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. 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.
Schnell has had a roller coaster of a season on Tour, but it looks like the track is headed in the right direction after his latest start. Schnell has made just four cuts in his 10 starts so far this season, but he's produced Top 30 finishes in two of his last four events. After a career-best T28 finish at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am in February, Schnell bested that again last week at the Corales Puntacana Resort & Club Championship.
It was a birdie barrage for Schnell, as he was tied for third in the field with 23 birdies on the week. He made eight of those, including four straight at one point, during a first round 68 (-4) that had him just a couple strokes out inside the top five. Schnell followed that up with five more birdies and a second round 70 (-2) to enter the weekend within striking distance, four strokes back. He kept it rolling in the third round, dropping seven more birdies, including an incredible stretch of five straight on the back nine to shoot 69 (-3). A red-hot start to his final round had Schnell five-under through his first seven holes, including an eagle on the par-5 fourth hole. He cooled off a bit on the back nine, but shot another 69 (-3) to finish T12, another career-best finish.
The career-week jumped Schnell 15 spots in the FedEx Cup Standings, where he currently sits 182nd. He is in the field for this week's Valero Texas Open, and with a win, would earn a spot in the Masters next week.
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.
March was a tough month for Lashley, who made two starts and missed both cuts. He had solid opening rounds in both the Arnold Palmer Invitational and the Corales Puntacana Resort & Club Championship, with red numbers in both. However, his second rounds were both over par and dropped him off the pace and outside the cutline.
On the season, Lashley is ranked 19th on the PGA Tour in Round 1 Scoring, with a 69.38 average. The March rounds dropped his Round 2 Scoring average to 70.88, 128th on Tour. Lashley is still ranked inside the all-important Top 125 in the FedEx Cup Standings, currently sitting in 111th.
Lashley is not in the field this week for the Valero Texas Open, the last chance to get into the Masters next week. So, likely the next time we'll see Lashley will be the RBC Heritage or the Zurich Classic, later this month.
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.
Vermeer has now made three of his PGA Tour starts, with two of those coming in March. He played in the Valspar Championship and shot rounds of 74 (+3) and 72 (+1) to miss the cut by three strokes on one of the toughest courses on Tour. Vermeer followed that up with another start the next week at the Corales Puntacana Resort and Club Championship. He opened with a 72 (E) and backed it up with a round of 70 (-2) to make his first cut of the season. Vermeer had a tough Saturday, shooting 77 (+5), but bounced back with an under-par final round, shooting 71 (-1) to finish T69 at 290 (+2).
Vermeer will defend his PGA Professional Championship title April 28-May 1 at Belfair of Bluffton in South Carolina.
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 continues to be consistent in making the weekend, going 2-for-2 in cuts made in March. He's now made the cut in five of six events this year. However, his up-and-down play on the golf course have kept him from producing high finishes.
At the Chitimacha Louisiana Open, Gutschewski opened with back-to-back rounds of 70 (-1) to make the cut on the number. He made 10 birdies over those two rounds, but couldn't keep it rolling into the weekend, shooting two straight rounds of 73 (+2) to finish T74 at 286 (+2). However, he did make 14 birdies for the week, and pledged $25 per birdie to go to flood relief in Nebraska. His $350 went to help those in need from the devastating flooding in Nebraska, and he also was able to get several others to donate as well.
Gutschewski got right back to work at the Savannah Golf Championship and the birdies again were plenty. He made five in the opening round, but also had five bogeys for a round of 72 (E). Four more in the second round made for a 70 (-2) and another cut made on the number. A wild third round followed, with Gutschewski making just one par on a front nine 39 (+3) that included three birdies, four bogeys and a double-bogey. He finished with a 74 (+2), but followed with his best round of the week during the final round. A bogey-free front nine resulted in a 32 (-4), and a final round 69 (-3) to vault him up the leaderboard into a T56 finish.
Gutschewski's next action will likely be later this month at either the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail Championship (April 18-21) or the Dormie Network Classic at Briggs Ranch (April 25-28). Gutschewski currently sits in 102nd on the Web.com Tour's new points system, on which the Top 25 finishers at the end of the regular season earn their PGA Tour Cards.
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 been following the Tour and giving himself a chance through Monday Qualifying, and has recently caught fire.
Crick lit up Monday Qualifying for the Web.com Tour's two March events. First, he made 11 birdies during a round of 61 (-11) to earn medalist honors and a spot in the Chitimacha Louisiana Open. He followed with rounds of 72 (+1) and 70 (-1) to finish a couple shots outside of the cutline in his first Web.com Tour start of the year.
Seven more birdies and a round of 65 (-7) the following Monday earned Crick a spot in the Savannah Golf Championship. He kept it rolling with a round of 70 (-2) during the first round, and five more birdies during the second round had him in great position to make the cut on the number. However, play was suspended due to darkness and Crick had to come back to finish his second round on Saturday morning. He would eventually bogey his final two holes to shoot 74 (+2) and miss the cut by two strokes.
It looks like Crick will need to continue Monday Qualifying, until he can make some cuts and finish high enough to garner some status on the Tour. He has also competed in a couple of the Outlaw Tour events (below), and is 17th on that money list.
Outlaw Tour
Several Nebraskans are putting in their time on the Outlaw Tour, an independent mini-tour in Arizona. The list includes former Nebraska Amateur Golfers of the Year Rylee Reinertson of Gibbon (2015 & 2016), Carson Schaake of Omaha (2014) and Brandon Crick of McCook (2009). Nick Shanahan and Ben Maschka of Omaha have also been competing. Schaake put together one of the best performances at the Western Skies Classic (March 12-14), shooting rounds of 69 (-1), 67 (-3) and 66 (-4) to finish T6 at 202 (-8). Tap the button below to check in on their progress on the Outlaw Tour, which lasts through late April with three events remaining.
Cactus Tour
Action is also heating up on the Cactus Tour, a women's mini-tour in Arizona, with some Nebraskans making noise. Four-time Nebraska Girls' Golfer of the Year Danielle Lemek of Doniphan leads way, with two more top 10 finishes in March. The 2008 Nebraska Girls' Golfer of the Year Armana Christianson of Omaha has also been steady, and has a couple top 15 finishes. Tori Peers of Grand Island has competed in several events as well. The Cactus Tour has a consistent schedule of events through the end of June. Stay up-to-date with these Nebraskans at the button below.