Gutschewski, Mittag Share Nebraska Junior Golfer of the Year Award
First Shared Award Since 2011
OMAHA (November 22, 2023) - The Nebraska Golf Association is proud to announce the selection of Elkhorn's Trevor Gutschewski and Ashland's Coltrane Mittag as the 2023 Nebraska Junior Amateur Co-Golfers of the Year.
Gutschewski, a junior at Omaha Westside, earns his first award and joins his brother Luke, who won in 2020. Mittag, a homeschooler in the class of 2026, also wins for the first time after a historic achievement this summer.
Gutschewski, the son of PGA Tour player Scott Gutschewski, won the official points race on the strength of a stellar month of July. He nearly pulled off a final round comeback at the 56th Nebraska Junior Amateur Championship at Lochland Country Club in Hastings. Gutschewski fired a closing 69 (-3) to finish just a stroke back of the champion, Beau Petersen of Gretna. He was 5-under par over the last two rounds, earning runner-up honors, after winning the year prior.
A couple weeks later, Gutschewski again closed strong at the 115th Nebraska Amateur, firing rounds of 68 (-4) and 72 (E) over the weekend to finish 12th at 290 (+2). That also earned him Low Junior honors by a significant margin.
Gutschewski also made the Round of 32 at the Nebraska Junior Match Play, and was runner-up at the NSAA Class A state championship. Nationally, he finished tied for 18th at the North & South Junior Amateur, and third at the AJGA Salt Lake Junior.
Although it did not count in the point standings, Gutschewski led Team Nebraska at the 38th Kansas-Nebraska Junior Cup at Landmand Golf Club in Homer, winning all three of his matches.
Mittag did not compete in any NebGolf championships, but picked up a win on one of the biggest stages in junior golf. He won the North & South Junior Amateur at Pinehurst Resort in North Carolina, one of the premier junior events in the country. Mittag shot rounds of 69 (-3) and 65 (-7) on the No. 8 Course to take the lead into the final round, where he carded a 71 (+1) for a 205 (-9) total. That left him in a playoff with North Carolina native Daniel McBrien, and Mittag triumphed in the playoff to become the first Nebraskan to win the North & South Junior.
Another strong performance came at the 2023 Western Junior, another premier national junior event, where Mittag finished tied for fourth at Midlothian Country Club in Illinois. He finished with a 280 (E) total, including a third round 66 (-4), which was tied for the low round of the tournament. Mittag also finished inside the top 10 in three other high-level AJGA events, and is currently ranked 34th in the Rolex AJGA Rankings.
Locally, Mittag won the Nebraska Junior PGA Championship by an impressive six strokes with a 133 (-11) total at The Pines Country Club in Valley. He also won a 2022 NJG Fall Junior Series event, and finished tied for third in two others, earning himself a spot on the FJS All-Star Team. Those events count towards this year's point standings.
Gutschewski and Mittag will be honored at the Nebraska Golf Association's annual awards banquet on Friday, December 1 at Omaha Country Club. In addition, NebGolf will recognize its Amateur Golfer of the Year, Women’s Amateur Golfer of the Year, Girls’ Amateur Golfer of the Year and Senior Amateur Golfer of the Year.
For more on the award, link 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.