ELKHORN (July 19, 2021) – Aurora’s Danica Badura took charge from the start and leads the 47th Nebraska Women’s Amateur Championship after the first round at The Club at Indian Creek in Elkhorn on Monday.
Badura, the defending champion, posted a 69 (-3) for the low round of the day. She leads by just one stroke over Papillion’s Sydney Taake, but they are the only two players under par and are significantly separated from the field. The next closest player is Omaha’s Kaitlyn Hanna, who is third at 77 (+5), eight strokes off the lead.
It was a steady day for Badura, the University of South Dakota golfer who is looking to become the first player to win back-to-back Nebraska Women’s Amateur titles since Doniphan’s Danielle Lemek in 2015. Badura made four birdies and just one bogey during her round. After playing the front nine (Red Feather) in 34 (-2), she added back-to-back birdies on Nos. 14 and 15 to get to 4-under. Her lone bogey came on the par-5 16th hole, after her tee shot found the penalty area to the right.
Taake put together a flawless round of 70 (-2) to move into second. The soon-t0-be Omaha Maverick is coming off a runner-up finish at the Nebraska Girls’ Match Play Championship last week, and continued to play stellar golf on Monday. Taake also made the turn in 34 (-2), but made zero bogeys on the day, including on the difficult back nine (Black Bird), which is one of the host nines for the Korn Ferry Tour’s Pinnacle Bank Championship in a few weeks.
Hanna, the 2019 Nebraska Girls’ Amateur Champion, could not get the putts to drop and did not avoid the bogeys on the back nine. She’s still sitting in third though, and will be in the final group with Badura and Taake for Tuesday’s second round.
Wahoo’s Lindsey Thiele and Scottsbluff’s Emily Krzyzanowski are tied for fourth at 78 (+6), nine strokes back. Another pair of players are tied for sixth at 79 (+7), including Omaha’s Julia Karmazin and another Omaha Maverick, Mandi Granato.
Three players are tied for eighth to round out the top 10. That group at 82 (+10) includes Wayne State golfer Abbey Kurmel, North Platte’s Karsen Morrison and Bellevue’s Emma Mullendore.
Play begins at 8 a.m. for the second round, which will include the start of the Tournament Division. Pairings for the second round are available on the championship website below, along with the scoring page and additional information.
