Ruge Takes Control at 49th Nebraska Women's Amateur
Round Two Conducted Tuesday at Fremont Golf Club
FREMONT (August 1, 2023) – Omaha's Katie Ruge took control during Round Two on Tuesday and holds the lead at the 49th Nebraska Women’s Amateur Championship at Fremont Golf Club.
Ruge, a Kansas Jayhawk, entered the day trailing the first round leader, Husker golfer Miu Takahashi, by one stroke, but that quickly changed and Ruge held on during a difficult scoring day to shoot 76 (+5) and take the lead by two strokes at 148 (+6).
Takahashi, a junior from Nasu-machi, Japan, made a double-bogey on the par-3 10th hole to start her day, and with Ruge making par, the lead switched hands. Ruge, a two-time NebGolf champion, played steady golf from the get-go, making eight-straight pars to start her round. Takahashi bounced back though, with birdies on Nos. 12 and 14 to retake her lead at even-par.
However, it was a bogey on No. 16 that dropped Takahashi back into a tie with Ruge, and she wouldn't regain the solo lead again. Both players bogeyed No. 18, but Ruge played the first three holes of the front nine in even-par, while Takahashi played them in 3-over.
After a double-bogey, bogey stumble on Nos. 4 and 5, Ruge made three pars on the final four holes to maintain her lead. That included a run at birdie on No. 9, and a tap-in par for the two-stroke lead.
Takahashi played the last five holes in 4-over to shoot 80 (+9) and fall into a tie for third at 151 (+9). She's tied with Papillion's Sydney Taake, who had the round of the day going after making the turn in 34 (-2) to tie the lead. However, she played the front nine in 43 (+8) to shoot 77 (+6) and also finish at 151 (+9).
The actual round of the day went to Wahoo's Lauren Thiele, who jumped 12 places on the leaderboard with her 71 (E). Thiele was tied for 14th after a 79 (+8) in the first round, but her even-par performance tied the low round of the championship and moved her into second at 150 (+8), just two strokes behind Ruge.
Thiele, a two-time Nebraska Girls' Match Play Champion, avoided the bogeys and double-bogeys that were rampant on Tuesday. She made just two bogeys, and added two birdies during her round. Thiele, who plays for Wichita State, made the turn in 35 (-1) after birdies on Nos. 13 and 18, and after a bogey on No. 2, she cruised in with seven-straight pars. She was outside the Top 5 when she finished, and slid into second as the leaders behind her ran into trouble down the stretch.
Danica Badura of Aurora, the 2020 and 2021 Champion, was in the mix as well, making a stretch of four-straight pars from Nos. 4-7 to get within one of the lead at 7-over. However, she finished double-bogey, bogey on the toughest two holes on the course, Nos. 8 and 9, to finish at 152 (+10). It was a round of 78 (+7) for Badura, who sits in fifth, four strokes behind.
A large group sits in a tie for sixth at 153 (+11), including Julia Karmazin of Omaha, Eden Larson of Lincoln, Allison Comer of Kearney, Nicole Hanson of Lincoln and Olivia Lovegrove of Lincoln.
The final round begins Wednesday at 8 a.m., with the leaders, Ruge, Thiele and Taake set to tee-off at 9:20 a.m. Pairings for the final round are available on the championship website below, along with the scoring page and additional information.
Nebraska Women's Amateur 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.
