Local golf notes: Alex Schaake named Nebraska Golf Association golfer of the year | Local golf

He’s also had a solid fall at the University of Iowa. The junior was in the top 25 in the Hawkeyes’ five events, with three top 10s and a tie for second at the Golfweek Conference Challenge. For that, he was the Big Ten’s golfer of the week. He set the school 54-hole scoring record with a 10-under at Notre Dame’s invitational.

Other golfer of the year awards to be handed out at the NGA’s dinner Friday at Omaha Country Club are John Sajevic of Fremont for seniors, Luke Kluver of Norfolk for boys, Kate Strickland of Lincoln for girls and Brandi Lemek for the Nebraska Women’s Amateur Golf Association.

James Sieckmann received his PGA Teacher of the Year Award last week during the 102nd PGA Annual Meeting in Indian Wells, California, from outgoing PGA of America President Paul Levy.

The Millard South and NU graduate, who entered the Nebraska Golf Hall of Fame in 2016, is the director of instruction at Shadow Ridge. Sieckmann is on most national top-teacher lists and currently instructs 16 pro tour members who include major champions Stewart Cink and In-Kyung Kim.

“Many have inspired me, but (PGA Tour professional) Tom Pernice was the first to say to me, ‘You’re my guy,’ ” Sieckmann said in accepting his award. “Golf is a lot like life. You are always working on yourself.”

McCook’s Brandon Crick tied for fifth Friday at the Web.com Tour’s second-stage tournament at TPC Craig Ranch in McKinney, Texas, to make next month’s finals. He’ll have status on the 2019 tour, with his finish in Chandler, Arizona, determining how many tournaments he can get into.

Former Husker Mike Colgate tied for 51st in Brooksville, Florida, and failed to advance.

New Husker golfer Vanessa Bouvet, a freshman from Brunei, was the Big Ten women’s golfer of the week after tying for second at the rain-shortened Rainbow Wahine Invitational in Hawaii. She had two top-five finishes in the fall as the Huskers had two top-three team finishes.

The UNO men’s team was the runner-up at the SIU Edwardsville Invitational as Canadian Kevin Gordon set school records with a final-round 66 and a 7-under 206 total. Witchayapat Sinsrang, from Thailand, then beat the 66 with a 65 at Old Dominion’s meet.

The second year of the Pinnacle Bank Championship raised $113,000 for charity. TeamMates received $40,000, the March of Dimes $32,000 and First Tee of Omaha $5,000.

In addition, the 15th Club, an ambassador group formed to assist in bringing tournament awareness to the community, gave $36,000 to the family of pro golfer Scott Harrington. In May, Harrington left the Web.com Tour after his wife, Jennifer, was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma.

The 2019 PBC has dates of July 18 to 21 at Indian Creek, with TeamMates again the primary charity.

Former state champion John Hurley, from O’Neill, Nebraska, announced recently that he is leaving pro golf.

“While it is hard to move on … I will still continue to play but will now enjoy the game more knowing my livelihood doesn’t come down to the shot at hand,’’ the Tomball, Texas, resident posted on Twitter.

Hurley had five pro wins, played a year on the Web.com Tour and played PGA Tour events at Quad Cities and Phoenix after being an NCAA team champion at Texas A&M and winning three Nebraska Match Play titles in four years.

Omahan Bob Meyer thought he was going to put his team 2-up in a casual four-ball match at Wisconsin’s Sand Valley 17-hole, par-3 Sandbox course, when he put his tee shot on the downhill ninth hole to 12 inches.

But Omaha eye doctor Pete Whitted eschewed a wedge shot for the putter and sank the 138-footer (46 yards) for an ace.

“Instead of being 2-up, the match was all square and all involved were laughing uncontrollably. It’s the longest putt I’ve ever seen made and what makes the game so much fun,’’ Meyer said.

LPGA greats Pat Bradley, Amy Alcott, Nancy Lopez and Laura Davies appeared in a video salute for North Platte golf pro Dick Skinner at last month’s Nebraska Golf Hall of Fame banquet.

Six-time LPGA winner Val Skinner, Dick’s daughter, said during her presentation speech that Alcott used Skinner-made irons to win five times in one season, and a wedge he fashioned for Bradley was included in her exhibit at the USGA’s Golf House.

» Kevin Stanek of Bellevue won for the first time as a professional at the North Dakota Open, the year’s final event on the Dakotas Tour. His final-round 64 earned him first-place money of $14,500 as he was eighth on the money list.

» Susan Marchese of Omaha lost in the first round of the U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur. Heidi Stark of Lincoln lost a playoff for the final spot in a match at the U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur. Andy Sajevic of Omaha missed the cut for match play at the U.S. Mid-Amateur.

» Former Web.com Tour players Ryan Vermeer of Happy Hollow and Steve Friesen of Firethorn won the Nebraska Section PGA’s match play and assistants match play titles, respectively.

» Iowa’s Gene Elliott and Mike McCoy and Kansas’ Jeff Bell and Elliot Soyez advanced through sectional qualifying at ArborLinks in Nebraska City for the 2019 U.S. Amateur Four-Ball Championship.

» Marc Hock of Pinnacle Bank shot 78 to win Happy Hollow Club’s hickory championship, with Dave Brown second and Trevor Kula third. Dale Hallock was the reserve-division winner. At the Johnny Goodman River City Hickory Championship, which Kula won at Champions Run, Iowans Warren Olson of Denison and Bill Reed of Des Moines were inducted into the Nebraska Hickory Golf Association’s hall of fame.

» Player’s Club won its first Women’s Interclub season title. Golfers were Emily Flynn, Barbara Else, Jacquie Estee, Miriam Nelson, Clare Schumacher, Arlys Rearick, Gail Anderson, Peg Huss, Julie Riewer, Kelly Martinson, Renee Lillard, Kippy King, Laura Trapp, Gay Gross-Rhode, Connie Boeka, Peggy Oltmans, Keven McGuire, Lee Pankowski, Michelle Martin, Kathy Swanda and Carlene Peterson. — Stu Pospisil