Transylvania All-American who became a coach at EKU is dominating Kentucky golf.

Immediately upon entering Justin Tereshko’s 11th-floor office inside Commonwealth Hall on the Eastern Kentucky University campus, you recognize that you’re in the presence of someone who has had a productive summer.

The two large silver trophies on the left side of the room are Tereshko’s, for now, after winning both the Kentucky Amateur Championship and the Kentucky Open in the span of six weeks from mid-June to late July.

A letter of invitation prominently featured at the front of Tereshko’s desk confirms his spot in the United States Amateur Championship, to be played in mid-August in Colorado.

Tereshko qualified for the U.S. Amateur during that same six-week stretch.

Two lanyards hanging near the closet on the right side of the room display Tereshko’s credentials as both a player in the upcoming U.S. Amateur and as a caddie for former EKU men’s golf assistant coach and current UK assistant Chip McDaniel in July’s PGA Barbasol Championship.

These accolades are all independent of Tereshko’s job as EKU’s men’s golf coach: He’s about to begin his second season leading the Colonels.

So when he looks at it all, he knows the collection of accomplishments hasn’t fully registered with him yet.

“I don’t think I’m going to quite grasp what I’ve done until probably sometime this winter,” Tereshko told the Herald-Leader this week.

“Even me looking at both trophies right now, it’s still a little surreal.”

Tereshko, a 33-year-old native of Madison, Indiana, has been the man this summer on the Kentucky golf circuit.

First came a long-awaited victory in June at the Kentucky Amateur Championship at Kearney Hill Golf Links in Lexington. Tereshko won the 109th edition of the event, a triumph made sweeter by the fact he finished as the runner-up in 2018 after a playoff.

A vacation to Hilton Head Island in South Carolina meant Tereshko didn’t touch a golf club for more than a week after winning the tournament.

In early July, Tereshko went to Ohio and qualified for the 123rd edition of the U.S. Amateur, which will mark the fourth different U.S. Amateur he’s played in (2014, 2017 and 2020).

The final part of Tereshko’s “Triple Crown” came last week, with a commanding nine-stroke victory in the 104th Kentucky Open at Persimmon Ridge Golf Club in Louisville.

That victory came with plenty of historical significance: Tereshko is the first amateur to win the Kentucky Open in seven years, and just the 18th amateur to win the event since 1920.

Tereshko is only the fourth player to win both the Kentucky Amateur and the Kentucky Open in the same year, joining Jodie Mudd (1979 and 1980), J.B. Holmes (2004) and former EKU golfer Phil Hendrickson (2007).

His name is now engraved on the same trophy as legendary golfer Byron Nelson, who won the Kentucky Open in 1943.

Tereshko spent part of his Monday on Wikipedia confirming it was that Byron Nelson who won the 1943 tournament.

“I knew as long as I could handle the pressures of playing in a tournament, that I’d be OK because my game was in really good shape,” Tereshko said of his form entering this summer.

A two-time All-America golfer at Transylvania University in 2011 and 2012, Tereshko praised Brian Lane — the longtime men’s basketball and men’s golf coach for the Pioneers — with his growth as a golfer and person.

“Coach Lane is probably the one person that has (had) the single most impact on my professional and playing career, (more) than anyone,” Tereshko said. “He definitely helped me most in gaining perspective in the mental aspect of the game of golf.”

Tereshko — who said the only two golf swing lessons he’s received came while he was in middle school and at Transy — was essentially born into the sport.

His father, Bill, was the longtime golf coach (and football defensive coordinator) at NCAA Division III Hanover College in Indiana. Tereshko’s early years were often spent with his father on the golf course in the spring.

Bill will be Tereshko’s caddie in the U.S. Amateur.

“Just me being out there, because I didn’t really get to see him much in the fall just because he was busy all the time (coaching football),” Tereshko said. “So in the spring and summer, I would just go out on the golf course with him and that’s how it started.”

Soon after his graduation from Transy in May 2012, Tereshko began his coaching career. It was a decision made without much thought toward a potential pro career.

“I never once contemplated the idea of turning professional. ... If I was as good a player as I am now, if I was that player coming out of college, yes I probably would have,” Tereshko said. “At this point in my life, 33, married, two small kids, job that I love, being on the road and doing qualifying school and that stuff does not interest me in any way, shape or form.”

Tereshko’s time as a college coach has come with plenty of individual success in his own golf game.

From 2014 to 2018, Tereshko was the men’s golf head coach at NCAA Division III Guilford College in North Carolina, a span that coincided with his victories in the North Carolina Open (2015) and North Carolina Amateur (2017).

Recent years have seen Tereshko return to being a central figure in the Kentucky golf scene.

He was an assistant men’s golf coach at Louisville from 2018 to 2020, and was the head men’s golf coach at Bellarmine for the 2021-22 season before being hired at EKU in August 2022.

“Golf is not the end all, be all,” Tereshko said when asked why he thinks his individual game has gotten better with time.

“My 1- and 2-year old, they don’t have a dang clue what this is. ... I could have shot 95 in the final round, and when I come in (the door) the 2-year old would yell, ‘Daddy!’ and run and hug me,” he said.

“I have fun playing the game of golf right now and in tournaments and I know plenty of professional golfers that it’s not fun for them. ... I like the fact that I still get to play and play for fun.”

U.S. Amateur

Where: Cherry Hills Country Club (Cherry Hills Village, Colorado) and Colorado Golf Club (Parker, Colorado).

When: August 14-20.

Format: A starting field of 312 players will play 18 holes of stroke play on each of Aug. 16 and Aug. 17. After 36 holes, the field will be cut to the low 64 scores. Six rounds of match play begin Aug. 18 and the winner is crowned following a 36-hole championship match Aug. 20.

Reward: The U.S. Amateur winner is exempt into the 2024 U.S. Open and exempt from qualifying for the next 10 U.S. Amateur events. The winner is also likely to receive an invitation to the 2024 Masters.

History: Tereshko competed in the U.S. Amateur in 2014, 2017 and 2020. In 2014 edition, he reached the round of 32 and defeated current PGA Tour star Xander Schauffele in match play.

Watch: The round of 64, round of 16 and quarterfinals of the U.S. Amateur will air on the Golf Channel and Peacock from Aug. 16-18. The semifinal and championship matches will air on the Golf Channel and NBC on Aug. 19-20.