Exemptions Announced for Pinnacle Bank Championship Presented by Chevrolet
June 5, 2019
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.