Country Club of Lincoln Set for 57th Nebraska Match Play
Championship Begins Monday at Country Club of Lincoln
OMAHA (June 20, 2024) – The 57th Nebraska Match Play Championship returns to a historic venue, the Country Club of Lincoln, June 24-28, with a full field set to compete.
It will be a record sixth time hosting for the club, which last hosted in 2014, when Lincoln's Bryce Brown defeated Omaha's Carson Schaake in the Final. The list of players to have won a Nebraska Match Play at the Country Club of Lincoln is impressive, and includes Charlie Borner (1970) of North Platte at the time, Lincoln's Knox Jones (1979 and 2000), and Omaha's James Sieckmann (1988).
The championship begins with 36 holes of Stroke Play Qualifying on Monday and Tuesday, after which the field will be cut to 32 players and seeded into a match play bracket. Match play begins Wednesday, with the Rounds of 32 and 16, followed by the Quarterfinals and Semifinals on Thursday, and the 36-hole Championship Final on Friday.
The full field of 156 players features five past champions, including the defending champion Calvin Freeman of Table Rock. Freeman put on a show last year at Beatrice Country Club to win his first NebGolf title. He made 44 birdies and four eagles in his 128 holes played on the way to his victory, defeating Elkhorn's Ryan Nietfeldt in the Final, 9 and 8.
Four other past champions are in the field, including Nietfeldt, the 2003 Champion. His runner-up finish last year was his record fourth, and he tied Jones for the most Finals in championship history, with five. Nietfeldt, a former Husker, is paired with current Husker Grant Jabenis of Omaha and future Husker Jackson Benge of Omaha, for Stroke Play Qualifying.
Freeman is paired with another past champion, Travis Minzel of Lincoln (2004), and Matthew Quandt of Omaha. Quandt made the Semifinals in 2022 and the Quarterfinals last year. They'll start their championship at 1:50 off No. 1 on Monday.
A couple other past champions, now senior golfers, are in the field. The 1987 Champion, Bill Spangler of Lincoln, and the 1992 Champion David Clouse of Lincoln, will both tee it up again, more than 30 years after they won their titles.
A solid group will tee off No. 1 at 2 p.m. on Monday, including the 2021 Nebraska Amateur Champion, David Easley of Lincoln. Easley fell to Freeman in the Semifinals last year, and is still looking for his first match play title. He'll play with the 2022 Nebraska Junior Amateur Champion, Trevor Gutschewski of Elkhorn, and Reed Malleck of York, who finished runner-up in 2022.
The Country Club of Lincoln is a par-72 layout that will measure around 6,507 yards for the championship. Play begins at 8 a.m. for Monday and Tuesday's Stroke Play Qualifying. Pairings for qualifying are available on the championship website below, along with the scoring page and additional information.
Nebraska Match Play 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.
