Takahashi Completes Comeback at 49th Nebraska Women's Amateur
Postponed Final Round Conducted Thursday at Fremont Golf Club
FREMONT (August 3, 2023) – After a long wait for the postponed Final Round of the 49th Nebraska Women’s Amateur Championship at Fremont Golf Club, Husker golfer Miu Takahashi charged back over the final nine holes to earn the win on Thursday.
Takahashi, a junior from Nasu-machi, Japan, held the first round lead after a 71 (E), but entered the final round three strokes back after a second round 80 (+9). Originally scheduled for Wednesday, the Final Round was postponed due to storms and excessive rain that made the course unplayable. The day off seemed to pay off for Takahashi, who fired a round of 74 (+3) to take the title by one stroke with a 225 (+12) total.
It was Omaha's Katie Ruge who held the lead entering the Final Round, and she maintained that throughout the front nine. With most of the field struggling on the difficult front nine, Ruge made just one bogey through the first eight holes and had pushed her lead to four strokes. Even a double-bogey on the hardest hole of the week, the par-4 ninth, gave her a front nine 38 (+3) and kept her lead at two strokes heading into the back nine.
Takahashi was amongst the group of players losing strokes on the front nine, as she made a quadruple-bogey on No. 3, and after a birdie on No. 8, she also closed the front nine with a double-bogey. It was a 41 (+6) for Takahashi, and that left her six strokes behind Ruge at 15-over.
The back nine was a different nine for most players, including Takahashi, who opened with a birdie on the par-3 10th. Ruge, on the other hand, made double-bogeys on both No. 11 and No. 12, losing her lead. Nearly everyone in the top 10 was in the mix, including Omaha's Julia Karmazin, Wahoo's Lauren Thiele, Aurora's Danica Badura and Lincoln's Eden Larson, who were all separated by two strokes.
Ruge briefly regained her lead with a dart into the par-4 14th. She rolled in the short birdie putt to get back to 12-over, but in the group ahead, Karmazin birdied the par-5 15th to tie the lead. Ruge found the fairway bunker on No. 15 and made bogey, and both her and Karmazin bogeyed No. 16 to lose another shot. That left Takahashi, who birdied No. 13 to get to 13-over, and Karmazin tied for the lead, with two holes to play.
Karmazin made a great par-saving putt on the short par-3, but Takahashi hit her tee shot close and rolled in the putt to take the solo lead at 12-over. A perfect drive down the 18th fairway, a safe approach and a two-putt par sealed the win for Takahashi.
Karmazin made another par putt on No. 18 to finish a stroke back, runner-up at 226 (+13). She was also the Low Junior for the second-straight year, after the low Final Round, a 73 (+2).
Badura and Ruge couldn't get closer than 14-0ver, and finished there, tied for third at 227 (+14). It was a closing 75 (+4) for Badura, while Ruge shot 79 (+8). Thiele couldn't get the birdie putts to drop down the stretch, and posted a 79 (+8) to finishin a tie for fifth with Papillion's Sydney Taake. Taake put together a great back nine to get into the top 5, making two birdies and an eagle for a 34 (-2) and a 78 (+7).
Larson was in the mix on the back nine, but a bogey on No. 15 and a double-bogey on No. 16 dropped her back into seventh at 230 (+17) with a 77 (+6). Omaha's Madison Murnan finished eighth at 234 (+21), while Lincoln's Elly Honnens was ninth at 236 (+23). Two players rounded out the top 10, with Scottsbluff's Emily Krzyzanowski and Emily Karmazin tied for 10th at 237 (+24).
In order to accommodate moving the Final Round into Thursday, the championship field was cut to the low 24 players. In the Tournament Division, Grand Island's Emily Schimbeno won Flight 1 with a 163 (+21) total, while Molly Goc of Columbus won Flight 2 with a 158 (+16) total.
Final results are available on the championship website below, along with 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.
