Nebraska on Tour keeps you updated on the progress of Nebraskans on the PGA Tour and Web.com Tour, as well as other Nebraskans trying to make their way in the professional ranks. For more frequent updates, follow @NGATracker on Twitter.
Currently, there are two Nebraskans with PGA Tour Membership for the 2018-19 season. Nate Lashley, formerly of Scottsbluff, dealt with an injury last year after breaking onto the PGA Tour for the first time. He's back with another chance this year though, and is already proving himself. Brady Schnell, a Millard West product and former Husker, grabbed his PGA Tour Card last year with a stellar season on the Web.com Tour that included a win. On the Web.com Tour, Elkhorn's Scott Gutschewski is back after foot surgery limited him to just one event in 2018, and McCook's Brandon Crick has worked his way onto the tour after missing out during Q-School. Keep scrolling to read more on their seasons-to-date and what lies ahead below.
Brady Schnell, PGA Tour
Brady Schnell is a former Husker who graduated from Millard West High School and won the 2006 Nebraska Amateur. It was a wild 2018 for Schnell, who had just won twice on the PGA Tour Latinoamerica to close out 2017. However, he would miss his first four cuts of the Web.com Tour season, and spent the next few months either missing the cut or finishing in the top 20. It was June when he caught his stride though, making the cut in all three events he played, including a win at the Wichita Open. He went across the pond to play in The Open Championship at Carnoustie (a benefit of one of his PGA Tour Latinoamerica wins), but missed the cut in his first major championship appearance. Schnell earned his PGA Tour card by finishing in the Top 25 of the Web.com Tour's money list.
After missing the cut at the Valero Texas Open in the second round with two birdies, two bogeys and ending with a 72 (E), Schnell made up for it with his spot start back on the Web.com Tour, at the Dormie Network Classic at Briggs Ranch. He started it off with eight birdies, no bogeys and a back nine 30 (-6) the first round, leading to a round of 64 (-8). He shot 71 (-1) for both his second and third rounds and ended with 70 (-2) on the fourth and final round, for a 276 (-12) total to finish T29.
Back on the PGA Tour the following week, at the Wells Fargo Championship, Schnell shot 74 (+3) during his first round and improved his second round with a 72 (+1) but missed the cut at +4. Schnell showed up for the AT&T Byron Nelson though, finishing T23 for his second-best finish of the season. He was in danger of missing the cut after his first round 72 (+1), but caught fire on his final nine holes of the second round with a 31 (-5). His second round 67 (-4) sent him to the weekend, and then his third round was interrupted by a suspension, just after he made his third consecutive birdie. The suspension did not faze him though, as he came back in the morning and made a long putt for eagle on his first hole (No. 7), and followed with another bomb on No. 9 for birdie. The eagle putt measured 68-feet, 4-inches and the birdie putt was 66-feet, 11-inches, giving him a third round 64 (-7). During the final round, Schnell ended with a 69 (-2) after a 25-foot birdie putt on No. 17. His total score was 272 (-12).
Schnell took a couple weeks off, before making another Web.com Tour start at the REX Hospital Open, where he finished T44 with a 278 (-6) total. He's back on the big tour this week after about a month away, playing in the RBC Canadian Open. Schnell’s current Fed Ex Cup Rank is 180th.
Nate Lashley, PGA Tour
Nate Lashley, formerly of Scottsbluff and the 2000 and 2001 Nebraska Junior Golfer of the Year, earned his PGA Tour Card with a great 2017 season on the Web.com Tour. He played 17 events in his first season on tour, making eight cuts and finishing in the top 25 twice. However, his debut season was cut short in June with a meniscus injury that required surgery and kept him off the course for more than a month. When he made his return in July, he took to the Web.com Tour, in order to preserve his PGA Tour Card for the 2018-19 season with a medical exemption. He played in seven Web.com Tour events, making four cuts and one top 10 finish.
Starting off a little slow during the end of April at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans, Lashley and partner Ted Potter, Jr. were cut after a second round 77 (+5) with two birdies, five bogeys and a double bogey for a total score of 142 (-2). Picking things up, Lashley tied for 45th at the Wells Fargo Championship at even-par 284.
