Huskers Start Season at Duke

The Nebraska men’s golf season tees off for its 2021 fall campaign when the Huskers travel to North Carolina for the Rod Myers/Duke Invitational Sept. 11-12 in Durham.

Nebraska is the only school west of the Mississippi River in the 14-team field, which includes seven 2021 NCAA Regional teams (Duke, North Carolina, NC State, Charlotte, UNC Wilmington, Loyola (Md.), North Florida). East Carolina, UNC Greensboro, Virginia Tech, Princeton, Penn State and Nebraska round out the teams that will be challenged by the 7,154-yard, par-72 layout at the Duke University Golf Club this weekend.

The two-day, 54-hole event begins with two rounds on Saturday, Sept. 11, with a shotgun start at 8 a.m. (CT). The tournament culminates with the final round on Sunday with tee times beginning at 6:35 a.m. (CT).

Live scoring will be available at GolfStat.com.

Nebraska’s five-player lineup features five returning lettermen led by Tom Westenberger, who earned the top spot in pre-tournament qualifying. The senior from Wuppertal, Germany is the only returning Husker to compete in all 15 rounds for the Big Red last spring, when he finished with a 75.27 stroke average. Westenberger produced a pair of top-10 individual finishes at the Hoosier Collegiate (T7th) and the Aggie Invitational (T6th).

Seniors Caleb Badura (Aurora, Neb.) and Mark Foelbaek (Jelling, Denmark) will join Westenberger in the Husker lineup at Duke, along with sophomores Reed Malleck (York, Neb.) and Gentry Scheve (Emporia, Kan.). Badura and Foelbaek tied for fifth at last season’s Git-R-Done Husker Invitational before matching each other again for Nebraska’s top individual finishes at the 2021 Big Ten Championship.

Rod Myers/Duke Invitational

Location: Durham, North Carolina

Host: Duke University

Course: Duke University Golf Club (Par 72, 7,154 Yards)

Schedule:

Saturday, Sept. 11 (Shotgun): 8 a.m. (CT)

Sunday, Sept. 12: 6:35 a.m. (CT)

Live Scoring: GolfStat.com

Participating Teams (14)     

Charlotte         

Duke    

East Carolina     

Elon 

Loyola

NC State 

Nebraska

North Carolina

North Florida

Penn State

Princeton

UNC Greensboro     

UNC Wilmington

Virginia Tech

Nebraska Lineup

1. Tom Westenberger

2. Gentry Scheve    

3. Caleb Badura

4. Reed Malleck

5. Mark Foelbaek

Balak Enters First Season as Nebraska Head Coach

The Nebraska men’s golf program plans to continue to climb the ladder in the Big Ten Conference in 2021-22 under the direction of first-year head coach Brett Balak.

Although Balak will be in his first season as Nebraska’s head coach, he spent the past two seasons helping to lay the foundation for a resurgent Husker program as an assistant.

“It is truly an honor and a privilege to have the opportunity to lead the Nebraska men’s golf program,” Balak said. “I have had an opportunity to be part of the start of the building process at Nebraska for the past two years and I am confident in the direction we are headed. We have some talented and hard-working golfers returning to our program, and we are looking forward to climbing the ladder in the Big Ten to contend for conference championships and NCAA regional bids in the future.”

Not only does Balak bring experience working with the current Husker roster, which includes five seniors, a junior, three sophomores and a true freshman, he has also been a key part to Nebraska’s recruiting success the past two-plus seasons.

Balak brings an extensive resumé of NCAA Championship success as a head coach, assistant coach and player in Lincoln, Nebraska.

The GCAA National Coach of the Year after leading Nebraska Wesleyan to the NCAA Division III title in 2006, Balak was a 14-time NIAC/GPAC Conference Coach of the Year in 18 seasons at the helm of the Prairie Wolves program.

Overall, he was a part of 20 Nebraska Wesleyan teams that finished in the top 24 at the NCAA Division III Championships, including 14 NCAA appearances as a head coach, three as an assistant and three more as a player during his 25 years across town at Wesleyan.

Balak will be joined by first-year assistant coach Travis Minzel. A captain at Nebraska Wesleyan under Balak, Minzel has been one of the top amateurs in the state for more than a decade, after helping the Prairie Wolves to the NCAA Division III Championships in 2004.

“I’m very grateful for the tremendous opportunity,” Minzel said. “I am ready to get to work continuing to build and develop the Husker golf program.”

Seniors Leading the Way

Nebraska’s five-member senior class will be the cornerstone of the Huskers’ growth in 2021-22. 

