Canon Claycomb couldn’t have written a better script.

The outcome of who would advance to the U.S. Amateur Championship narrowed down to a four-way playoff between some of Kentucky’s best current and recent high school golfers.

There was Chase Landrum, the recent Glasgow High School graduate twice named Kentucky’s Mr. Golf. Then there was Cullan Brown, the defending and two-time state champion from Lyon County, and CJ Jones, the 2015 state champ from Franklin County.

Claycomb was the young gun of the group, the rising Greenwood sophomore who finished runner-up to Brown in the state tournament last fall at Bowling Green Country Club.

Yet, there the four were at No. 1 for a one-hole playoff, this time with one person guaranteed a trip to California, two selected as alternates and the last one staying home.

After a full summer of traveling the country, Claycomb’s biggest moment in his young golf career happened on his home course.

The 15-year-old Claycomb birdied No. 1 to win the hole, finishing with the second-best score in the 36-hole qualifier to automatically earn a spot in the 117th U.S. Amateur Championship on Aug. 14-20 at The Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades, Calif., and Bel-Air Country Club in Los Angeles.

“It honestly is a dream come true,” Claycomb said. “To be at home the past few days, I’ve had 12 to 15 people come out and watch.

“Bowling Green is one of the best cities on planet Earth. I love coming back here, I love the people here and I love Bowling Green Country Club. To do it here with the people here and my dad on the bag, it couldn’t have been written up better than it was.”

Claycomb fired a 5-under par 139 to finish third and two shots behind co-medalists Hunter Richardson and Bryce Lewis (who also both automatically qualified for the U.S. Amateur). The top two scores from 100 qualifiers in the country all advance to the U.S. Amateur with two alternates from each event.

Richardson, a Clarksville, Tenn., native and senior at the University of Tennessee at Martin, advances to his second U.S. Amateur while Lewis, a Hendersonville High School (Tenn.) senior and Middle Tennessee commit, tied for the win in his first Amateur qualifier.

Claycomb, Landrum, Jones and Brown all shot 5-under par 139 over 36 holes, which forced a playoff to determine the second qualifying score.

“It was terrifyingly cool,” Claycomb said. “I had three of my best buddies I play golf with. I said before we teed off, ‘I don’t want to win, but I don’t want to lose.’ They’re just good buddies and you wish all four of you could make it. Luckily, it was me.”

Claycomb birdied the par-4 in the playoff while Brown and Jones each hit par. Landrum, who will play for Western Kentucky in the fall, three-putted for bogey and missed out on an alternate spot.

Claycomb’s third-place finish is the highlight so far in a consistent year of golf. He’s had five top-five finishes in American Junior Golf Association events this fall and ranks No. 18 in the AJGA boys’ rankings. He ranks second in the country in the Class of 2020.

He fired a first-round 69 to tie for fifth after the first 18 holes. Lewis led the field at 6-under through the first 18 with Richardson trailing him by one stroke. WKU’s Billy Tom Sargent shot 4-under to tie for third after the first loop but collapsed with a 78 on the second round to finish at 146 (+2).

Lewis, who finished fourth in the Class 3A state tournament in Tennessee, shot a bogey-free first round but hit four in the second round and four birdies to finish the day 5-under. He was paired with Warren East alum and current Kentucky Wesleyan golfer Christian Tooley, who missed the four-man playoff by one stroke at 140.

Recent South Warren grad Dawson McDaniel shot a 147 and current Spartan CM Mixon fired a 153.

Former WKU golfer Will Beard shot even on the first 18, then went 1-under par on the final loop to finish at 143.

Lewis missed out on the U.S. Junior Amateur this year by four strokes. Playing against a talented field in his first U.S. Amateur qualifying attempt, he said, was a boost of confidence.

“There’s some good junior players and some amateur players that are kind of older,” Lewis said. “It was a strong field and I played well. That’s a confidence boost for sure.”

Richardson tied for the win in his first time playing at Bowling Green Country Club. He qualified for the U.S. Amateur in 2014 on a playoff. Richardson described his first U.S. Amateur experience as surreal where “you get treated like a king.”

Winners of the U.S. Amateur earn invitations to play in three of golf’s four major events: The Masters, The U.S. Open and the British Open. Past U.S. Amateur winners include golf’s biggest names such as Tiger Woods, Jack Nicklaus and Bobby Jones.

“I’ll get to play on Fox Sports and at Riviera Country Club where the history is endless,” Claycomb said. “I can’t wait.”