YORK – Fremont’s John Sajevic is the No. 1 seed at the 10th Nebraska Senior Match Play Championship, after Stroke Play Qualifying at York Country Club on Monday.
Sajevic, a four-time Nebraska Senior Amateur Champion, has yet to win the match play title, though he has finished runner-up twice. He posted the low round of the day, an even-par 70, to earn medalist honors and the top seed for match play. It’ll be Sajevic’s second time as the No. 1 seed. He was the top seed in 2015 at ArborLinks in Nebraska City, when he finished runner-up to Mike Krumland of Columbus.
Sajevic had an up-and-down round, making the turn in 33 (-2), but four bogeys on the back nine pushed him back over-par. He righted the ship with a birdie on No. 17, and then nearly rolled in another short birdie attempt on No. 18 to finish at even-par.
Bellevue’s Marcus Bell will get to face Sajevic in the Round of 16, the same matchup as in 2015, when Bell was the No. 16 and Sajevic the No. 1 seed. Bell made quick work of a 3-for-1 playoff for the final spot in the bracket. He tied with two others at 78 (+8), Dave Shillinglaw of Bellevue and Todd Halligan of Columbus. Bell rolled in a birdie putt from just off the back of No. 1 green to earn the spot. Sajevic won the 2015 matchup against Bell, 5 and 3. They’ll tee it up at 9 a.m. tomorrow to kickoff match play.
The 2018 Champion Matt Haynes of Papillion and Kirby Smith of Omaha tied for second with rounds of 71 (+1). Smith birdied the 18th hole, while Haynes bogeyed to drop a stroke shy of Sajevic. Smith will be the No. 2 seed, after a random draw, and will play Elkhorn’s David Allen in the Round of 16. Haynes is the No. 3 seed and will take on Papillion’s Jeff Lamontagne.
Four-time Champion Krumland tied for fourth with Omaha’s Gregg Vonnahme. Both players carded rounds of 73 (+3). Krumland is the No. 4 seed, facing Bennington’s Gary Piercy, while Vonnahme is the No. 5 seed and plays Bennington’s Steve Buroker.
Three players tied for sixth at 74 (+4), including the defending champion Ed Wyatt of Lincoln, Eric Murphy of Papillion and Charlie Burt of Omaha. Wyatt and Murphy were involved in a record-tying nine-hole playoff forthe Nebraska Senior Amateur title last month, which Wyatt won.
Match play begins on Tuesday with the Round of 16, followed by the Quarterfinals in the afternoon. The Semifinals and Final are scheduled for Wednesday.
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