Omaha, Neb. – The PGA TOUR and Pinnacle Bank announced a new Korn Ferry Tour event to be contested at The Club at Indian Creek beginning in 2017. The Pinnacle Bank Championship will be played the week of July 17-23, with a five-year title sponsorship agreement in place through the 2021 season. The event will feature a purse of $600,000.
“We are ecstatic to return to Omaha after a wonderful 18-year run in one of the country’s best sports cities,” said Korn Ferry Tour President Bill Calfee. “Through the efforts of Pinnacle Bank, we have the foundation for what should quickly become one of the best stops on the Korn Ferry Tour schedule.”
The Tour’s prior event in Omaha was contested from 1996 to 2013, producing champions such as PGA TOUR winners Bo Van Pelt, Johnson Wagner, Heath Slocum and Jason Gore.
The event featured some of the Korn Ferry Tour’s best community support. From volunteer efforts to fan attendance, the market has a proven track record for success and maintains a strong platform from which to launch a return to Omaha in 2017, thanks to the efforts of Pinnacle Bank, Chairman Sid Dinsdale and President Marc Hock.
“We’re thrilled that Pinnacle Bank can help bring the Korn Ferry Tour back to Omaha. We know it’s been missed and we’re excited to have it as one of the community’s signature events again.” said Dinsdale.
Based in Central City, Neb., Pinnacle Bank is a community bank with roots dating to 1938, when brothers George and Tom Dinsdale founded the company with hopes of providing better assistance for local residents struggling through the Great Depression.
Over 80 years later, Pinnacle Bank features more than 140 locations in eight states, with a continued focus on community service and third and fourth generations of Dinsdales still helping to guide the bank’s future and impact on local markets.
“At Pinnacle Bank one of our core values and emphasis is community and Omaha’s Korn Ferry Tour stop has an excellent track record of bringing people together and supporting community causes in a fun and compelling way,” said Hock.
Support Nebraska, Inc., a 501(c)(3) foundation, will manage and operate the event as the tournament host organization.
The Club at Indian Creek is a 27-hole course located in nearby Elkhorn, Neb., with two nines opening for play in 1992 and the third nine opening in 1998. The Club features the Black Bird, Gray Hawk and Red Feather nines, with Black Bird and Gray Hawk slated to form the 18-hole venue that will host the Pinnacle Bank Championship.
The club is the annual host of the prestigious Indian Creek Invitational, has served as host of numerous USGA and Korn Ferry Tour qualifiers, and was honored as the Golf Facility of the Year in 2005 by the Nebraska PGA.
“We’ve always felt that Indian Creek offered championship level golf. We’re happy we could help bring the Korn Ferry Tour back to Omaha and we’re looking forward to providing the tournament players and spectators with an unparalleled experience,” said owner Bill Gottsch.
With 50 available PGA TOUR cards for the following season coming through the Korn Ferry Tour (since 2013), the Tour is The Path to the PGA TOUR. Twenty-five TOUR cards are reserved for the leading money winners at the end of the 21-event Regular Season. Another 25 are up for grabs at the four-event Korn Ferry Tour Finals that follow the Regular Season in September.
The Finals paved the path for immediate PGA TOUR success last fall for three Korn Ferry Tour graduates, as Emiliano Grillo (Frys.com Open), Smylie Kaufman (Shriners Hospitals for Children Open) and Peter Malnati (Sanderson Farms Championship) won three of the opening four events in the TOUR’s 2015-16 season.
For more information on the Korn Ferry Tour or the Pinnacle Bank Championship, please visit www.PGATOUR.com.
About Pinnacle Bank
Family-owned since 1938, Nebraska-based Pinnacle Bancorp, Inc., is a $9.2 billion financial holding company operating 140 community banks in seven states including 61 locations in Nebraska. For more information, visit pinnbank.com.
ABOUT THE KORN FERRY TOUR
Founded (1990), owned and operated by the PGA TOUR, the Korn Ferry Tour continues to identify those players who are ready to compete and win on golf’s biggest stage. In 2013, the Korn Ferry Tour became The Path to the PGA TOUR with all 50 available PGA TOUR cards coming through the Korn Ferry Tour and the season culminating at the four-event Korn Ferry Tour Finals. This season marks the 28th year of competition on the Korn Ferry Tour. Three out of four PGA TOUR members are Korn Ferry Tour alumni. Tour alumni have won more than 450 PGA TOUR titles, including 22 majors and six PLAYERS Championships. The PGA TOUR, through the efforts of its Tours and their tournaments, sponsors, players and volunteers, has generated over $2 billion in charitable giving.