During the AT&T Byron Nelson, Lashley made the cut on the number at 2-under, after rounds of 67 (-4) and 73 (+2). Matching his first round, he shot another 67 (-4) in the third round, and improved another stroke shooting a 66 (-5) in the final round. Lashley finished T29 with a final score of 273 (-11), his best showing since February. A couple weeks later at the Charles Schwab Challenge, Lashley started off on the right foot, shooting 69 (-1), which put him tied for 21st in the first round. He shot 71 (+1) the second round to make the cut, but after five bogeys and two doubles, and a third round 75 (+5), he had dropped to T66. Lashley finished 69th at 288 (+8) after his final round score of 73 (+3).
A big turn in his year came just earlier this week though, as he did something no Nebraskan has done since 2013. Lashley punched his ticket to Pebble Beach for the U.S. Open with his performance at RattleSnake Point Golf Club in Ontario, Canada during Sectionals. He shot even-par 72 his first round and birdied four holes the second round for a 68 (-4), tying for third with two others. With just four spots available at the Ontario Sectional, Lashley went into a 3-for-2 playoff with fellow PGA Tour members Alex Prugh of Spokane, Washington and Harris English of Sea Island, Georgia. Lashley and Prugh claimed the two spots through the playoff. Lashley will tee it up June 13-16 in California at Pebble Beach, and he'll be the first Nebraskan to do so since McCook's Brandon Crick played in the 2013 U.S. Open at Merion Golf Club.
Lashley is currently ranked 133rd in the FedEx Cup Rankings, and is also in the field this week for the RBC Canadian Open.
Ryan Vermeer, PGA Tour
Omaha's Ryan Vermeer is a two-time Nebraska Junior Amateur Golfer of the Year (1994 & 1996) and won the 1996 Nebraska Amateur Championship, being one of two players to win that title as a junior golfer. Vermeer is currently a PGA Professional and the Director of Instruction at Happy Hollow Club in Omaha. He won the national PGA Professional Championship in 2018 and earned six PGA Tour starts with the win.
Qualifying for his third straight PGA Championship, Vermeer finished T80 with a final score of 295 (+15). His first round would be the only round that didn’t have a score over-par, shooting even-par 70. After three birdies and seven bogeys, Vermeer ended his second round with a 74 (+4) and shot a 72 (+2) in his third round. He was sitting at T58 after the third round and posted a 79 (+9) during his final round.
Vermeer also made a showing at the U.S. Open Sectionals at Springfield Country Club in Springfield, Ohio. Beginning the tournament with a double bogey on No. 1, Vermeer made up for it with five birdies and finished the first round with a score of 69 (-1). He went on to shoot even-par 70 in the second round after two bogeys and two birdies. Vermeer finished T12, three strokes shy of a playoff for the last of five qualifying spots.
Vermeer received an exemption to play in the Web.com Tour's Pinnacle Bank Championship at The Club at Indian Creek in Elkhorn in July, and he still has a few PGA Tour starts left, as a result of his PGA Professional Championship win last year.
Scott Gutschewski, Web.com Tour
Elkhorn's Scott Gutschewski has already played more events in 2019 than he did in all of 2018. After surgery to remove bone spurs on his heel last year, Gutschewski only returned to play in one event, the Pinnacle Bank Championship in his hometown. He made the cut and finished T56, but took the rest of the year off. However, it's pretty clear that he is healthy and ready for a fuller schedule in 2019.
Gutschewski had a great showing at the Dormie Network Classic at Briggs Ranch, finishing T16 at -14. He began the tournament with six birdies his first round, shooting a 68 (-4). Improving his score, Gutschewski posted a 67 (-5) for both his second and third round, ending with an even-par 72 in the final round. The T16 was his best finish of the season, however, Gutschewski’s next few tournaments weren’t in his favor.
After a tough first round at the Nashville Golf Open, a 75 (+3), Gutschewski made a run at the cutline, but fell short after making a big number and shooting 73 (+1). During the first round of the KC Golf Classic, he made three birdies and six bogeys, for a round of 75 (+3). He improved his score by one stroke the next round, but didn’t make the cut line. Last week, he played better at the REX Hospital Open, with rounds of 70 (-1) and 71 (E), but missed the cut for a third straight tournament.
