Ruge, Gutschewski Take Junior Amateur Crowns
Final Round Conducted Friday at Beatrice Country Club
BEATRICE (July 8, 2022) - Omaha's Katie Ruge held on to win the 22nd Nebraska Girls' Amateur Championship, while Elkhorn's Trevor Gutschewski cruised to win the 55th Nebraska Junior Amateur Championship, Friday at Beatrice Country Club.
Ruge collected her second NGA championship, firing a final round 76 (+4) to win by two strokes with a 226 (+10) total. Gutschewski sealed a wire-to-wire win with a 71 (-1) for a five-stroke victory with a 213 (-3) total.
In 2020, Ruge won the Nebraska Women's Match Play Championship, and in her final summer as a junior, she secured her first girls' title. She was three strokes back after the first round, and then entered the final round tied for the lead. Ruge made nine total birdies in the first two rounds, but only one during the final 18 holes.
Still, she took charge early with the birdie coming on No. 6 to pull her within one stroke of Omaha's Julia Karmazin, who double-bogeyed No. 7 to give Ruge the lead. Karmazin also doubled the par-3 eighth hole and Ruge had a lead she would not relinquish.
After a few pars to finish the front nine, Ruge turned in 36 (E). Despite a double-bogey on No. 10 and back-to-back bogeys on Nos. 14 and 15, Ruge still held a one-stroke advantage over Karmazin. North Platte's Karsen Morrison threatened the lead as well, lipping out an eagle putt on the par-5 14th and nearly making birdie on the par-3 15th as well to move within three strokes.
Ruge righted the ship though, and made three solid pars down the stretch to close out the win by two strokes over Karmazin, who finished with a final round 78 (+6) to take runner-up honors at 228 (+12).
Gutschewski did not have any trouble making birdies, rolling in five during his round. He shot par or better for the third straight round, the only player in the field to do so. Gutschewski joins his older brother Luke, who won in 2020, as a Nebraska Junior Amateur Champion. Their father, Scott, is a professional on the PGA Tour.
It wasn't quite the hot start Gutschewski had during the first two rounds, but he still made two birdies on his opening nine, the front nine at Beatrice CC, and made the turn in 37 (+1) to still hold the lead. Omaha's Kolby Brown was making a run, while the defending champion, Connor Steichen of Omaha, was in the mix as well until the last four holes.
Brown was 2-under through his first six holes, and tied for the lead, but a triple-bogey on the par-5 16th dropped him back. He made two birdies early on the second nine, but bogeys on Nos. 6 and 7 kept him too far back of Gutschewski to threaten down the final two holes. Brown took runner-up honors at 218 (+2) with a final round 73 (+1).
Steichen just couldn't get the putts to drop. He made an early birdie on No. 12, but did not make another one. He was still within striking distance until bogeys on three of the last four holes dropped him into a tie for third at 219 (+3) with Brock Kuhlman of Columbus. Kuhlman shot a 74 (+2), while Steichen posted a 76 (+4).
Lincoln's Thomas Bryson and Omaha's Will Mullin tied for fifth at 220 (+4), while Lincoln's Will Toposlki and Hastings' Brayden Schram tied for seventh at 221 (+5). Topolski fired the round of the championship, a 69 (-3).
Zac McCormack of Omaha was ninth with a 222 (+6) total, and three players tied for 10th with a 223 (+7) total. That group included the 2022 Nebraska Junior Match Play Champion, Jackson Benge of Omaha, as well as Ryan Severs of York and Teddy Peterson of Omaha.
On the girls' side, Morrison took solo-third at 231 (+15) with a final round 78 (+6), while Scottsbluff's Emily Krzyzanowski shot the best final round, a 75 (+3), to finish fourth with a 232 (+16) total. Wahoo's Brooke Thiele carded a 76 (+4) to take fifth with a 236 (+20) total.
Lincoln's Ellynne Honnens and Omaha's Emily Karmazin tied for sixth at 238 (+22). Sarah Lasso of Columbus was eighth at 242 (+26), and rounding out the Top 10 was Lincoln's Naryn Kim and Omaha's Madison Murnan at 243 (+27).
Final results are available under the Scoring tab of the championship websites below, along with additional information.
Nebraska Girls' Amateur Championship
Nebraska Junior Amateur Championship
About the NGA
The Nebraska Golf Association, founded in 1966, is comprised of all members of public and private clubs and/or municipal or regional golf associations which utilize an approved handicap service recognized by the USGA and provided by the NGA. Our mission is to uphold and promote the game of golf and its values to all golfers in Nebraska. Among the duties of the Association include governance of member clubs and service as their handicapping and course rating authority, conduct of state golf championships, local USGA qualifying & other notable competitions, promotion of junior golf, presentation of worthwhile educational programs and support of allied golf organizations in Nebraska. The Nebraska Golf Association is an Allied Golf Association of the USGA and carries out core services including Handicap Administration and Oversight, Course Rating, Rules of Golf and Rules of Amateur Status, Tournaments and USGA Championship Qualifiers and USGA Initiatives and Community Programs.
