Rylea Marcum makes her mark with Kentucky Women's Amateur triumph

Rylea Marcum, a sophomore to-be at Eastern Kentucky University, demonstrated patience and resilience in winning the 94th playing of the Women’s Kentucky Amateur which wrapped up play on Wednesday at the University of Louisville Golf Club in Simpsonville, Ky.

After having an easy go of if with a 6 and 4 victory in her morning semifinal match against Sarah Fite, Marcum won a tightly contested title match against Kentucky fifth-year senior Sarah Shipley, 1 up on the 20th hole.

Marcum jumped out to a 2 up lead through four holes, but Shipley, winner of the 2019 Women’s Western Amateur, squared the match with wins on holes five and six. The match remained even until the par 5 13th, when Shipley went 1 up with a par. The two players halved the next four holes to bring the match to the 18th hole, where Marcum evened the match with a par. After exchanging pars on the first extra hole, Marcum claimed the title with a par on the 20th hole.

The victory for Marcum is the latest on a long list of impressive accomplishments she has accumulated since the mid-2010s. She was already the first player to ever win all age divisions of the Kentucky Girls Junior Amateur, she is a past USGA and PGA of America National Championship participant, a competitor of the North & South Junior Championship, but now she owns the most historic title in Kentucky women’s golf after today’s victory.

Great trophy meets great golfer. 🤝 Rylea Marcum has officially made her latest mark on Kentucky golf. 🏆

Press release 📰 https://t.co/8qkSGvytEK pic.twitter.com/W5HOrtWjzz

— Golf House KY ⛳️🏠 (@GolfHouseKY) June 23, 2021

“This feels amazing,” Marcum described after her final match. “This was only my second tournament of the year since the NCAA denied my eligibility in the spring, so it was just good to be back out and competing. Sarah Shipley is a really good player and forced me to play a good match out there. I ended up having to make some putts and keep my focus out there, but my dad (Shane) was super helpful throughout the day assuring me I was doing the right things and getting me through a day where I certainly felt a lot of nerves.”

Marcum is the fourth EKU golfer to win the state amateur following April Emerson (2009, ’11, ‘13), Becky Sharpe (2015) and Elsa Moberly (2016).

Several other divisions were contested this week which produced the following winners:

Catie Kelly – Championship Division First Flight
Candice Iceman – Mid-Am Division
Roz Tender – Senior Division First Flight
Jonnie McPeak – Senior Division Second Flight
Brenda Wilson – Senior Division Third Flight
Charlotte Logsdon – Senior Division Championship Flight

The Kentucky Golf Association contributed to this report.