By: NU Athletic Communications
The Nebraska men’s golf team travels to Fayetteville, Ark., to compete in the nine-team Blessings Collegiate at Blessings Golf Club, Oct. 3-5.
The three-day, 54-hole event starts with tee times on Saturday at 7:45 a.m. (CT). The second round picks up on Sunday, with the final round set for Monday morning. Live scoring for the event will be available at scoreboard.clippd.com.
The nine teams will be challenged by a par-72, 7,982-yard layout as they contend for the tournament title. Nebraska is the lone Big Ten team in a field that features Little Rock, Southern Miss, Kansas State , North Texas , Middle Tennessee, Oral Roberts, UNC Greensboro and the hosts from Arkansas.
Tommy Kelley has led the Huskers in the first three tournaments of the fall. The freshman from Omaha Creighton Prep tied for 30th at the 2nd Swing Gopher Invitational (Sept. 20-21) with solid rounds of 75, 72 and 73 to help Nebraska to a 13th-place finish in a 15-team field.
Junior Jackson Benge matched Kelley’s 220 (+7), with his best effort of the fall season at the Gopher Invitational. The junior out of Omaha Westside managed rounds of 75, 74 and 72.
Gavin Gerch added a top-40 finish for Big Red by posting Nebraska’s best individual round of the tournament with an even-par 71 in the first round. The junior from Lincoln Southeast added his first eagle as a Husker on the par-5, 599-yard 12th hole.
Zack Erstad made his Husker and posted a final score of 234 to tied sophomore teammate Caden Mickelson for 80th in Minnesota. Erstad, a freshman from Lincoln East, matched Benge and Kelley for Nebraska’s best score of the first round with a 75 (+4).
Jaxson Hinze returns to the Husker lineup in Arkansas after firing a 219 (+3) at the Bluejay Invitational (Sept. 21-22). The freshman from Waco, Neb., strung together rounds of 73, 72 and 74 to tie for 17th in Omaha.
Blessings Collegiate
Fayetteville, Arkansas
Host: Arkansas
Blessings Golf Club (Par 72, Yardage 7,982)
Schedule
Saturday, Oct. 3 (Round 1) - 7:45 a.m. CT
Sunday, Oct. 4 (Round 2) - 7:45 a.m. CT
Monday, Oct. 5 (Round 3) - 7:45 a.m. CT
Live Scoring: Scoreboard.Clippd
Participating Teams (9)
Arkansas, Kansas State, Little Rock, Middle Tennessee, Nebraska, North Texas, Oral Roberts, Southern Mississippi, UNC Greensboro
Nebraska Lineup (5-count-4)
1. Tommy Kelley, Fr., Omaha, Nebraska
2. Jackson Benge, Jr., Omaha, Nebraska
3. Gavin Gerch, Jr., Lincoln, Nebraska
4. Zack Erstad, Fr., Lincoln, Nebraska
5. Jaxson Hinze, Fr., Waco, Nebraska
Benge Leads Large Crop of Homegrown Huskers
Jackson Benge headlines a big crop of six homegrown Nebraska golfers on the 2026-27 roster. A third-year Husker from Omaha, Benge competed in all 38 rounds for the Big Red and produced the team’s top returning stroke average (71.76) a year ago. He also posted eight top-25 finishes, including Nebraska’s best conference tournament finish (13th) since Brady Schnell’s third-place showing in 2007.
The Omaha Westside grad is joined by fellow Omahan Tommy Kelley, Lincolnites Thomas Bryson, Gavin Gerch and Zack Erstad, along with Jaxson Hinze (Waco/York) in giving the Cornhusker State its largest contingent on the Nebraska men’s golf roster since seven Nebraskans filled an 11-player roster in 2008-09.
The 2026-27 Husker roster also features the highest percentage (66.7) of native Nebraskans since five, including current head coach Judd Cornell, filled a seven-player Big Red roster in 2003-04 (71.4 percent).
Gerch, a junior out of Lincoln Southeast, spent his first two seasons at Creighton where he was one of the top golfers on the Jays roster. He was a high school teammate of Bryson, who competed in six rounds and posted a pair of top-25 finishes for the Huskers as a true freshman a year ago.
Kelley (Omaha Creighton Prep) and Hinze (York) have been two of the state’s most highly rated recruits as junior golfers the past several years. Hinze was the 2025 Nebraska Junior Amateur Champion, while Kelley claimed the title in 2026.
Erstad, a true freshman who joined the Husker roster on June 30, led Lincoln East High School to back-to-back Class A state championships in 2025 and 2026. He was the Class A individual runner-up in 2026 and was the Nebraska Junior PGA Champion in 2025.
2026-27 Season Bests
Team Total: 864 (+12), Bearcat Invitational, Sept. 14-15
Team to Par: +12 (864), Bearcat Invitational, Sept. 14-15
Team Finish: 9th, Harbor Cup, Aug. 31-Sept. 1
Individual Finish: T21st, Tommy Kelley, Bearcat Invitational, Sept. 14-15
Individual Total: 213 (E), Tommy Kelley, Bearcat Invitational, Sept. 14-15
Individual to Par: (E), 213, Tommy Kelley, Bearcat Invitational, Sept. 14-15
Individual Round: 69 (-2), Gavin Gerch, Harbor Cup, Aug. 31-Sept. 1
Individual Round to Par: (-2), 69, Gavin Gerch, Harbor Cup, Aug. 31-Sept. 1
Eagles (3):
Tommy Kelley, No. 8 (Par 5), 3rd, Harbor Cup, Sept. 1
Jaxson Hinze, No.8 (Par 5), 1st, Bearcat, Sept. 14
Gavin Gerch, No.12 (Par 5),1st, Gopher, Sept. 21