World Team Defeats Americans at Golden Tee World Championship
For the first time in the history of the Golden Tee World Championship, the World team defeated Team USA 24.5 to 23.5 and removed the silver cup from American soil. The 2004 Golden Tee World Championship was held from November 14-16 at Friday's Front Row in Orlando, Florida, consisting of a Ryder Cup style, team contest and a singles competition for a $57,000 prize purse and the World Champion title. While Team USA entered Orlando with a formidable 2-0 record, the World Team had high expectations in 2004, with bold words to back it up. "The world has finally caught up to America," said 2003 World Team Captain, Tim Glenn, of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, prior to this year's event. "I am guaranteeing a World Team victory in 2004!" The international squad included Canadians, Brits, New Zealanders, Australians, and South Africans. "I knew we could do it, but I still can't believe we did it!" said 2004 World Team Captain, Anthony Goertz, of Kitchener, Ontario, Canada, during the post-match press conference with the Golf Channel. "I am just proud of the team and I am honored to be a part of it," he said.
While the World Team won the battle for global pride, there was still a matter of crowning a 2004 Golden Tee World Champion and awarding the $15,000 prize. For the first time in World Championship history, all players competed in a 36-hole qualifier on Sunday, 14 November, to determine the seeding for the individual match play. As an added incentive, top-qualifiers in both the Team USA and the World Team brackets received a set of golf irons courtesy of Top Flite, the official golf equipment sponsor of Golden Tee LIVE. Anthony Johnson, of Minneapolis, Minnesota, was Team USA's #1 qualifier and Enzo Polidori, of Brantford, Ontario, Canada, earned the top seed and golf clubs on the World Team side. For the second straight year in individual match play, Tim Glenn worked his way to the top of the World Team bracket and received a chance to fight for the title in the championship round. Tim defeated fellow countryman J.D. Keele, of Kamloops, British Columbia, Canada, to move on to the finals. On the U.S. half, Jeff Harlow, of Florissant, Missouri, was the day's hot hand. Jeff's impressive path to the top of the Team USA bracket included victories against four-time Player of the Year, Dean Liakakos, of Dayton, Ohio, and 2003 Golden Tee World Champion, Chris Eversole, of Atlanta, Georgia.
As the championship round began, all eyes were on Harlow and Glenn, including camera crews from the Golf Channel and NBC. Two victories were required to be crowned the Golden Tee World Champion. Round one went on to sudden death and took 31 holes and nearly one hour to declare Harlow the victor. Round two was neck-and-neck until Harlow nailed a remarkable hole-in-one to thrill the crowd and take a commanding lead. Glenn used everything in his power to catch up, but proved to not have enough to stop Harlow, a 30-year-old baker, as he became the third American to win the World Championship title. "This has been the greatest weekend of my life!" said Harlow during a post-match interview. "I just can't believe this is happening to me and I don't want it to end!" Harlow took home $15,000 for his performance, while Glenn earned a $5,000 prize for second place. J.D. Keele won third place and a $3,000 check, while William Lee, of New York City, earned $2,000 for his fourth place finish.
Pictured: Jeff Harlow proudly wears his Golden Tee Society bomber jacket and displays the $15,000 check he received for winning the 2004 Golden Tee World Championship. Looking on are Elaine Hodgson, CEO, and Richard Ditton, Executive Vice President of Incredible Technologies, the manufacturer of Golden Tee Golf.
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