Tom Westenberger, an NJCAA All-American at Iowa Western Community College in 2018, headlines the group after posting a 75.27 stroke average while competing in all 15 rounds for the Big Red last season. Westenberger, an economics major from Wuppertal, Germany, enters his third season at Nebraska after posting a pair of top-10 individual finishes (T6th, Aggie Invitational; T7th, Hoosier Collegiate) in five tournaments a year ago.

Branden Meyer joins Westenberger as one the most experienced Huskers after competing in 27 rounds over the past two abbreviated seasons. Meyer, a two-time NJCAA All-American (2018, 2019) at South Mountain Community College in Arizona posted a 75.53 stroke average in 2019-20.

A third NJCAA All-American, Mark Foelbaek, also returns in a leadership role for the Huskers. The senior from Jelling, Denmark by way of Ranger College in Texas, broke through with a career-best 213 (E) to tie for fifth individually at Nebraska’s Git-R-Done Invitational in mid-April last season. His performance included a career-best 67 (-4) at Firethorn Golf Club, before matching teammate Caleb Badura for Nebraska’s top individual finish at the 2021 Big Ten Championship.

Badura, a senior from Aurora, Nebraska, also surged down the stretch last season. He matched Foelbaek’s performance at the Git-R-Done Invitational to tie for fifth, while also producing a career-best 213 (E). Badura and Foelbaek both have competed in 18 career rounds as Huskers.

Tristan Nelko (Plymouth, Minn.) rounds out NU’s senior class, while Will Marshall (Elburn, Ill.) is the lone member of the Big Red junior class. Marshall provided a consistent presence in the Husker lineup as a sophomore and could be poised for a breakout season.

Young Huskers Ready to Help Big Red Rise During 2021-22

A four-member sophomore class led by Jeremy Sisson (Skaneateles, N.Y.), Gentry Scheve (Emporia, Kan.), and Reed Malleck (York, Neb.) all contributed at times in 2020-21. All four are hungry to provide even more pop to the Husker lineup in their second seasons.

True freshman Kameron Shaw, one of the top recruits from the state of Kansas, will add young talent to the class. The 2019 Kansas Class 2A individual champion, Shaw helped Salina Sacred Heart to three straight state team titles in 2018, 2019 and 2021.

International Golfers Solidify Husker Lineup

Nebraska has a pair of international players competing for top lineup spots this season. Mark Foelbaek (Jelling, Denmark) is entering his third season playing for Nebraska. Foelbaek spent time at Ranger (Texas) College before making his way to Lincoln.

After his 2018 fall season at Ranger College, the junior college All-American was the No. 1 ranked golfer in NJCAA Division I according to Golfstat. Foelbaek is continuing to see improvement in his game, with his career best coming at the 2021 Git-R-Done Husker Invitational (April 17-18). He fired a four-under-par 67 in the final round at Firethorn Golf Club on his way to a tie for fifth (213).

Tom Westenberger joins Foelbaek in adding international flavor to the Husker golf program. The senior from Wuppertal, Germany spent his first two collegiate seasons at Iowa Western Community College. A junior college All-American at Iowa Western, Westenberger was ranked No. 8 in the country in the NJCAA. Westenberger is the only returning Husker to compete in all 15 team rounds last season, when he compiled a 75.27 stroke average and three consecutive top-20 tournament finishes. He joined Foelbaek as two of Nebraska’s top three finishers at the 2021 Big Ten Championship.

Midwestern Flavor

Caleb Badura (Aurora, Neb.), Reed Malleck (York, Neb.), Gentry Scheve (Emporia, Kan.), Will Marshall (Elburn, Ill.) and Tristan Nelko (Plymouth, Minn.) all bring Midwestern roots to the Husker program.

Badura and Nelko will be expected to provide senior leadership for the Huskers, while Marshall could also be a key ingredient to Nebraska’s success as the lone junior on the squad. 

Malleck and Scheve both spent their first seasons at Nebraska gaining strength and experience and could be poised for greater contributions after earning lineup spots for the season-opening Rod Myers/Duke Invitational.

Gutschewski Earns PGA TOUR Playing Card for 2021-22

One of the top golfers in Nebraska history, Scott Gutschewski will be back on the PGA TOUR in 2021-22 after earning his card as one of the top 50 golfers on the 2020-21 Korn Ferry Tour. Gutschewski was one of 25 players to receive his card on the 18th green of Victoria National Golf Club in Newburgh, Ind., on Sunday, Sept. 5.

Gutschewski competed on the PGA TOUR from 2005 to 2007, then earned cards again in 2009 and 2011. The Omahan lettered at Nebraska in 1997, 1998 and 1999, helping the Huskers to a 14th-plcae team finish at the NCAA Championships in 1999.