Eight Left at 59th Nebraska Match Play
Rounds of 32 and 16 Conducted Wednesday at Oak Hills Country Club
OMAHA (June 24, 2026) – Eight players are left at the 59th Nebraska Match Play Championship at Oak Hills Country Club, including three of the top five seeds after three rounds of matches.
The Round of 64 was conducted on Tuesday, with the Rounds of 32 and 16 completed on Wednesday. The highest seed left is Lincoln's Zack Erstad, the No. 2 seed, who has survived three tough matches to get to the Quarterfinals. No. 4 seed Ryan Rogers of Omaha, who grew up at Oak Hills, and No. 5 seed Calvin Freeman of Table Rock, the 2023 Champion, are both still alive as well.
Erstad, a Lincoln East graduate and University of North Alabama commit, had to battle to beat the 1987 Champion, Bill Spangler of Lincoln, in the Round of 64. He won the 18th hole to defeat the 64-year-old Spangler, 1 up. Erstad went to the 18th hole again against Nicklaus Fleming of Columbus in the Round of 32, and won four of the last five holes to advance, 2 up. Elkhorn's Kreyton Eikmeier gave him a run too, but Erstad took charge on the back nine for a 2-and-1 win.
Another tough battle looms for Erstad, as he will take on Ashland's Coltrane Mittag on Thursday morning. Mittag, a two-time Nebraska Junior Golfer of the Year, had two big wins on Wednesday. He defeated Creighton golfer Radley Mauney, 7 and 6, and then took down Kearney's Nash Malone, 5 and 4.
Rogers, the 2018 Nebraska Junior Match Play Champion, also had to fight to get to the Quarterfinals. He won his first two matches, 1 up, over Lincoln's John Bryson and Grand Island's Bowdie Fox. He then took out one of the top junior golfers, Harper Kalin of Valley, 5 and 4, in the Round of 16.
Freeman will take on Rogers in the only Quarterfinal matchup of mid-amateurs. They are the only two players left who are not in college or high school. Freeman also faced a tough road, coming out on top against 2022 Nebraska Junior Match Play Champion Owen Tucker of Lincoln, 2 up, and then 1 up over Omaha's Jack Kelley. His toughest test followed against the 2024 Champion, Beau Petersen of Gretna. After Petersen tied the match up on the back nine, Freeman won three straight holes to close out the match, 3 and 2.
Lincoln's Carter Honnens had the finish of the day on Wednesday. It was a back-and-forth match against Omaha's Grant Jabenis in the Round of 16. Honnens birdied the par-3 15th to tie the match, before Jabenis took the lead back with a birdie on No. 16. However, Honnens, a future Husker, closed with an eagle on the par-5 17th and a birdie on the par-4 18th, to defeat the former Husker Jabenis.
Grand Island's Prestin Vilai will take on Honnens in the Quarters, after outlasting Omaha's Sam Vocelka in 19 holes in the Round of 32. He then went on to defeat Fremont's Boston Bojanski, 3 and 2, in the Round of 16.
Travis Tilford of Roca pulled off the upset of the No. 1 seed in the Round of 16. He took out the top seed Jackson Benge of Omaha, 4 and 3. Tilford, a Nebraska Wesleyan golfer, took the lead early and never let up, closing out the match with a birdie on No. 15. He also rolled through his first two matches, both in just 14 holes.
Tilford and his Quarterfinal opponent, Miles Elgert of Lincoln, are the only two players left who haven't had a match go to the 18th hole. Elgert closed out his first two matches in 15 and 14 holes, respectively, and then defeated Brock Kuhlman of Columbus in the Round of 16, 3 and 1.
The Quarterfinals begin at 7:30 a.m. on Thursday morning. The updated bracket is available on the championship website below, along with additional information.
Nebraska Match Play Championship
About NebGolf
The Nebraska Golf Association (NebGolf), founded in 1966, is comprised of all members of public and private clubs and/or municipal or regional golf associations which utilize an approved handicap service recognized by the USGA and provided by NebGolf. Our mission is to uphold and promote the game of golf and its values to all golfers in Nebraska. Among the duties of the Association include governance of member clubs and service as their handicapping and course rating authority, conduct of state golf championships, local USGA qualifying & other notable competitions, promotion of junior golf, presentation of worthwhile educational programs and support of allied golf organizations in Nebraska. The Nebraska Golf Association is an Allied Golf Association of the USGA and carries out core services including Handicap Administration and Oversight, Course Rating, Rules of Golf and Rules of Amateur Status, Tournaments and USGA Championship Qualifiers and USGA Initiatives and Community Programs.
