Nebraska Rolls Through Day One at Junior Cup
Four-Ball, Foursomes Matches Conducted Tuesday at Landmand Golf Club
HOMER (August 8, 2023) – Team Nebraska rolled through the first day of matches on Tuesday at the 38th Kansas-Nebraska Junior Cup and have a commanding lead at Landmand Golf Club in Homer.
Nebraska jumped out to a big lead in the morning Four-Ball session for the second-straight year, 3.5-0.5. However, unlike last year, Nebraska also dominated the afternoon Foursomes, sweeping the session, 4-0, to take a 7.5-0.5 lead after the first day.
The leaderboard was red from the start, with Gretna's Beau Petersen, the 2023 Nebraska Junior Amateur Champion, and Elkhorn's Trevor Gutschewski putting up a 3-and-2 win in the first Four-Ball match of the day. Omaha's Porter Topp and Connor Steichen followed soon after with a 3-and-2 win over their own.
Omaha's Sam Vocelka and Lincoln's Owen Tucker, the 2023 Nebraska Junior Match Play Champion, fought back from a 2-down deficit, winning four of the last five holes to take a 1-up win in their match. Lincoln's Thomas Bryson and Omaha's Jackson Benge tied their match with a birdie to win the 18th hole.
After taking the commanding lead, in the afternoon Foursomes, Nebraska continued to keep the foot on the gas, sweeping the session. Bryson and Tucker, Lincoln Southeast teammates, paired up to win their match, 4 and 3. Steichen and Vocelka closed out their match, 3 and 1, after Vocelka drove it close on the 17th green for the second-straight round.
The other two matches were flipped down the stretch and went to the 18th hole. Petersen and Topp won the 17th with a birdie to take a 1-up lead, and then closed out the match with a birdie on the 18th, to win 2 up.
Big swings happened in the last match on the course, as Benge and Gutschewski were 3 up at one point in their match, but saw their lead dwindle away and the Kansas team took charge with a 2-up lead. However, the exciting finishing stretch at Landmand Golf Club proved to be a momentum changer. The Nebraska team won No. 16, and then birdied No. 17 with Gutschewski rolling in the putt in the alternate shot format. Gutschewski then rolled in a 30-foot putt on the 18th hole to secure the win, and the sweep.
Captain Jake Hirz's Nebraska team needs just one point in Wednesday's Singles matches to reclaim the Cup from Kansas, which has held it the past three years. The record winning margin is also in play, with Nebraska setting that record in 2007, winning 12.5-3.5.
Additional information, including full results and Singles pairings, 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.
