Asher Whitaker becomes youngest Kansas Am winner in 97 years

Asher Whitaker, a junior-to-be at Kapaun Mt. Carmel High School in Wichita, Kan., became the youngest winner in nearly a century of the Kansas Amateur Championship when the 17-year-old defeated Alex Downing, 2 and 1, in the title match at Sand Creek Station Golf Club in Newton.

At age 17, Whitaker’s accomplishment had not been seen in the Kansas Am in nearly a century, as the youngest winner in the event’s 112-year history was Fred Salmons, who won the 1925 title at Wichita Country Club as a 16-year-old.

The championship match was a back-and-forth affair between Whitaker, a high school junior and Downing, a 2006 graduate from Buena Vista, an NCAA Division III school in Storm Lake, Iowa.

The match was even at lunch but it was Downing who found himself with a 2-up lead after 28 holes. Whitaker then made his move, winning the 29th and 30th holes with birdies. After Downing made a double bogey on the 32nd hole and a bogey on the 34th, Whitaker enjoyed a two-hole advantage with two holes remaining.

The Wichita, Kan. native closed out the match with a par on the par-3, 17th hole.

According to Kansas.com, it marks the second straight year a Wichita native won the Kansas Am title, following Cooper Schultz's victory last year at Crestview Country Club in Wichita.