HELENA — Add the Montana Men's State Amateur championship to Kade McDonough's decorated golf résumé.
McDonough, an alum of Missoula Sentinel High School and now a golfer at Abilene Christian University, surged in the final round Saturday to rally and outpace the field at the Montana State Golf Association's 109th men's amateur at the Green Meadow Golf Club.
McDonough shot a 5-under 65 on Saturday for a one stroke edge over Max Milton, a golfer at Polson High School who shot 1-under 69 in the final round. McDonough shot 67, 69 and 65 to finish -9 for the three-day tournament. Milton went 67, 66, 69 to close at 8-under.
McDonough finished second at last year's state amateur, coming in behind champion Payton Taylor of Missoula by one stroke. Taylor finished this year's tournament in third place, finishing at 7-under.
McDonough's career achievements also include three State Match Play titles, a victory at the prestigious Don Barnett Memorial, and wins at the local U.S. Open qualifier in 2025 and the Class AA state high school tournament in 2020.
He is also a three time winner of the Schwartz Award, which goes to the junior/youth golfer with the lowest scoring round at the state am.
The 20-year-old McDonough busted out Saturday, carding birdies on Nos. 4, 6 and 9 to make the turn at 3-under par for the round. He made birdie on No. 11, then strung three more in a row on Nos. 14, 15 and 16. McDonough held on to win despite a double bogey on 18.
McDonough was three shots back of the lead at the start of the day. Milton, the 2024 Class A state high school champ, had two birdies in the final round and made bogey on No. 18.
"My approach today was a little different," McDonough said in a video posted to social media by the MSGA. "I made a lot of bogeys (Friday). I was fortunate to have seven birdies along with that. Today I just tried to keep it in front me, tried not to think too much about the shots coming after the next shot, and I think it was pretty good."
McDonough was in fifth place entering the final round after shooting a 4-under 66 on Friday. He was in a four-way tie for the lead after the first round on Thursday, as he matched Milton, Carson Hackmann of Laurel and Caleb Myers of Lewistown with a 3-under 67.
Milton then surged into the lead in the second round on Friday, firing a 4-under 66 to take a one-shot advantage over Hackmann and Gordon Webb of Malta. Webb shot a 7-under 63 to vault up the standings in Round 2.
In addition to McDonough's victory, Bill Dunn of Missoula won the Senior Amateur title on Sunday while Steve Bell, also of Missoula, was the Super Seniors champion.
