Through eight holes, Brevin Giebler of Cape Girardeau had the defending Missouri Amateur champion in some deep rough in their match-play quarterfinal Saturday morning at Dalhousie Golf Club.
Facing Giebler's charge and not playing his best golf, Nurski returned to his home course -- in his mind. He received some assistance from his caddy, Brian Haskell, a fellow St. Josephan who had been eliminated by Giebler in Friday's Round of 32.
"My caddy calmed me down a little bit on the nine tee box," Nurski said. "He said, 'Let's just play like we're at home,' and that's what I did on the last few holes there, the last nine anyway."
The left-hander clocked his drive on No. 9 within 20 feet of the green for an up-and-down birdie to win the hole, then followed with birdies on Nos. 12 and 13 to draw even, before taking advantage of bogeys by Giebler on two of the next three holes for a 2 and 1 victory.
"It made my swing feel a little better," Nurski said of his birdie on No. 9. "I was probably a little tight there in at the beginning. I was trying to get loose and trying to get used to the crowd and trying to get used to how I was going for the day. I just kind of let it hang out there on nine, and it felt good the rest the way to the end."
Giebler, seeded No. 25 in the match play, was attempting to reach the semifinals for the second straight year and match his accomplishment of 2012, when he also reached the semis as the No. 1 seed when Dalhousie last hosted the Missouri Amateur.
"I played good," Giebler said. "I had some ups, he had some downs. I had some downs, he had some ups, and took advantage of them on the back and he beat me."
Nurski has a growing resume, also having won the Missouri Amateur in 2010, the Missouri Stroke Play title in 2012, and Mid Ams in 2011 and 2013. He's also competed on a national stage.
"He's a world class player, so I knew I had to play good to beat him," Giebler said. "He just played a little bit better. That's how it goes."
It was the second straight match Nurski was strongly tested, having weathered a 19-hole bout with No. 17 Chris Martin in Friday's afternoon match.
"It'd be nice to have a shorter match, but once you get to this point, that's not going to be the case," Nurski said. "Everyone's good. Once you get to the Round of 64, everyone's good. You have to ready to grind and battle all day long. I knew it would be that way with Brevin; it's his home golf course."
Giebler had built his 3-up lead with par on the par-4 No. 3, a birdie on No. 6, another par 4, and a par on the par-3 No. 8.
Nurski, who had shot rounds of 67 and 68 in stroke play to earn the top seed, took his first lead on the par 4 No. 14, taking advantage of one of Giebler's rare errant approach shots that resulted in bogey. Nurski was on in two and made par.
"I had a really good game plan the first two rounds and I really stuck to it," Nurski said. "I was just trying to hit fairways and greens, and if birdies fell, birdies fell. I'm trying to adapt that to match play, and for the most part it's working."
Both players carded fives on the par-5 15th, before the match shifted dramatically in Nurski's favor on No. 16, a par 4.
Nurski got on safely in two, but Giebler's approach found the bunker. He made a strong recovery shot before missing a putt inside of six feet for par. Suddenly, Nurski sat dormie -- a two-hole lead with two to play -- and needed to simply half Giebler on one of the remaining holes.
He did that on the par-4 No. 17, lagging a 35-foot putt within a foot. Giebler's had knocked a 6-iron from 185 yards within 10 feet, but when his birdie attempt slid past the hole, he removed his hat and conceded the hole and the match.
"I missed on the high side," Giebler said. "I gave it a chance. Neither one of us made any putts today. He did what he was supposed to do. He was dormie."
Nurksi advanced to play No. 28 seed Reilly Ahearn in the afternoon semifinals. Ahearn had survived a 23-hole marathon with No. 20 seed Brad Carpenter of Washington in another morning quarterfinal. The other semifinal featured No. 47 seed Chris Kovach of St. Louis and No. 22 seed Brooks Jungbluth of St. Joseph. Kovach advanced with a 2-up win over No. 10 seed Chad Niezing of Manchester, Missouri, while Jungbluth won 4 and 2 over No. 14 seed Joseph Williams of St. Louis.
Giebler was one of 16 players from the Southeast Missouri to compete in the 146-player field, and the final one remaining from the eight who advanced to match play.
"I'm competitive, but I had no expectations," Giebler said. "I just came out to play golf, and let the chips fall where they may. I'm happy with the week. I was the last local standing. I have nothing to hold my head down about. So the next one we have is stroke play over in Springfield (Missouri), and I'll be there along with all the other players, all the young pups."