Beatrice Prepped or Nebraska Girls' & Junior Amateur
Championship Begins Wednesday at Beatrice Country Club
BEATRICE (July 5, 2022) - Beatrice Country Club is set to host the 22nd Nebraska Girls' Amateur Championship and the 55th Nebraska Junior Amateur Championship, Wednesday through Friday this week.
The girls' championship has expanded this yer, so both championships feature 54 holes of stroke play, with 38 girls and 94 boys set to compete. Both fields will be cut following Thursday's second round, with 36 boys and 15 girls advancing, including ties.
The defending champion is back on the boys' side, with Omaha's Connor Steichen returning after winning last year at Fremont Golf Club. He'll try to become the first player to win back-to-back titles since Omaha's Alex Schaake won three straight in 2014-2016. He's paired with Doniphan's Ethan Smith and Omaha's Kolby Brown for the first two rounds.
There is no defending champion on the girls' side, as the 2021 Champion, Nicole Kolbas of Lincoln, is competing in the North and South Junior at Pinehurst Resort. There's just one past NGA champion in the field, Katie Ruge of Omaha. Ruge is the 2020 Nebraska Women's Match Play Champion, and is coming off a runner-up finish at the Nebraska Girls' Match Play Championship last month. She'll play with Scottsbluff's Anna Kelley and North Platte's Karsen Morrison for the first two rounds.
Omaha's Jackson Benge is another notable player on the boys' side. Benge had an incredible June, winning the Nebraska Junior Match Play in impressive fashion. The following week, he torched the field by eight strokes to earn medalist honors and one of two spots in the U.S. Junior Amateur with a 64 (-8) at Lochland Country Club in Hastings. He's paired with Brayden Schram of Hastings and Brock Kuhlman of Columbus.
The championship kicks off Wednesday at 8 a.m. at Beatrice Country Club, with boys in the morning and afternoon wave, and girls in just the afternoon. The girls will play in the morning on Thursday, with boys in both waves again. The final round scheduled for an 8 a.m. start on Friday.
It will be a record seventh time hosting the boys championship for the club, and a record fourth time for the girls championship.
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 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.
