +130 (702); 10. Assumption, +136 (708).
BOYS INDIVIDUAL STANDINGS
1. Charlie Spiller, Lexington Catholic, -5, 70-68—138; 2. Jake Feldhaus, Madison Central, -3, 69-71—140; 3. Seth Barker, Madison Central, -3, 69-71—140; 4. Griffin Barke, South Oldham, -2, 70-71—141; 5. Barton Rutledge, Allen County-Scottsville, -2, 69-72—141; 6. Layton Richey, Greenwood, -2, 70-71—141; 7. Landon Hunt, McCracken County, E, 71-72—143; 8. Weston Hardy, St. Xavier, E, 74-69—143; 9. Evan Taylor, George Rogers Clark, E, 71-72—143; 10. William Hudson, Trinity, E, 72-71—143.
BOYS TEAM STANDINGS
1. St. Xavier, +4 (576)*; 2. Madison Central, +4 (576); 3. South Oldham, +18 (590); 4. Trinity +23 (595); 5. Lexington Christian, +37 (609); T6. George Rogers Clark, +42 (614)**; T6. North Laurel, +42 (614); 8. McCracken County, +44 (616); 9. Marshall County, +46 (618); 10. Owensboro, +50 (622).
*Tie broken on second hole of sudden-death playoff; **Ties broken by scorecard tiebreaker rules.
Girls Region 9 Tournament
▪ Sept. 24 at the University Club at Arlington in Richmond.
Boys Region 9 Tournament
▪ Sept. 25 at Gibson Bay Golf Course in Richmond.
Golf State Championships
First round at Eagles Nest Country Club in Somerset
▪ Boys: Sept. 30.
▪ Girls: Oct. 1.
Final round at Bowling Green Country Club
▪ Boys: Oct. 7-9.
▪ Girls: Oct. 10-12.
