Karmazin and Petersen Both Go Back-to-Back
Final Round Conducted Tuesday at Awarii Dunes Golf Club
AXTELL (June 12, 2024) - Omaha's Julia Karmazin and Gretna's Beau Petersen both repeated on Wednesday at Awarii Dunes Golf Club in Axtell, with Karmazin winning the 24th Nebraska Girls' Amateur Championship and Petersen taking the 57th Nebraska Junior Amateur Championship.
The Final Round was highlighted by difficult conditions, with the wind blowing 20-30 mph throughout the day and temperatures nearing triple digits. Karmazin and Petersen battled through though, with Karmazin putting together a 79 (+7) to win by three strokes with a 224 (+8) total. Petersen shot the low round on the boys' side, a 73 (+1), to win by one stroke at 213 (-3).
It's just the second time that two players have won in back-to-back titles in the same years. Wahoo's Hannah Thiele and Omaha's Alex Schaake each won consecutive titles in 2014 and 2015. That was also the last time a player repeated in either championship, with Schaake also going on to win in 2016 for three-straight.
Karmazin held a healthy lead throughout the round, but Lincoln's Olivia Lovegrove made a run and had cut the lead to two strokes when she finished her round. The drama unfolded on the boys' side though, as Petersen was locked in another battle with Omaha's Trevor Gutschewski, the 2022 Champion. Petersen, who will play for Northern Illinois University this fall, won by a stroke over Gutschewski last year.
Gutschewski held the lead after eight holes, after they started on No. 10, but Petersen birdied the par-5 18th to tie the lead. The lead changed hands after Gutschewski bogey on No. 1, and again after he birdied No. 2 and Petersen made bogey. However, after another bogey on No. 3, Petersen turned it around for the home stretch. He birdied three of the final six holes, including Nos. 4 and 6 to take the lead.
Both players found the par-5 ninth in two, but Petersen was on the front tier, while Gutchewski was inside 15 feet on the back tier near the hole. Petersen rolled his eagle putt to about five feet, before Gutschewski left his a few inches short and tapped in for birdie. That gave Petersen a putt for the win, and he rolled in the birdie to secure another title.
Gutschewski, a Florida commit, carded a 75 (+3) to finish runner-up for a second-straight year with a 214 (-2) total. He's earned a medal (Top 10) each of the last four years, with a win and two runner-up finishes.
Karmazin, who is headed to play golf at Creighton in the fall, started her bid with a double-bogey on No. 1, and made the turn in 43 (+7), but her lead stayed in tact through the difficult conditions. She then made six-straight pars to start the back nine, and it looked like she'd cruise in for the win.
Lovegrove had other plans though, playing a few groups ahead of Karmazin. She started her round birdie-birdie, and was putting together an incredible round. Lovegrove, who will be a Husker in the fall, saved par on No. 17 after hacking out of the native grass and wedging her third shot close. She then knocked it on the par-5 18th hole in two and two-putted for birdie to close out a round of 71 (-1), tied for the second-lowest in championship history.
Meanwhile, Karmazin had her first blemish of the back nine, a bogey on No. 16. She made a clutch up-and-down on No. 17 though to head to the last with a two-stroke lead. Karmazin laid up just short of the green and pitched just past the hole, rolling in the birdie putt for an exclamation point and a three-stroke win.
Lovegrove finished runner-up with a 227 (+11) total. Her 71 (-1) was also the low round of the day by six strokes.
Lincoln's Isabella Elgert and Naryn Kim tied for third at 232 (+16), while Fremont's Ansley Giesselmann and Lincoln's Elly Honnens tied for fifth at 233 (+17). Eden Larson of Lincoln took seventh at 235 (+19), and Brooke Thiele of Wahoo was eighth at 238 (+22). KayLynn Jorgensen of Minden finished ninth at 239 (+23), while Berwyn's Camryn Johnson rounded out the Top 10 at 244 (+10).
Jackson Benge of Omaha, the 36-hole leader, rebounded from a tough start to finish tied for third at 218 (+2) with Sam Vocelka of Omaha. Grand Island's Prestin Vilai took fifth at 221 (+5), and Fremont's Drake Hull was sixth at 223 (+7).
Kearney's own Nash Malone and Lincoln's Miles Elgert tied for seventh at 224 (+8), with Omaha's Christopher Whittle finished ninth at 225 (+9). Omaha's Jacob Cosimano and Kingston Solomon tied for 10th at 226 (+10).
In addition to their trophies, Karmazin and Petersen each earned exemptions into USGA championships. Both the Nebraska Girls' Amateur and Nebraska Junior Amateur are USGA Exemption Events. Karmazin earned a full exemption into the 75th U.S. Girls' Junior Championship at El Caballero Country Club in Tarzana, California, July 15-20, 2024. Petersen earned a full exemption into the 76th U.S. Junior Amateur Championship at Oakland Hills Country Club, Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, July 22-27, 2024.
Full results are available at the championship websites below.
Nebraska Girls' Amateur Championship
Nebraska Junior Amateur Championship
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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.
