Former Ryle High School golfer Tanner Lorms qualified for the Kentucky Match Play Championship at Heritage Hill Golf Course in Shepherdsville. Lorms, a Raiders state qualifier and fifth at last year’s KHSAA regional tournament, finished in a three-way tie for 14th during last week’s Open Division stroke play qualifier. He carded an 18-hole score of 3-over-par 75 and made the 15-man cut for the championship bracket.
Lorms, heading to Queens University of Charlotte, took on University of Louisville’s Clay Pendergrass in a Round of 16 match. Pendergrass, medalist in the qualifying round, is the 2021 Kentucky Mr. Golf runner-up. The former Madison Central star was the No. 3-ranked player in the Kentucky class of 2023. Something had to give. Pendergrass prevailed, 3 and 1.
Pendergrass, from Gibson Bay Golf Course, won seven holes and halved six. Lorms, affiliated with Triple Crown Country Club, won Nos. 3, 4, 14 and 15. They were even after five holes, but Pendergrass went 2-up after winning Nos. 6 and 7 and eventually went 4-up after 13. Pendergrass won it on 17. At that point. Lorms had a score of 68, compared to 65 for Pendergrass, who eventually lost in the match play semifinals.
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NKU’s Muller Appears In Two POY Standings
Points are piling up and standings are sorting out as the golf season wraps up the dog days of summer. Several area golfers appear in Kentucky Golf Association and Greater Cincinnati Golf Association player of the year standings. Last week, we took a look at locals in the GCGA player of the year standings. This week, we take a gander at the golfers who are in good standing at the KGA.
There’s no better place to start than with Northern Kentucky University’s Luke Muller, formerly of Highlands. The one-time Bluebird is pulling off a rare double. He appears in two golf player of the year standings in two different states. Muller has a history of doubling his pleasure as a former Highlands golf and basketball standout. But this takes the cake. Muller is among the top 15 men’s amateur golfers in both Kentucky and Greater Cincinnati.
Muller, a senior at Northern Kentucky University, is 15th in the KGA player of the year standings. He rests at 400 points in two events and is the highest sitting northern Kentucky golfer in the standings. Muller was previously 13th. But recent finishes by Clay Pendergrass gave him 402 points. That moved Pendergrass out of a tie for 74th and just past Muller into 14th place.
Muller picked up all 400 of his points with a fifth-place finish at the 105th Kentucky State Open. A tie for 31st at the 110th Kentucky State Amateur kept him from adding on. He plays out of Highland Country Club in Fort Thomas.
Muller is ninth in the Greater Cincinnati Golf Association player of the year standings. He has collected 117.5 points in two events. He picked up 67.5 points with an eighth-place tie at the 84th Northern Kentucky Amateur Championship. Muller added 50 points by making the Round of 16 at the 115th Tony Blom Greater Cincinnati Metropolitan Amateur Championship.
Cooper’s Ramage Ranked By KGA, KHSAA
Cooper golfer Reagan Ramage is 11th with 420 points in the KGA women’s player of the year standings. She received all of her points with a second-place tie at the KGA Women’s Stroke Play Championship.
Ramage is quite active away from KGA play during summer, limiting her offseason involvement on tour. She’s also one of Kentucky’s best prep golfers at Cooper. She is a four-time KHSAA Region 7 individual champion. She’s also a two-time Northern Kentucky Athletic Conference champ and two-time first-team all-state.
Halfway through the 2024 high school golf season, Ramage is 13th in the KHSAA all-state points standings. She has totaled 380, the second highest point total in the area. The senior has verbally committed to play golf at Western Kentucky University.
Hansel from Florence is No. 1
Florence’s Scott Hansel is first in the KGA Amateur Series Gross Masters Division player of the year standings. He has collected 50 points at four tournaments. He earned 20 points with a tie for first at the KGA Am Series event #3 at Winchester. Hansel received 13 points with third place at the KGA Am Series event #1 at Traditions. He collected 11 points with a fifth-place tie at the KGA Am Series event #2 at Oxmoor. He added six points with a 10th-place tie at the KGA Am Series event #4 at Audubon.
Hansel is third in the KGA Amateur Series Net Masters Division player of the year standings. He has 31 points collected at the same four tournaments. He received 15 points for his first-place tie at the KGA Am Series event #3. Hansel earned 10 points for a sixth-place finish at the KGA Am Series event #1.
Covington’s Caldarelli Currently Second, Third
Scott Caldarelli from Covington is second in the KGA Amateur Series Net Seniors Division player of the year standings. He has 41 points at four events. Caldarelli’s four top-10 finishes have propelled him to near the top. He’s just five points from division leader Peter Huestis (46) from Louisville.
Caldarelli earned 13 points with a third-place tie at KGA Am Series event #1 at Traditions. He received 11 points each for two fifth-place ties. He recorded those at the KGA Am Series event #4 at Audubon and KGA Am Series event #2 at Oxmoor. Caldarelli earned six points with a 10th-place tie at KGA Am Series event #3 at Winchester. Caldarelli is third in the KGA Amateur Series Gross Seniors Division player of the year standings. He has accrued 38 points collected at the same four events.
Burlington’s Baysinger Top 10 On Two Lists
Burlington’s Jared Baysinger is ninth in the KGA Amateur Series Open Division player of the year standings. He has 24 points in three events. Baysinger totaled 12 points with a fourth-place tie at the KGA Am Series event #1 at Traditions. He scored 11 points with a fifth-place tie at KGA Am Series event #4 at Audubon. He earned one point with an 18th-place tie at KGA Am Series event #2 at Oxmoor.
Baysinger is sixth in the KGA Amateur Series Open Division Net player of the year standings. He has 15 points in two events. He received 14 with a second-place division finish at KGA Am Series event #1. Baysinger earned one point for a 19th-place tie at KGA Am Series event #2.
Florence’s Brown In Good Standing
Larry Brown from Florence appears in two KGA player of the year standings. He’s fifth in the Amateur Series Net Legends standings with 32 points in four events. He received 13 points for a third-place finish at KGA Am Series Event #1 at Traditions. He earned eight points for a eighth-place tie in KGA Am Series event #3 at Winchester.
Brown collected six points for a 10th-place tie at KGA Am Series event #4 at Audubon. He earned five points for an 11th-place finish at KGA Am Series event #2 at Oxmoor. Brown is in a tie for 13th in the Amateur Series Gross Legends standings. He has 15 points from the same four events.