As darkness set in at Bowling Green Country Club, Marshall County senior Jay Nimmo dropped in a par putt on the first playoff hole on #18 to win the 2020 KHSAA State Golf Championship individual title for the second straight year. Nimmo and Cooper High School’s Rylan Wootherspoon finished their two-day rounds tied a 3-under par (141) to force the playoff.
Nimmo began the second day of the state tournament in a 3-way tie for first at 4-under par with Wotherspoon and Christian Academy Louisville’s Matthew Troutman.
He bogeyed four holes and birdied four to remain even par and still 4-under after the front nine. On his back nine, Nimmo double-bogeyed #11, but amid seven pars, found a birdie on #16 to get back to 3-under and force the playoff with Wotherspoon who birded #18 to go to 3-under. Wotherpsoon would await the final holes from Nimmo and Taylor County’s Luke Coyle who also sat at 3-under until a bogey on the 17th dropped him back to 2-under par to just miss out on the playoff.
The Marshals finished third in team standings (307-315=622), eight strokes behind first place Trinity-Louisville (300-314=614) and four behind second place Taylor County (314-304=618).
After Tuesday’s first round, Marshall County was second in team standings at 307 (+19), seven strokes back of Trinity (Louisville) at 300 (+12). Lexington Christian was third at 313 (+25) and 2019 State Champion Taylor County fourth at 314 (+26).
Marshall County’s first day individual scores behind Nimmo’s 4-under 68, Trey Wall finished with 74 (+2), Preston Futrell 81 (+9), David Jack Morris 84 (+12) and Camdyn McLeod shot 90 (+18).
Individual First Region players making the cut for day two included St. Mary’s Peyton Purvis (-2) tied for third, Trigg County’s Hunter Reynolds (+8) and Sammy Greenwell (+9) from Crittenden County. Not making the cut, First Region tournament runner-up Rocco Zakutney (+10) from St. Mary, Murray’s Grant Whitaker (+10) and Davis Vessels (+11) and Tyler Dew (+15) both from McCracken County.
Purvis finished the tournament 2-under par (70-72=142) which tied for third overall, just one stroke away from making the playoff. Reynolds T40 at +15 (80-79=159) and Greenwell finished T68 at +24 (81-87=168).
Day two dawned brighter for Marshals senior McLeod, whose front nine was nine strokes better than the day before and he finished 13 strokes better for the round at 5-over 77 to close out his great career for the Marshals.
Marshall County final scores and placements:
1 – Nimmo -3 (68-73=141)
T32 – Wall +12 (74-82=156)
56 – Futrell +20 (81-83=164)
T63 – McLeod +23 (90-77=167)
T84 – Morris +31 (84-92=175).
Nimmo wraps up his illustrious 8-year career as a member of the Marshall County team with his back to back individual state titles as he heads to play for Mississippi State next fall. He won the 2019 individual title (-3) by two strokes which earned him Kentucky’s Mr. Golf honors.