Iowan Matthew Walker Wins 30th Wells Fargo Nebraska Open at Elks Country Club

Columbus, NE. – Elks Country Club played host to the 30th edition of the Wells Fargo Nebraska Open and the 54-hole tournament saw records fall. The second biggest golf tournament in the state behind the Korn Ferry Tour’s Pinnacle Bank Championship welcomed 123 Professionals and Amateurs from around the local area, from around the country and even from outside of the United States. Perfect weather conditions led to a scoring fest and former Iowa Hawkeye Matthew Walker led a strong field from start to finish.

In Walker’s opening round, he fired a round of 61 (10-under-par) which is now the course record at Elks CC. Consistency was the theme of his weekend with birdies or better all three rounds on three separate holes (No. 6, No. 12, No. 18).

“I have experience at this course and I knew my game plan needed to be to stay in the fairways off the tee and to give myself as many birdie opportunities as I could,” said Walker.

He did just that. Majority of his birdie looks were inside 12 feet and the flat stick was his friend the first 36 holes. In today’s final round, the weather switched and winds picked up forcing the entire field to hold on tight and Walker was able to hold onto the five stroke lead he built through the first two rounds. To cap off his incredible weekend, Walker chipped-in for birdie on his final hole to go out in style.

Walker is now a Nebraska and Iowa State Open champion as he continues the grind of professional golf with hopes to make something happen later in his career like past Nebraska Open champion Peter Malnati has, who now plays on the PGA Tour.

Finishing runner-up was McCook, Nebraska’s Brandon Crick at 15-under-par while Robert Bell of Pierz, Minnesota finished at 14-under-par. Claiming low-Amateur honors was Bennington, Nebraska’s Johnny Spellerberg after a three-day total of 2-under-par while NEPGA Professional Ted DiGiacomo won low-Senior Professional honors with a three-day total of 1-under-par.

Along with the competitive golf tournament, the Wells Fargo Nebraska Open once again raised nearly $150,000 and the 30 year total raised surpassed $1.8 million. The money raised directly affects the surrounding community by awarding scholarships to students of the five Nebraska Community College systems which includes 11 different community colleges.

We would like to thank General Manager Dan Shull, PGA, Head PGA Golf Professional Mike VunCannon, PGA and the entire staff at Elks Country Club for hosting once again. Finally, the tournament wouldn’t be possible without our Title Sponsor Wells Fargo, the Nebraska Public Power District and all of the supporting sponsors.

1 Matthew Walker Ottumwa, IA
2 Brandon Crick McCook, NE
3 Robert Bell Pierz, MN
T4 Case Cochran Dallas, TX
T4 Neil Johnson River Falls, WI
6 Michael Colgate Sarasota, FL
T7 Tyson Reeder Edmond, OK
T7 Kevin Stanek Bellevue, NE
T7 William Holcomb Crockett, TX
T7 Carson Schaake Omaha, NE
T11 Chris Naegel Wildwood, MO
T11 Zach Burry Appleton, WI
T11 Jay Cottam Kearney, NE
T14 Samuel Stevens Eastborough, KS
T14 Michael Visacki Sarasota, FL
T14 Jesse Bratz Colleyville, TX
T17 Ross Miller Maple Grove, MN
T17 Zach Bauchou Stillwater, OK
19 Noah Hofman Mccook, NE
T20 Jared Vela Pasadena, TX
T20 Jeff Berkshire Scottsdale, AZ
T20 Nick Mason Englewood, CO
T20 Kaylor Steger Mount Pleasant, WI
T20 Jack Hiemenz Blaine, MN
T20 Brax McCarthy Benbrook, TX
T20 Brandon Tsujimoto Pomona, CA
27 Fred Wedel Spring, TX
28 Charles Jahn Sperry, IA
T29 Ryan Vermeer Omaha, NE
T29 Johnny Spellerberg (a) Bennington, NE
T31 Ryan Argotsinger Kansas City, MO
T31 Ted DiGiacomo Papillion, NE
T31 Blake Mullen (a) Overland Park, KS
T31 Josh Wilson (a) Papillion, NE
T35 Jeff Sorenson Blaine, MN
T35 Shane Bryant Williamsport, IN
T35 Andrew Beckler Topeka, KS
T35 Parker Klitzke Omaha, NE
39 Alex Kubik (a) Aurora, NE
40 Kelly Brown (a) Oberlin, KS
T41 Zach Hoffman (a) Omaha, NE
T41 Doug Mitchell (a) Kearney, NE
T43 Jackson Benge (a) Omaha, NE
T43 Sean Davis (a) Council Bluffs, IA
T43 Wes Bernt (a) Norfolk, NE
46 Porter Topp (a) Omaha, NE
47 Ryan Lingelbach (a) Elkhorn, NE
48 Beau Petersen (a) Gretna, NE
49 Dylan Nielsen (a) Elkhorn, NE

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