Kim Becomes Youngest Champion, Bryson, Tucker in Boys' Final
WAYNE (June 21, 2023) - Lincoln's Naryn Kim became the youngest champion at the 61st Nebraska Girls' Match Play Championship at Wayne County Club on Wednesday, and Lincoln's Thomas Bryson and Owen Tucker will play Thursday in the Final of the 34th Nebraska Junior Match Play Championship.
Kim won the last two holes of the Final to defeat Lincoln's Nicole Kolbas, 1 up, to earn her first NebGolf trophy. The 12-year-old is the youngest champion in Nebraska Girls' Match Play history, besting the record of Sarah Sasse-Kildow, who won at 12 years, 11 months in 1993. Kim is 12 years and 5 months old.
Kolbas, who finished runner-up for a second time in this championship, took charge of the match early, making birdie on No. 4 for the first lead. After Kim won No. 5 with a par, Kolbas answered by winning the next two to go 2 up. Kim followed with another par-win on No. 8, but Kolbas again came back with a birdie on No. 10 and a par on No. 11 to win both and go 2 up.
Kim made her move on the next two holes though, rolling in birdies on Nos. 12 and 13 to cut Kolbas' lead to 1 up again. After three-straight holes were tied, Kim took advantage of the last two holes and won both with pars to secure the 1-up win.
On the boys' side, Tucker had himself a day, taking down the No. 1 seed and defending champion, Jackson Benge of Omaha in the Quarterfinals, 3 and 2. Tucker's putter was hot down the stretch, and he made birdies on three of the last four holes of the match to close it out.
Tucker then took on the reigning NSAA Class A Champion, Porter Topp of Omaha, and also an Omaha Westside teammate of Benge's, in the Semifinals. His putter stayed hot and he birdied the first four holes of the match to go 3 up, but Topp battled back to win four of the last five holes on the front nine and actually took the lead at the turn, 1 up.
Tucker righted himself on the back nine though, winning three of the first four holes, including birdies on Nos. 11 and 13, to regain the lead. Back-and-forth they went though, as Topp made birdies on Nos. 14 and 16 and Tucker was conceded a birdie on No. 15, leaving Tucker 1 up with two holes to play. They tied the last two holes, and Tucker pulled out the 1-up win to advance to the final.
Bryson also had to battle to make it to the final, as he was 1-down to Prestin Vilai of Grand Island through 12 holes of his Quarterfinal match, but rallied by winning three of the last five holes, including the 18th hole to win the match, 1 up.
Last year's runner-up, Bryson, then opened his semifinal match with Omaha's Tommy Kelley by making three-straight birdies. Bryson pushed his lead to 3 up at the turn with a nice up-and-down for birdie on the par-5 ninth, and followed with a long birdie putt on No. 10 to go 4 up. Kelley made a birdie on the par-4 15th to cut into the lead, but Bryson was able to close out the match on the next hole with a birdie for a 3-and-2 win.
Bryson and Tucker are teammates at Lincoln Southeast High School, and will be facing off in the 34th Nebraska Junior Match Play Championship Final at 7:30 a.m. on Thursday. The updated brackets are available under the Scoring tab of the championship websites below, along with additional information.
Nebraska Girls' Match Play Championship
Nebraska Junior 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.
