Mittag Goes Wire-to-Wire for Record Win at 118th Nebraska Amateur
Final Round Conducted Friday at Norfolk Country Club
NORFOLK (July 31, 2026) - Ashland's Coltrane Mittag capped a record performance on Friday to win the 118th Nebraska Amateur Championship at Norfolk Country Club.
Mittag shot a Final Round 68 (-4) to win by seven strokes with a 267 (-21) total, tying the championship record. In his wire-to-wire win, Mittag had the low round of the day three of the four rounds. He tied the 18-hole scoring record, 36-hole scoring record, broke the 54-hole scoring record and tied the 72-hole scoring record.
The 72-hole scoring record was set in 1998 by Lincoln's Steve Friesen at Lochland Country Club in Hastings. Mittag matched it with a birdie on the 72nd hole to close out his win.
"I didn't know any of the records until obviously day one, I know I tied the first round record, and I kept looking and I was like 'Okay, I gotta check and see,'" Mittag said. "I checked like two days ago and I saw it was 21(under), and obviously it was really windy today, so you don't think, 'Oh, I'm going to go shoot 4-under in this afternoon wind, and get the record,' but luckily, I was able to do that."
Mittag is also the seventh player to sweep NebGolf's major titles, after winning the Nebraska Match Play Championship in June. He's the youngest to pull off the sweep, at 18-years-old, and joins Alex Schaake (2018), Andy Sajevic (2013), Steve Friesen (1998), John Sajevic (1989), Tom Sieckmann (1974) and Charlie Borner (1970).
"The Amateur is definitely the one that everybody looks at and is like 'that's definitely the one I want to win, if I have to pick," Mittag said. "But to win both in a year is pretty cool."
The third round was suspended Thursday night, and Mittag held the overnight lead at 14-under, with six holes left to play. He resumed his round on Friday morning, and birdied his first hole, No. 13, and added two more to get to 17-under. That set the 54-hole mark, and he held a four-stroke lead over Lincoln's Gavin Gerch heading into the Final Round.
There were fireworks to start the Final Round though, as Gerch chipped in for an eagle on the par-5 first hole. Mittag responded with a birdie on No. 3, while Gerch bogeyed the next two holes. The leader added another birdie on the difficult par-4 fifth hole to move to 19-under.
However, Mittag found trouble on the tricky par-5 sixth hole. His drive went through the fairway and his layup went out-of-bounds. He eventually made a double-bogey to drop back to 17-under, and they were back to where they started.
That's when Mittag pulled off the shot of the championship though, as he hit a seven-iron from 140 yards into the 25 mph wind on the par-3 seventh. His tee shot landed just short of the hole and bounced, hanging on the edge before it dropped in for a hole-in-one. The ace pushed him right back to 19-under.
The trouble was not over for Mittag though, as he made another double-bogey on No. 9, making the turn in 36 (E) at 17-under. Gerch had made a birdie on No. 8, but bogeyed No. 9 and they were back where they started heading to the back nine.
Mittag put his foot on the gas and birdied Nos. 10 and 11, with a bogey on No. 12 slowing him down slightly. However, he added a birdie on the par-3 14th, and then hit an incredible punch shot from the left trees on No. 15 to two-feet. He tapped in for birdie to get to 20-under.
Gerch bogeyed the 15th, so the only question left was whether Mittag would break the scoring record. He made pars on Nos. 16 and 17, so a birdie was need on the par-5 18th hole to tie Friesen's record. Mittag hit a good drive into the wind, and took mini-driver off the deck to reach just short of the green. He quickly chipped up to a few feet and knocked in the birdie for the win and the record.
Gerch finished runner-up at 274 (-14), after a Final Round 71 (-1). His 14-under total is the sixth best in Nebraska Amateur history.
Beau Petersen of Gretna finished third at 277 (-11), the only other player in double-digits and six strokes clear of the next players. The top three all posted four-straight rounds under-par.
Nicklaus Fleming of Columbus matched Mittag for the round of the day, with a 68 (-4), and finished in a tie for fourth with Ethan Smith of Doniphan at 283 (-5).
Johnny Spellerberg of Bennington and Sam Vocelka of Omaha tied for sixth at 285 (-3). Three players tied for eighth at 286 (-2) to round out the Top-10, including Lincoln's Zack Erstad, who shot a 70 (-2) to earn Low Junior honors.
Erstad was tied with the 2002 Champion Ryan Nietfeldt of Elkhorn and Dylan Dahlstedt of Kearney. Nietfeldt notched his 11th Top 10 finish at the Nebraska Amateur.
The scoring page is available on the championship website below, along with additional information.
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.
