Awarii Dunes Set for Nebraska Girls' and Junior Amateur
Championship Begins Monday at Awarii Dunes Golf Club
OMAHA (June 7, 2024) - Awarii Dunes Golf Club in Axtell is set to host the 24th Nebraska Girls' Amateur Championship and the 57th Nebraska Junior Amateur Championship, Monday through Wednesday next week.
Both championships feature 54 holes of stroke play, with 26 girls and 106 boys set to compete. The fields will be cut following Tuesday, with the low 36 scores and ties on the boys' side and the low 15 scores and ties on the girls' side advancing.
The 24th Nebraska Girls' Amateur Championship and the 57th Nebraska Junior Amateur Championship are both official USGA Exemption Events, which carry exemptions into the 75th U.S. Girls' Junior Championship at El Caballero Country Club in Tarzana, California, and the 76th U.S. Junior Amateur Championship at Oakland Hills Country Club in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan.
The boys' field features the last three champions, a rarity for a junior championship. The defending champion, Beau Petersen of Gretna, is back for his last shot at the title. He could be the first player since Alex Schaake of Omaha to repeat. Schaake won three-straight titles from 2014-2016. Petersen is headed to Northern Illinois University in the fall to play golf.
Elkhorn's Trevor Gutschewski, the 2022 Champion, returns as well. The Florida commit is coming off a runner-up finish at the NSAA Class A Boys Golf Championship, and recently was the only Nebraskan to advance through qualifying for the 2024 U.S. Junior Amateur championship. Gutschewski also finished runner-up to Petersen at last year's Nebraska Junior Amateur, mounting a final round comeback with a 69 (-3).
Omaha's Connor Steichen won the 2021 title, and is coming off a win at the NSAA Class A Championship, where he birdied the final hole to win by a stroke over Gutschewski. Steichen is headed to UTEP to play golf this fall.
Julia Karmazin of Omaha is the defending champion on the girls' side, after winning her first NebGolf title last year at Lochland Country Club in Hastings. She's coming off a top 10 finish at the Nebraska Women's Amateur Championship last week, and is looking to become the first to repeat since Wahoo's Hannah Thiele in 2014-15. Karmazin will continue her golf career at Creighton this fall.
The 2023 Nebraska Girls' Match Play Champion Naryn Kim of Lincoln is in the field as well. She was the youngest champion with her win at 12-years-old last year. Kim also finished tied for seventh with Karmazin last week. The Low Junior from the 2024 Nebraska Women's Amateur, Elly Honnens of Lincoln, is in the field as well.
The last two Nebraska Junior Match Play Champions are also competing, with Jackson Benge of Omaha and Owen Tucker of Lincoln paired together with Sam Wells of Saint Paul.
Thomas Bryson of Lincoln, the 2022 Nebraska Junior Amateur Golfer of the Year, is paired with Steichen in Monday's morning wave. They'll play with Nash Malone of Kearney, who was in the playoff for the final spots at the U.S. Junior Amateur Qualifier last month.
The championship kicks off Monday at 8 a.m. at Awarii Dunes, with boys in the morning and afternoon wave, and girls just in the afternoon. The girls will play in the morning on Tuesday, with boys in both waves again. The final round is scheduled for an 8 a.m. start on Wednesday.
Awarii Dunes Golf Club will be hosting both championships for the first time, but has been the venue for several other NebGolf championships. The par-72 layout designed by Jim Engh will play 5,846 yards for the girls and 6,875 yards for the boys.
Groupings and starting times for the first two rounds of the championship are available under the Pairings tab of the championship websites below.
Nebraska Girls' Amateur Championship
Nebraska Junior Amateur Championship
About NebGolf
The Nebraska Golf Association (NebGolf), 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 NebGolf. 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.
