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Exemptions Announced for Pinnacle Bank Championship Presented by Chevrolet

CONTRACT EXTENSION WITH THE CLUB AT INDIAN CREEK ALSO ANNOUNCED.

OMAHA, (Neb.), June 5, 2019 – The Pinnacle Bank Championship presented by Chevrolet has announced exemptions for two professional golfers, Brandon Crick of McCook, Neb. and Braden Thornberry of Olive Branch, Mississippi.

Crick, 31, graduated from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and turned professional in 2010. Crick’s best professional result this year is a T-19 at the Dormie Network Classic at Briggs Ranch Golf Club in San Antonio, Texas.

Thornberry, 22, turned professional in 2018 and attended the University of Mississippi where he was the 2017 individual NCAA champion. He has competed in six professional events as an amateur, including a T-4 at the 2017 FedEx St. Jude Classic at TPC Southwind in Memphis, Tenn. The eight-under-par finish left him tied with PGA pros Kevin Chappell, Rafa Cabrera Bello and Billy Horschel on the final leaderboard.

“We were excited to receive several exemption requests from very talented players,” said Nick Kelley, who serves on the board of directors for the Pinnacle Bank Championship. “Our committee saw this as an opportunity to potentially launch the career of a young, highly skilled player with the opportunity to play in one of the best tournaments on the Korn Ferry Tour.”

“We have a history of providing opportunities to local and national up and comers,” Kelley added. “In 2003, Scott Gutschewski of Omaha parlayed a sponsor exemption into a remarkable season, including a win and 26th-place finish on the Korn Ferry Tour season money standings.”

The Pinnacle Bank Championship also announced today the extension of its contract with The Club at Indian Creek to host the Tour for five years covering 2020, 2021 and 2022, 2023 and 2024. The Championship date has been moved to run July 27-August 2, 2020, two weeks later than the 2019 dates.

“I have awesome memories of my first Korn Ferry Tour win, played at Indian Creek. It’s great to hear that the Pinnacle Bank Championship will continue to be played there! The course sets up perfectly for a tour event. I remember being impressed with the great spectator turnout there too,” said 2017 Champion Sam Ryder.

The Club at Indian Creek, owned by brothers Bill and Brett Gottsch, has been the home of the Korn Ferry Tour event since the PGA TOUR returned to Omaha in 2017.

Professional golfers still have an opportunity to compete in the Pinnacle Bank Championship by earning a spot through the Korn Ferry Tour Monday Qualifier at Bent Tree Golf Club in Council Bluffs, Iowa or at Wilderness Ridge Golf Club in Lincoln, Neb., on Monday, July 15.

The state’s top amateur golfers can earn one of the unrestricted spots through the Indian Creek Invitational July 13-14 at The Club at Indian Creek or through the Korn Ferry Tour Monday Qualifier.

ABOUT THE PINNACLE BANK CHAMPIONSHIP

The Pinnacle Bank Championship presented by Chevrolet is a stop on the PGA TOUR’s Korn Ferry Tour and will be held July 15-21, 2019 at The Club at Indian Creek. The event features a purse of $600,000 and was awarded the 2018 Korn Ferry Tour’s Truck Award and 2017 Korn Ferry Tour’s Rookie of the Year Award in its inaugural year. The 2017 champion, Sam Ryder, went on to compete in the PGA TOUR, following in the footsteps of previous winners of the Korn Ferry Tour’s Omaha event, including Bo Van Pelt, Johnson Wagner, Heath Slocum and Jason Gore. The 2018 champion, David Skinns, is currently on the Korn Ferry Tour money list. The tournament’s charity partner, TeamMates Mentoring Program, receives proceeds from the event to help fund education and mentoring programs for Nebraska youth. In 2018, that donation totaled $40,000, bringing the tournament’s total charitable contribution amount to more than $140,000 since its inception.

Vermeer To Compete at Pinnacle Bank Championship

OMAHA, (Neb.), May 23, 2019 – The 2018 PGA Professional Player of the Year, Ryan Vermeer, will compete in the 2019 Pinnacle Bank Championship presented by Chevrolet at The Club at Indian Creek.

The Board of Directors, who administer the Pinnacle Bank Championship, has decided to award Vermeer one of the unrestricted spots into the competition.

The spot comes from the Nebraska Qualifier that was scheduled for Thursday, June 27 at ArborLinks in Nebraska City. The Nebraska Qualifier will not take place this year.

Vermeer, who is also director of instruction at Happy Hollow Club in Omaha, recently competed in and made the cut at the 101st PGA Championship last week at Bethpage State Park Black Course in Farmingdale, New York. He is the first Nebraska PGA Professional to have accomplished that feat and follows his win at the 2018 PGA Professionals of America Championship and his honor as 2018 OMEGA PGA National Player of the Year, awarded by the PGA of America.

“What Ryan has accomplished on the golf course in the past 12 months is unprecedented in Nebraska golf history and he continues to perform at the highest level of his professional career,” said David Honnens, CEO of the Nebraska Section PGA.

There will be a Nebraska Qualifier in future years. Professional golfers will still have an opportunity to compete in the Pinnacle Bank Championship by earning a spot through the Korn Ferry Tour Monday Qualifier at Bent Tree Golf Club in Council Bluffs, Iowa or at Wilderness Ridge Golf Club in Lincoln, Neb., on Monday, July 15. The state’s top amateur golfers can earn one of the unrestricted spots through the Indian Creek Invitational July 13-14 at The Club at Indian Creek or through the Korn Ferry Tour Monday Qualifier.

“We’re happy that we are able to provide Nebraskans and amateurs the opportunity to compete in one of the Korn Ferry Tour’s premiere events in the Pinnacle Bank Championship,” said Jessica Brabec, the Pinnacle Bank Championship tournament director. “Securing arguably the top golfer in the state in Ryan Vermeer just adds to the growing excitement surrounding the tournament.”

ABOUT THE PINNACLE BANK CHAMPIONSHIP

The Pinnacle Bank Championship, presented by Chevrolet, is a stop on the PGA TOUR’s Korn Ferry Tour and will be held July 15-21, 2019 at The Club at Indian Creek. The event features a purse of $600,000 and was awarded the 2018 Korn Ferry Tour’s Truck Award and 2017 Korn Ferry Tour’s Tournament Rookie of the Year Award in its inaugural year. The 2017 champion, Sam Ryder went on to compete on the PGA TOUR, following in the footsteps of previous winners of the Korn Ferry Tour’s Omaha event, including Bo Van Pelt, Johnson Wagner, Heath Slocum and Jason Gore. The 2018 champion, David Skinns, is currently 111 on the Korn Ferry Tour points list. The tournament’s charity partner, TeamMates Mentoring Program, receives proceeds from the event to help fund education and mentoring programs for Nebraska youth. In 2018, that donation totaled $40,000, bringing the tournament’s total charitable contribution amount to more than $140,000 since its inception.