Gutschewski is currently ranked 110th on the Web.com Tour's The 25 Ranking. He'll be back at it this week for the BMW Charity Pro-Am in Greer, South Carolina.
Brandon Crick, Web.com Tour
Brandon Crick of McCook, the 2009 Nebraska Amateur Golfer of the Year and a two-time Nebraska Amateur Champion, is making his way onto the Web.com Tour the hard way. Though he has competed on the Web.com Tour in the past, he did not finish high enough at the final stage of Qualifying School last fall to earn status for 2019. However, he's earned his way onto the Tour after some Monday Qualifying, followed by steady performance.
After beginning the year with no status, Crick has made his way on the Web.com Tour, playing in all but one event since the beginning of March. Crick has made the cut in five of six tournaments since late April, starting with a stellar performance at the Dormie Network Classic at Briggs Ranch. After making birdies on half the holes he played, Crick ended the first round tied for 13th with a score of 66 (-6). He followed with a second round 69 (-3), before starting bogey-bogey in his third round. Crick turned it around with five birdies, matching his second-round score of 69 (-3). Struggling on No. 1 again with another bogey, Crick finished his fourth round with a 71 (-1), for a total score of 275 (-13), finishing him at T19.
An even-par 72 first round at the Nashville Golf Open, gave Crick a chance to make the cut again during his second round. After six birdies and a round of 71 (-1), he did just that. He was up to T25 at 5-under, after the third round, but a big number early in his final round set him back. Crick made five birdies to battle out a final round 75 (+3) and a T44 finish at 2-under. Crick made another weekend at the KC Golf Classic shooting 72 (E)-73 (+1) to make the cut. He went on to shoot a 72 (E) his third and fourth round, finishing T58 at 1-over.
It was the Knoxville Open that broke Crick’s cut streak. He began with two birdies, two bogeys and a round of 71 (E). He started off rocky in his second round, but pulled off a 69 (-2). However, it wasn’t good enough and Crick was cut. He got right back at it though, during the Evans Scholar Invitational, ending his first round tied for fifth with a score of 68 (-4). Sitting at 6-under and T22 heading into the final round, Crick shot all four rounds under par and finished with a 70 (-2) to tie for 34th at 8-under.
Crick is currently ranked 130th on the Web.com Tour's The 25 Ranking. He's in action again this week for a seventh straight Web.com Tour event, the BMW Charity Pro-Am in Greer, South Carolina.
Danielle Lemek, Symetra Tour
Four-time Nebraska Girls’ Golfer of the Year Danielle Lemek of Doniphan recently earned status on the Symetra Tour, the LPGA Tour's developmental tour.
Lemek is about to make her second start on the Symetra Tour this week. In her first start in April, she finished T31 with a 228 (+12) total at the Murphy USA El Dorado Shootout. This week she'll be playing in the Four Winds Invitational in South Bend, Indiana. Lemek's goal will be to finish in the top 10 in the Volvik Race for the Card money list, which will earn her membership on the LPGA Tour.
Dreamchasers Tour
Former Nebraska Amateur Golfer of the Year Carson Schaake of Omaha (2014) captured a professional win in Arizona on the Dreamchasers Tour. Schaake won the Southeast Valley Spring Championship in early May with three straight rounds of 68 (-4) for a 204 (-12) total and a one-stroke victory. Schaake also shot a 69 (-3) at U.S. Open Local Qualifying at Champions Run in Omaha the next week to claim medalist honors and a spot in U.S. Open Sectionals.
Cactus Tour
There are currently three Nebraskan women taking on the Cactus Tour, a women’s mini-tour in Arizona. Four-time Nebraska Girls’ Golfer of the Year Danielle Lemek of Doniphan, the 2008 Nebraska Girls' Golfer of the Year Armana Christianson of Omaha and Tori Peers of Grand Island have all made starts. The Cactus Tour currently has three events scheduled for June.
Dakotas Tour
The Dakotas Tour schedule is set to kick-off this month, with mini-tour events schedule through August across South Dakota, North Dakota, Minnesota and Iowa. Several Nebraskans are expected to compete, including 2014 Nebraska Amateur Golfer of the Year Carson Schaake. Visit the tour's website below to find out more and to follow the action once the season begins later this month.