Nebraska Girls' & Junior Match Play Fields Set for Wayne
WAYNE (June 18, 2023) - The field is set for the 61st Nebraska Girls' Match Play Championship and the 34th Nebraska Junior Match Play Championship at Wayne Country Club this week.
The Championship will begin on Monday, June 19 with an 18-hole Stroke Play Qualifier, with 32 girls competing for 16 spots and 93 boys competing for 32 spots in the match play bracket.
Two rounds of matches will be conducted on Tuesday, followed by two more on Wednesday. The girls' final is scheduled for Wednesday afternoon, while the boys' final is Thursday morning.
There will be a new champion crowned on the girls’ side, as Kaitlyn Hanna is in college and no longer eligible to compete. On the boys' side, the defending champion Jackson Benge is in the field, looking for his second NebGolf title.
Multiple NSAA State champions are set to compete, including the 2022 NSAA Class A Champion Nicole Kolbas of Lincoln, who won the 2021 Nebraska Girls Amateur Championship. Last week, she also qualified for the 2023 U.S. Girls' Junior Championship at Eisenhower Golf Club. She's paired with the 2022 NSAA Class C Champion Olivia Lovegrove, and NSAA Class B Runner-Up Julia Karmazin, who was individual medalist at last year's Nebraska Girls Match Play.
2021 Nebraska Girls' Amateur Champion - Nicole Kolbas of Lincoln
On the boys’ side, Elkhorn's Trevor Gutschewski, and Omaha's Connor Steichen join Jackson Benge with NebGolf Hardware. Benge won the 2022 Nebraska Junior Match Play, Trevor Gutschewski won the 2022 Nebraska Junior Amateur, and Steichen won the 2021 Nebraska Junior Amateur.
2021 Nebraska Junior Amateur Champion - Connor Steichen of Omaha
Two NSAA high school champions are in the field, including Porter Topp of Omaha, who won the Class A title at Omaha Westside last month. Treyton Baehr of Beatrice (Class B) is also set to compete, and will both tee it up alongside Grand Island's Bowdie Fox in Monday's Stroke Play Qualifier at 9:10 a.m. off No. 1.
Also in the field is Gretna's Beau Petersen, who qualified for the U.S. Junior Amateur Championship last week, and will be competing at Daniel Island Club in South Carolina in July. He tees it up with Connor Steichen and Omaha's Kingston Solomon at 9:00 a.m. off No. 10.
Wayne Country Club hosted the Girls Match Play in 2001 and 2007, and the Nebraska Junior Match Play in 1994 and 2005. The par-72 course will measure 6,407 yards for the boys and 5,836 yards for the girls.
Groupings and starting times for Monday's Stroke Play Qualifying round are available under the Pairings tab of the championship websites below.
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.
