Giroux, Nietfeldt Cruise to Four-Ball Title
Final Round Conducted on Sunday at The Players Club
OMAHA (April 24, 2022) - It was another tough day for scoring on Sunday at The Players Club in Omaha, but Bennington's Blake Giroux and Elkhorn's Ryan Nietfeldt played steady golf to win the 21st Nebraska Four-Ball Championship by four strokes.
The wind blew again at The Players Club and temperatures were in the 50s throughout the day, making the final round a grind. Giroux and Nietfeldt never lost their lead, and posted a 69 (-1) to win by the second-largest margin in championship history, four strokes, with a 132 (-8) total.
Giroux and Nietfeldt started slow again, making bogey on No. 3 and were over par through four holes, with their lead shrinking back to two strokes. Giroux nearly drove the green on the 380-yard par-4 fifth hole, and made birdie to push their lead back to three strokes.
Omaha's Bradley Huyck and Will Hagel answered with Huyck rolling in a long birdie putt to get them back to 5-under and two strokes back. After another bogey on No. 8, Nietfeldt answered with a birdie on No. 9 to push the lead back to to two strokes heading into the back nine.
Both Nietfeldt and Giroux bogeyed No. 10, but as they did throughout the weekend, Nietfeldt birdied No. 11 to get the stroke back. One more bogey followed on No. 12, but this time it was Giroux who dropped a birdie on the short par-four 14th. Giroux's 3-wood from the tee of the reachable par-4 landed on the green and bounced into the back bunker. He splashed out to about 10 feet and made the putt for birdie.
The birdie on No. 14 gave them a boost, as they entered two of the most difficult holes at The Players Club, Nos. 15 and 16. Nietfeldt made an easy par on No. 15 and Giroux did the same on No. 16, which meant they could cruise in with a three-stroke lead.
Nietfeldt nearly birdied No. 17, and then stuck his third shot to about five feet on the par-5 18th hole and rolled in the putt to push the final total to 8-under.
The next closest competitors were Christopher Rager of South Sioux City and Will Andersen of Dakota City, who shot a 69 (-1) with a birdie on the final hole to finish at 136 (-4). The round of the day went to Table Rock's Calvin Freeman and Omaha's Mike Siwa, who shot 66 (-4) to tie Rager and Andersen for runner-up honors.
The 2017 Champions, Dylan Heng of Omaha and Lance Lawson of Norfolk, finished fourth at 137 (-3) after a final round 68 (-2). Three teams tied for fifth at 138 (-2), including Omaha's EJ Hamilton and Nate Jaeger, Elkhorn's Alex Farrell and Omaha's Dan Huston and Kearney's Brett Hoffman and Omaha's Zach Hoffman.
Only 10 teams in total finished under-par for the championship, with a tie for eighth rounding out the Top 10. Last year's runners-up bounced back with one of the best final rounds, shoot a 67 (-3) to finish with a 139 (-1) total. Brothers Jayson Brueggemann of Lincoln and Joel Brueggemann of Beatrice also tied for eighth, along with Omaha's Bradley Huyck and Will Hagel, who were playing in the final group.
Final results and more are available on the championship website below.
Nebraska Four-Ball 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.
