Kansas, Nebraska Knotted Up After Day One
Four-Ball, Foursomes Matches Conducted Wednesday at Rolling Hills Country Club in Wichita
WICHITA (August 3, 2022) – After the first day of matches on Wednesday at the 37th Kansas-Nebraska Junior Cup, nothing is decided and the teams are tied at Rolling Hills Country Club in Wichita, Kansas.
Nebraska jumped out to a big lead in the morning Four-Ball session, 3-1, but Kansas roared back in the afternoon Foursomes, taking the session, 3-1, to get back into a 4-all tie after the first day.
Nebraska led in all four Four-Ball matches at one point on the back nine, but had to battle just to secure its three points. Omaha's Kolby Brown and Elkhorn's Trevor Gutschewski ended their match early, defeating Giles Frederickson and Tyler Strong of Kansas, 4 and 2. Then, Brock Kuhlman of Columbus and Will Mullin of Omaha also closed out their match on No. 16, winning 3 and 2 over Deitrek Gill and Carson Baker.
Ashland's Coltrane Mittag and Hastings' Brayden Schram held a 1-up lead through 13 holes, but Ty Lasley and Jacob Fratzel of Kansas battled back to win 1 up with a birdie on the 18th hole.
The match of the day came from Omaha's Jackson Benge and Lincoln's Thomas Bryson, who faced each other in the Nebraska Junior Match Play final, but teamed up against Noah Holtzman and Easton Johnson in their Four-Ball match. Benge and Bryson combined for a 30 (-6) on the front nine, and were still only 1 up. The Kansas team won holes No. 14 and 16 with birdies, and Nebraska was 1 down with two holes to play. However, Bryson dropped a long birdie putt on No. 17 in the side of the cup, and Benge hit it tight on No. 18 and buried the birdie for a 1-up win. Benge and Bryson shot a Four-Ball 63 (-9), while Holtzman and Johnson shot 64 (-8).
In the afternoon Foursomes, Kansas responded, winning three matches by large margins. Baker and Gill won 4 and 3 over Brown and Mullin, Strong and Frederickson won 6 and 5 over Gutschewski and Benge, and Lasley and Fratzel won 4 and 3 over Kuhlman and Schram. The lone win for Nebraska was Mittag and Bryson, who took down Holtzman and Johnson, 3 and 2.
Captain Jake Hirz's team needs 4.5 points in Thursday's Singles matches to reclaim the Cup from Kansas, which has held it the past two years.
Additional information, including full results and Singles pairings, is available at the Junior Cup website below.
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.
