Norfolk, NE – Presented by GolfTEC-Omaha, Nebraska Junior Golf hosted the first Premier event of the 2019 season. On a windy and chilly day, 93 junior golfers battled it out across five different divisions at Norfolk Country Club.
In the boys 12-13 division, Jackson Benge and Trevor Gutschewski went back and forth throughout the entire round but Benge was able to come out on top. Benge began his round with back to back pars on the first two holes before he was able to get into the red numbers with a birdie on hole 3. Benge was able to hold off Gutschewski and he finished at 82 (+10) to win his first career Premier event.
“It feels good to win with such a competitive field and at a tough course, and it feels even better to get my first Premier win,” said Benge.
In the girls 14-15 division, Brook Diekemper stayed ahead of the pack for the majority of the day and cruised to her first career Premier win after shooting a 91 (+19). With high school girls golf in the offseason, the Nebraska Junior Golf Tour allows Diekemper to work on her golf game so she will be ready to go for fall season.
“I enjoy playing on the Tour to prepare myself for the upcoming high school golf season as well as just bettering my overall golf game. I was able to get the win today, but I still can continue to work on my game going forward,” said Diekemper.
In the boys 14-15 division, the competition was intense with the top six finishers scoring just a few strokes apart from each other. Brock Kuhlman carded two important birdies on the day, and it ended up being enough to take home first in the division. Kuhlman finished at 79 (+7) and went on to win his first career Premier event, with three past winners finishing below him in the top six.
“It went pretty well out there, I started off strong on the front nine, but it was more of a battle on the back nine. All in all, it was a great day and I was able to come out of it with the victory,” said Kuhlman.
In the girls 16+ division, Nicole Kolbas continued her impressive run on the Nebraska Junior Golf Tour with yet another Premier victory. Kolbas shot one of the best rounds throughout all divisions behind three birdies and she finished at 78 (+6) on the day.
“It’s great to already be qualified for the end of the year NJG Championship, and today was a lot of fun, I am excited for the season,” said Kolbas.
Lastly, in the boys 16+ division, the drama was alive and well. After all players reported to the scoring table, we were left with a 4-way tie for first place. Geran Sander, Isaac Heimes, Blake Skoumal and Chris Rasmussen all finished at 76 (+4). The four players tee’d off on hole 10 to begin the playoff round. After the first hole, Sander and Heimes both parred while Skoumal and Rasmussen failed to move on. Then, Sander and Heimes went onto par and tie the next six holes, before Heimes sank nearly a 30 foot putt on hole 7, to birdie and win the Premier event.
“It was a lot of fun and before the playoff, I was also paired with Geran and we played the first 19 holes together. There were times I thought I lost, especially on hole 18 after Sander finished with a birdie, but in the end it was a lot of fun and I’m glad I was able to come out on top,” said Heimes.
After an awesome day on the course at Norfolk Country Club, Nebraska Junior Golf wrapped up the first Premier event of the season. Again, we want to thank GM, Gil Russell, PGA and Head Golf Professional Tom Johnson, PGA for hosting such an incredible event. We also want to thank GolfTEC-Omaha for sponsoring the event as well as the season’s future Premier Events.
