Gutschewski, Petersen to Face-off in Youngest Nebraska Match Play Final
Quarterfinals and Semifinals Conducted Thursday at Country Club of Lincoln
LINCOLN (June 27, 2024) – Omaha's Trevor Gutschewski and Gretna's Beau Petersen will face-off in the youngest final in championship history after both advanced through Thursday at the 57th Nebraska Match Play Championship at the Country Club of Lincoln.
More records will fall on Friday following the 36-hole Final, as the winner will be the youngest champion and the first junior champion at the Nebraska Match Play. Gutschewski, 17, and Petersen, 18, will continue a rivalry that has developed over the past couple years. Gutschewski, the 2022 Nebraska Junior Amateur Champion, has finished runner-up to Petersen the last two years, while Petersen won his back-to-back titles.
The previous youngest final was in 1974, when Omaha's Tom Sieckmann (19) and Tony Pesavento (17) faced off at Sky View Golf Course in Alliance, with Sieckmann becoming the youngest champion at the time. Aurora's Caleb Badura later became the youngest champion at 19 years, two months and six days when he won in 2019.
Gutschewski, a University of Florida commit in the Class of 2025, needed just 30 holes to get through his matches for the second-straight day. He made eight birdies in his Quarterfinal match against Omaha's Jake Boor, and went on to win, 3 and 2. Gutschewski shot 32 (-4) on the front nine, and was only 1 up over Boor.
However, Gutschewski added three birdies in the first five holes on the back nine and took a 3-up lead. He closed out the match on No. 16, despite hitting his tee shot out-of-bounds, saving bogey to match Boor's bogey.
Petersen, who is headed to Northern Illinois in the fall to play golf, went down early in his Quarterfinal match against Omaha's Dylan McCabe, but won Nos. 8 and 9 to take a 1 up lead. A birdie on No. 13 put Petersen 3 up, and he closed out the match with three-straight pars to win, 3 and 2.
The Semifinals featured three junior golfers and a mid-amateur. A mid-amateur has won this championship the last two years, after a long stretch of college golfers winning. Gutschewski faced his Omaha Westside teammate Jackson Benge of Omaha, the 2022 Nebraska Junior Match Play Champion. Petersen took on the mid-amateur, Glenn Bills of Bennington.
Gutschewski came out firing against Benge, making birdie on the first three holes to go 3 up. He didn't slow down either, reaching 5 up through six holes. The two traded holes for a while, with Benge birdieing No. 7 and Gutschewski nearly making eagle on No. 8. Gutschewski rolled in another birdie on No. 10, but Benge chipped in for birdie on No. 12 to cut the lead to 4 up.
The lead was too great though, as Gutschewski made his sixth birdie of the match on the par-5 13th hole to get his lead back to 5 up. He followed with a great bunker save on the par-3 14th, and after Benge's birdie putt rolled by, the match was over with Gutschewski winning, 5 and 4.
The other Semifinal was a closer match, with Bills taking an early 2-up lead, but Petersen fought back to tie the match after the front nine. Petersen then rolled in a birdie on No. 10 to take the lead, but Bills tied the match again with a par on No. 12. The momentum shifted when Petersen chipped in for birdie on No. 15. He also won No. 16 with a par to go 2 up with two holes to play.
Bills reached the par-5 17th in two, and nestled his eagle putt up for a makable birdie attempt. Petersen didn't give him the chance though, as he poured in a birdie putt from about 12 feet to end the match, 2 and 1.
The 36-hole Championship Final begins at 7:30 a.m. on Friday, with the second 18 expected to start around 11:30 a.m. The updated match play bracket and more are available on the championship website below.
Nebraska Match Play 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.
