Thiele, Hinze Go Wire-to-Wire for Titles
Final Round Conducted Wednesday at Meadowlark Hills Golf Course
KEARNEY (June 11, 2025) - Wahoo's Brooke Thiele won the 25th Nebraska Girls' Amateur Championship and Waco's Jaxson Hinze won the 58th Nebraska Junior Amateur Championship, both going wire-to-wire at Meadowlark Hills Golf Course in Kearney on Wednesday.
Thiele completes an incredible family feat with her first title. She joins her older sisters Haley (2013) and Hannah (2014 & 2015) as a Nebraska Girls' Amateur Champion. She's also the fifth Thiele sister to win a NebGolf Title, joining Haley and Hannah (5 titles each), Lauren (2) and Lindsey (1).
The youngest Thiele shot a final round 75 (+4) to close out the four-stroke victory with a 222 (+9) total. It's a young championship record since the Girls' Amateur expanded to 54 holes in 2022, breaking Julia Karmazin's 224 total last year.
Hinze looked like he might cruise to his title, but held on and secured the win in a playoff. He finished in a tie with Lincoln's Zack Erstad at 211 (-2), and defeated him on the second playoff hole with a par.
Hinze seemingly led the entire championship until Erstad birdied two of the last three holes, while Hinze played the same stretch in 1-over. Both players rolled in clutch par putts on No. 18 to force the playoff. A pair of bogeys on the first playoff hole (No. 16) move the contest to No. 17. Hinze and Erstad both hit great recovery shots after missing the green on the par-3, but Erstad's putt slid by and Hinze was able to roll in his par for the win.
There didn't seem to be a race early, as Hinze opened with three birdies in his first five holes to push his lead out, after leading following both the first and second rounds. However, the difficult stretch from No. 8 to No. 11 bit him, and he dropped from 6-under to 2-under. Hinze bounced back with a birdie on the par-5 12th, but the bogey on No. 16 eventually left him in a playoff after a 72 (+1).
Erstad's 69 (-2) was the second-lowest round of the day, and he was the only player to shoot par or better each round, finishing runner-up.
Thiele's path was also in question throughout the round, as she bogeyed three of her first five holes, and Lincoln's Eden Larson pulled even with her at 8-over. Thiele settled in, and Larson made a double-bogey on No. 16, their seventh hole, flipping the lead again.
However, Larson caught fire on the front nine. She made birdies on Nos. 2, 4 and 6 to vault into the lead at 7-over. Thiele matched her birdie on No. 6 to stay within a stroke, and then made a clutch long two-putt par on the difficult 8th to take the lead back after Larson made double-bogey.
Thiele's bogey on the last hole was enough, as Larson found trouble and made a quadruple-bogey eight. Larson finished runner-up at 226 (+13).
Minden's KayLynn Jorgensen and Lincoln's Isabella Elgert tied for third at 230 (+17). Madison Murnan of Omaha and Ansley Giesselmann of Fremont tied for fifth at 231 (+18).
Stella Sedlacek of Columbus had the round of the championship, a 71 (E), which included a 32 (-3) on the back nine. She made a birdie-2 on No. 17, and then holed out for an eagle-2 on No. 18 from 127 yards with her 7-iron. The round was one stroke shy of the championship scoring record, and she finished tied for seventh at 238 (+25) with Atkinson's Daleni Knust.
Omaha's Chloe Diprima finished ninth at 240 (+27), and Molly Goc of Columbus was 10th at 242 (+29).
On the boys' side, Omaha's Tommy Kelley was in the mix after four birdies in a six-hole stretch, getting him to 2-under. However, bogeys on Nos. 16 and 17 dropped him out of contention. He was the low over the final two rounds though, shooting 67 (-4) and 70 (-1) to finish third at 213 (E).
Kearney's own Koji Kitabatake also made a run, with a wild stretch on the back nine. He made four birdies in five holes, but also made a triple-bogey on No. 12. He finished fourth after a round of 70 (-1), with a 214 (+1) total.
Nash Malone of Kearney and Carter Honnens of Lincoln tied for fifth at 216 (+3), while Christopher Whittle of Omaha and Grady Friedrichsen of Elkhorn tied for seventh at 217 (+4).
Four players rounded out the Top 10, with Valley's Harper Kalin, Milford's Zephyr Mowinkel, Omaha's Jack Kelley and Kearney's Tate Redinger tying for ninth at 218 (+5).
As official USGA Exemption Events, both champions will advance to national championships in July. Thiele earns an exemption to the 76th U.S. Girls' Junior Championship at Atlanta Athletic Club in Georgia. Hinze takes a spot in the 77th U.S. Junior Amateur Championship at Trinity Forest Golf Club in Texas.
Full results and more are available at the championship websites below.
Nebraska Girls' Amateur Championship
Nebraska Junior 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.
