Kansas Leads 39th Kansas-Nebraska Junior Cup after Day One
Four-Ball and Foursomes Matches Conducted Wednesday at Hallbrook Country Club
LEAWOOD, KAN. (July 31, 2024) - Kansas won both sessions on Wednesday, to take the lead at the 39th Kansas-Nebraska Junior Cup, after the first day of matches at Hallbrook Country Club in Leawood, Kansas.
Kansas won the morning Four-Ball Session, 2.5-1.5, and turned around to win the Foursomes Session in the afternoon, 2.5-1.5. That gave Kansas a 5-3 lead after the first day.
Omaha's Tommy Kelley and Connor Steichen were the only team to win a Four-Ball match in the morning, defeating Overland Park's Tyler McNeive and Leawood's Chance Rinkol, 2 and 1. Prestin Vilai of Grand Island and Carson Kildow of Lincoln played in the second match behind Kelley and Steichen, and managed to get a half point when Vilai rolled in a clutch birdie putt on the 18th hole.
However, Kansas took the next two matches in convincing fashion and took a 2.5-1.5 lead after the first session.
The afternoon Foursomes went back-and-forth, but once again, Nebraska grabbed the lead match. Omaha's Trevor Gutschewski and Jackson Benge teamed up to win the U.S. Junior Amateur last week, with Gutschewski raising the trophy with Benge as his caddie. They picked up the only win for Nebraska in Foursomes as well, defeating McNeive and Rinkol, 2 up.
Kildow and Vilai were able to get another half point, despite being 3 down with three holes to play. They won the last three holes of the match against Olathe's Myles Tarvin and Overland Park's Parker Bennett to keep Nebraska within striking distance.
Singles matches begin at 7:30 a.m. on Thursday. Nebraska needs to get to 8 points to retain the Cup, while Kansas will need 8.5 to reclaim it.
Full results and additional information is available at the Junior Cup website below.
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.
