Kosmicki Wins Marathon Final at 58th Nebraska Match Play
NIOBRARA (July 18, 2025) – Grand Island's Henry Kosmicki outlasted Omaha's Jackson Benge to win the Final of the 58th Nebraska Match Play Championship in 38 holes at Tatanka Golf Club in Niobrara on Friday.
It was a back-and-forth Final that went extra holes for just the third time in championship history. The second longest match in Nebraska Match Play history ended on the 38th hole, after Kosmicki rolled his eagle putt to a few inches for a conceded birdie on the par-5 second.
Kosmicki, a rising senior at Hastings College, earns his first NebGolf title. The Grand Island Senior High graduate played 143 holes to secure the win at Tatanka. Three of his matches went the distance, and none lasted fewer than 16 holes.
The Final started with some fireworks, as Kosmicki rolled in a 35-foot putt for birdie and also birdied No. 2 to take a 2-up lead. The marathon match commenced from there, as Kosmicki and Benge tied just 13 of the 38 holes they played.
Benge won No. 8 and birdied No. 9 to tie the match at the turn. He briefly took the lead after a birdie on No. 13 and another win on No. 14, but Kosmicki won Nos. 15 and 16 with conceded birdies to reclaim his lead. He never trailed again. After tying the last two holes of the first 18, Kosmicki took a 1-up lead into the second 18 holes.
The second 18 started the opposite way, as Benge won with a par to tie the match. However, Kosmicki birdied No. 2 for the second of three tries on the day to regain his lead. It was the start of a roller coaster afternoon, where they tied just five of 18 regulation holes.
Benge birdied No. 4, but Kosmicki won No. 5 with a par. A birdie on the short par-4 sixth by Benge tied the match again, but Kosmicki pulled the reversal on him on the par-5 ninth. Benge hit an incredible second shot up the hill to 10 feet, while Kosmicki was just short of the green. Kosmicki converted his up-and-down for birdie, while Benge three-putted for par to lose the hole.
The back-and-forth turned up on the back nine, as Benge won No. 10 and Kosmicki won No. 11 with a long putt for birdie. Benge won No. 13 with a birdie, while Kosmicki took No. 14 with a par. A conceded birdie for Benge on No. 15 tied the match, but Kosmicki stuck his approach shot on No. 16 close and knocked in the birdie.
Benge two-putted for par from the same place on No. 17 that he three-putted in the morning, while Kosmicki just missed a par save, and the match was tied heading to the 36th hole. Benge reached the green in two, and two-putted for birdie, while Kosmicki dropped a four-foot birdie putt to force extra holes.
Both players made par on the first extra hole, No. 1, and Kosmicki reached the par-5 second hole in two with a hybrid up the hill from 228 yards. Benge was in the greenside bunker and hit a great sand shot to 10 feet. Kosmicki rolled his eagle putt to tap-in range for a conceded birdie, and Benge's birdie putt to extend the match lipped out.