RICHMOND, Ky. – A pair of future Eastern Kentucky University golf team members won two summer events last week. April Emerson, who will join the EKU women’s team in the fall captured the title at the Kentucky Women’s State Amateur. Zack Butler, who will join the Eastern men’s team in the fall won the Kentucky PGA Junior Qualifier.
On Friday, Emerson won the 83rd Women’s State Amateur golf championship in a playoff at Cherry Blossom Golf and Country Club in Georgetown. Emerson connected on a 10-foot par putt on the third playoff hole to defeat Lydia Gumm.
In the quarterfinals on Thursday against Murray State’s Morgan Cross, Emerson was 2-up going into the 17th hole. Cross birdied the last two holes to tie, but Emerson birdied the first extra hole to advance to the semifinals. The future Colonel beat Middle Tennessee’s Karisa Akin, 3-and-1, to earn a spot in the finals against Gumm.
The Jamestown, Ky., native is a three-time all-state honoree and was selected by the Kentucky High School Coaches Association (KHSCA) as the Senior Girls Golfer of the Year in 2008. She helped Russell County High School capture the state championship in 2003 and 2004.
By winning the Kentucky PGA Junior Qualifier on Thursday, Butler earned a bid to the national Junior PGA Championship. The Lexington, Ky., native defeated Hunter Stewart in a playoff at the Maywood Course at Bardstown Country Club.