Brothers Luke and Ollie Schniederjans view Wichita Open as competitive family reunion
A spectator had a friendly challenge for Luke Schniederjans as the young professional golfer prepared to hit his tee shot on the raucous 17th hole during his opening round of the Wichita Open at Crestview Country Club.
“Your brother hit one right next to the pin here earlier today,” the fan bellowed from a shady spot in the stands. “The crowd loved it. Let’s see if you can do better.”
Luke grinned, gave the stranger a nod and tried his best to comply. He hit a high arcing shot that curved right to left toward the green of the 202-yard par 3. Then he waited for the crowd to roar in approval. Alas, his ball didn’t make it all the way to the hole and ended up about 30 feet short. His older brother, Ollie, had won the fan’s challenge.
At least it seemed that way until Luke drained his long putt for birdie. Ollie missed his attempt and walked away with a par.
“It’s fun to be out here with my brother, because this is the first time we have ever really been competitive,” said Luke, 23, following his first round on Thursday. “Ollie is five years older than me, so we never played in the same tournaments when we were young. What we had was more of a friendly rivalry, trying to help each other out. Right now is the most competitive we have ever been.”
That should make this an exciting week for the entire Schniederjans family. Luke and Ollie aren’t the only ones here.
Their parents both made the trek over from their home near Atlanta to watch as many holes as possible. They were thrilled when Luke played well enough on Monday to qualify for the event and join Ollie, who won the 2016 Wichita Open, in the tournament field.
Ollie’s other brother, Ben, serves as his caddie. With no more siblings to spare, Luke hired experienced caddied Bill Zimmerman to carry his bag this week. But his swing coach is in attendance.
The Schniederjans siblings have always been close. Luke and Ollie both played golf at Georgia Tech, while Ben was a pitcher for the Yellow Jackets.
That group will have plenty to talk about at the hotel each night.
“We always wanted to do this,” Ollie said. “It’s just so fun now that it’s actually happening. It’s really neat. My other brother, Ben, is caddying for me. To have all three of us together out here on tour is too much fun.”
The Korn Ferry Tour can be a lonely place for some golfers. Friends and family will often support competitors at nearby events, but it’s hard for them to travel to distant locations. When a golfer is far away from home or in a slump, grinding out rounds in the heat can feel like a chore.
Golf doesn’t feel that way for Luke and Ollie right now. They consider themselves blessed to play against each other, and in front of their parents this week. Of course, mom and dad have to divide and conquer in order to watch them both.
Linda, their mother, was one of the most active spectators on the course on Thursday. She watched Ollie play his first nine holes and then sprinted to catch up with Luke shortly after. Then she made her way back to Ollie and re-joined Luke at the end of his round.
Her only complaint: The 100-degree weather.
“It’s so great to have them all in the same place,” she said. “It really is remarkable.”
Making things even better is the fact that Luke and Ollie are both playing well. Luke shot a 67 on Friday that dropped him to 2-under par. That put him in contention to keep him around for the weekend, but ended up missing the cut by a single stroke.
Ollie fired a 64 to move into the top five at 9-under par entering Saturday’s third round. He’s in the hunt for his second career victory, trailing second-round leader Harry Hall (-13).
He was stopped for autographs between holes in his first two rounds, as it’s easy for fans to remember how he won this tournament in a playoff not long ago. His floppy hair, and lack of a hat, are also easy to spot.
“It’s cool to be back here,” Ollie said. “My best memory is probably making that putt on the playoff hole to get my PGA Tour card for the first time. I will definitely never forget that.”
Luke can’t recall beating his older brother in an official tournament before, but he said he said “smoked” Ollie by 18 strokes last Christmas during a four-day family challenge in Florida. That gave him “bragging rights” he would like to duplicate this week or at their next tournament together.
Those could be few and far between for now. Luke and Ollie are in different stages of their professional careers. Ollie is fighting to return to the PGA Tour next season, and a strong showing this week could help him make that happen. Luke has status on the lower Forme Tour, but is trying to make the most of his appearances on the Korn Ferry Tour. For now, they’re soaking it all in together.
“This is as fun as it gets,” Luke said.
Only one thing could make it better.
“The goal is to get to the PGA Tour together,” Ollie said. “We’d love to do this for a long time.”
This story was originally published June 18, 2021 at 3:37 PM.