Stacked Field Ready for 21st Nebraska Mid-Amateur
FREMONT (September 27, 2019) - A stacked field is ready for the 21st Nebraska Mid-Amateur Championship this weekend at Fremont Golf Club.
It is the fourth time hosting for the club, which last hosted in 2015, when Omaha's Jon Deines won. The field of 81 players includes four past champions, two of which won their titles at Fremont Golf Club.
Omaha's Skip Gist won the second playing of the Nebraska Mid-Amateur in 2000 at Fremont Golf Club, while Lincoln's Travis Minzel won his second title in back-to-back years in 2011 at the club. Minzel won in a playoff that year over Trent Morrison and Patrick Duffy of Omaha. He is also the defending champion after winning his record-tying third title at Wild Horse Golf Club in Gothenburg last year. Minzel will have a chance to break that tie and win his fourth this year, as Duffy is not in the field.
Morrison is also a past champion, winning his trophy in 2014, while two-time champion Ryan Nietfeldt of Elkhorn is also certain to be a top contender. Nietfeldt won his titles in 2001 and 2013, and also tied for runner-up honors the last time the Mid-Amateur was conducted at Fremont Golf Club in 2015.
Minzel and Nietfeldt are paired with Bennington's William Amundsen for Saturday's first round. Amundsen is looking for a breakthrough victory, after losing in a playoff in 2017 with Duffy and Minzel. He also fell in a playoff at the Nebraska Four-Ball earlier this year to Nietfeldt and his partner, Ryan Knispel of Omaha.
The group just behind those three is also loaded with some players who could hoist the trophy. Omaha's Andy Sajevic, a three-time Nebraska Amateur Champion, became a Mid-Amateur in 2015 and has finished runner-up each time he's competed in this championship. He finished three strokes back in 2015 and 2016, and two strokes back of Minzel last year, after not competing in 2017. He'll play with Lincoln's Jay Moore, who has risen up the ranks in the past few years, and Elkhorn's Alex Farrell, the 2018 Nebraska Four-Ball Champion.
Another featured group includes 10-time NGA champion John Sajevic of Fremont, Gretna's Brian Csipkes and Lincoln's David Easley. This is one of two championships Sajevic is eligible for that he hasn't won yet, and he'll be playing on his home course. Csipkes has qualified for four U.S. Mid-Amateurs, but never won this championship, while Easley's best finish in the past 10 years is a T4 finish in 2013.
The 36-hole stroke play championship begins with a 9 a.m. shotgun start on Saturday for Round One. The Final Round will begin at 8 a.m. on Sunday with starting times off both No. 1 and No. 10.
For more information, including first and second round pairings, visit the championship website at the button below.
Nebraska Mid-Amateur Championship
About the NGA
The Nebraska Golf Association, 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 the NGA. 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.
