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Texas Roadhouse West Kentucky OPEN |
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Saturday and Sunday
August 1-2, 2009
Drake Creek Golf Club
Click on this link for your 2009 Tournament Application
09_wko_application
Congratulations to our Inaugural 2008 WKO Champions
AMATEUR: Brandon Tucker, Madisonville, Kentucky (-3)
PROFESSIONAL: Justin Fetcho, McLeansboro, IL (-11)
Click on the link below to see all the results
wko2008results
Tucker, Fetcho win at Drake Creek
Early clubhouse score forces playoff
BY DUSTY LUTHY
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LEDBETTER, Ky. — The last two amateur groups to go through the final holes of Drake Creek Golf Club’s Texas Roadhouse West Kentucky Open championship were almost all a stroke away from victory or of a multi-player playoff.
Paducah’s Chris Griffin was 3-under going into the par-4 18th hole, thinking he just needed to make par to win. After missing a birdie by a few inches, Griffin raised his hand in triumph when his short put went in for par.
The hubbub died down, though, once officials took another look at the score-board. Coming in nearly two hours and six groups earlier and listed at the bottom of the championship scorecard was Brandon Tucker — also 3-under par. Tucker, who had the good sense to wait around and see what happened before leaving the course, was placed in a sudden-death playoff with Griffin starting on the 18th hole. And there, without much fanfare or attention, Tucker beat Griffin with a birdie. The Madisonville golfer hasn’t played many tournaments this year, staying busy with a 2-year-old daughter. With a 72 on Saturday, Tucker shot a 69 Sunday to win. “We got off to a good start,” Tucker, 31, said. “I birdied the first two holes, had a few hiccups in the middle, and then played well at the end.” This was the last tournament for Griffin before heading back to the golf program as a junior at Murray State this fall. He won the Benton and Ken-Tenn invitationals earlier this summer. “I was just going by what some people said,” Griffin said about his early celebration. “I got beat by a birdie. I didn’t beat myself. “It felt good to be in a play-off.” Dustin Korte of Metropolis, Ill., and David Morris of Mayfield finished in a tie for third with a score of 71-71–142. Morris played the back nine Sunday with four con-
secutive birdies.
In the professional division, Justin Fetcho continued his dominance, winning his first tournament as a professional. Fetcho, of Eldorado, Ill., turned in an 11-under par 133 and a first-day score of 65 as a new course record. Following the Hooters Pro Golf Tour, Fetcho had just worked in a trip to the Illinois Open while taking a break from the tour before coming to Drake Creek. As a recently-turned pro, the $1,800 winner’s purse was a nice accomplishment for playing the course for the first time this weekend. “I had been playing well lately,” Fetcho said. “This golf course is pretty straight-forward. There aren’t a lot of surprises.” The former John A. Logan College golfer double-bogeyed the last hole on Saturday and double-bogeyed his first hole Sunday to allow his other group mates to catch up. He then birdied holes 2-4 and never looked back. Fetcho also played at the Pespi/Super Valu Irvin Cobb Championships in July, tying for sixth place. This is the first year for Drake Creek to hold the West Kentucky Open and has already set aside the same weekend next year for what golf pro and course owner
Todd Butts plans to be an annual event. “We’re trying to let people know we’re here,” Butts said. “I’m thrilled with the golf course, and I’m thrilled with the players.” Ten of the 18 pros turned in under-par scores for the tournament. “Even the guys that didn’t place shot lights out,” Butts said.
With the promise of sponsorship from Texas Roadhouse and a dedicated week-end date, Butts hopes to attract more than 25 pros at next year’s event. Fetcho said that’s not out of the realm of possibility. “For the first year without anybody knowing about it,” Fetcho said, “I’m sure it’s going to build up.”
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