GARDEN CITY, Kansas — Clayton King closed with a 4-under 68 Thursday to win the Southwest Kansas Pro-Am at 12-under 275, holding off playing partner Brendon Jelley by one shot to claim his first professional victory on the All Pro Tour.
King, of Uvalde, Texas, played all four rounds alongside Jelley across the tour’s two host courses, Golf Course at Southwind and Buffalo Dunes Golf Course, with the pair trading momentum to the finish. “It was a lot, man. It was a grind,” King said. “Today I got it going there on the back nine, but it was tough coming in. We got it done. I played with Brendan all four days, and he ended up finishing second, so we pushed each other to the end. It was awesome to get it done.”
The event opened in tough conditions, with a south wind pushing scores up across the field on day one. King explained that “Southwind was brutal the first day. I doubled my first hole right out of the gate, and then I got it back to a couple under, made a couple bogeys, but got in the house with even par and wasn’t sure where that was going to stand,” he said. “It just kept getting better and better throughout the day as scores kept getting higher and higher. South wind was survival. Out here there are some tough holes, but there are some gettable holes too, so you try to survive on a few and take advantage of the others.”
King carried that game plan into Thursday’s final round, where he found himself in the last group. “I didn’t really know what to expect being in the final group. It’s my first final group in the final round of a professional tournament, so I didn’t know how I was going to feel,” he said. “I felt like I handled it pretty well and got more and more comfortable as the round went on. I was able to string together some good shots, hit it close, make some putts, and got it done.”
King’s win also punches his ticket to the tour’s season-ending High Stakes Showdown, presented by L’Auberge Casino Resort and the Lake Charles Sports Authority, in November. He fell just short of the nine-hole knockout event a year ago. “I missed the shootout by like maybe a shot or two last year, so I’m excited to get back to it,” King said.
Jelley finished runner-up at 11-under 276 after a final-round 69. Kyle Hogan and Alec Brown tied for third at 10-under 277, with Hogan making the week’s biggest final-round move, jumping eight spots on a closing 6-under 66. A four-way tie for fifth at 9-under 278 included Shawn Stefani, John Sand, Devyn Pappas and Parker Bell, who opened the tournament with a 78. After making the cut, he went on to tie the course record with a third-round 62, the low round of the tournament.
Hunter Bott and Travis Vick shared ninth at 8-under 279, while a trio of Ian McCrary, Andrew Beckler and England’s George Toone tied for 11th at 7-under 280. Joseph Abella and Jacob Bergeron rounded out the group inside the top 15, tying for 14th at 6-under 281.
The Southwest Kansas Pro-Am is an official event on the All Pro Tour, a developmental circuit that serves as a pathway to the Korn Ferry Tour and PGA Tour. King’s win earns him a spot in the tour’s High Stakes Showdown, capped by a nine-hole single-elimination finale this November in Lake Charles, Louisiana.
Travis Humphrey
ANNIKA WAPT Media & Communications
travis@kgsportsco.com
