This week, I am spending some time at the Korn Ferry tournament here in Omaha which is known as the Pinnacle Bank Championship. I have some history with this project in a couple of ways. This event started in Omaha as the Nike Omaha Classic in 1996 which was a Omaha Jaycee project. I am a past President and Chairman of the Omaha Jaycees. I got involved in 1997 and became a member of the Nike Board. This has been a popular tournament for players, volunteers and spectators for almost 30 years. My wife ,Earlene and I have volunteered for a number of years. See the full history here, https://www.thepinnaclebankchampionship.com/event/history/. There was a 3 years when the tournament was not played in Omaha, but it has been continuous since 2017.
Notable Players
Some notables who have played here include Tim O’Neal now on the Champions Tour and Scottie Schefffler who is the reigning number 1 ranked player in the world. Scottie Scheffler finished in a tie for 27th place at 4-under par (280) during the Pinnacle Bank Championship in Omaha, Nebraska, held July 18–21, 2019, earning $4,520 with round scores of 69-71-70-70. He has since earned over $100M on the PGA Tour. Not Bad.
Tim has played in 154 Korn Ferry events earning $464,080. He is now doing quite well on the PGA Tour -Champions with over $2M in earnings.
I think these two players clear demonstrate the value and need of having the Korn Ferry Tour in developing players for the PGA Tour.
Who is Pinnacle Bank
Pinnacle Bank began as one community bank in Palmer, Nebraska founded in 1938, by George and Tom Dinsdale. They believed in the importance of local decision making and down-to-earth banking. Those are the traditions on which the Dinsdale family grew the bank and expanded into new communities. Today, Pinnacle Bank has 163 locations in eight states, with 63 locations across Nebraska. The bank is still proudly family owned and the third and fourth generations of the Dinsdale family serve in a variety of leadership roles.
Sense of Community
The tournament has been embraced by the Omaha community as demonstrated by the $1.2M in charitable contributions made over the past ten years. Here is a partial listing of the recipients of these charitable donations.
Vita Nova, PGA REACH Foundation, Boys Town, Completely Kids, Elkhorn Athletic Club, First Tee of Omaha, Jesuit Academy, National Girls Collaborative Project, Omaha Public Schools Foundation, Partnership 4 Kids, SAVE Program, TeamMates Mentoring, Westside Foundation, Youth Emergency Services, Epic for Girls, Breakthrough T1D Nebraska-Iowa Chapter, Knights of Columbus, Ivy League, and Nebraska Golf Foundation,First Tee of Omaha, Boys Town, Jesuit Academy, Child Saving Institute, Completely Kids, Omaha Public Schools Foundation, TeamMates Mentoring, SAVE Program Inc, Partnership 4 Kids, Westside Foundation, PGA REACH Foundation, EPIC for Girls, JDRF Nebraska-Iowa Chapter, and Knights of Columbus.
Impressive list to say the least.
Go to https://www.thepinnaclebankchampionship.com/partners/community/ for a full listing.
Here are some impressive attendance number about Pinnacle Bank Championship
2025 Attendance Total week attendance – 45,116
2021 Total – 37,634
2022 Total – 45,656
2023 Total – 43,815
2024 Total – 52,816
In 2025 , some 680 volunteers put in approximately 8,330 volunteer hours over 7 days clearly demonstrating the community connection. In fact, I would highly recommend that anyone reading this article should volunteer in their local community for PGA,LPGA,AJGA and USGA events. Even if you have to travel a bit to do it. It is a very educational, interesting and satisfying experience. Keep in mind that you do not have be a golfer to volunteer.
Well today is a practice round day for the 156 players, and I will spend some time watching these fellas hit 300-yard bombs, shape shots, get up and down and make putts. Hopefully, I will pick up a few tips for my game which is in continuous need of assistance. Given the history of the Korn Ferry tour, I believe I am safe in saying that some future stars of the PGA Tour made their stop in Omaha and are better for it.
