Team USA Reclaims Cup in 2005 Golden Tee World Championship
In a dazzling display of trackball proficiency Team USA defeated a tough but inexperienced international squad to reclaim the team title at the Golden Tee World Championship held last month in Orlando. After last year's stunning upset, the 2005 American team – made up of 16 of the greatest video golfers in the country – came to the Worlds with only one goal: winning the Cup back. The World Team – 16 players from Canada, the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Australia and South Africa – knew they were overmatched, but that didn't stop them from giving it everything they had. For the first time the championship was contested on the new Golden Tee LIVE platform, and the Americans had a 6-month head start on their World Team counterparts. "We anticipated a win by the Americans," said Bob Fay, vice president of international sales for Golden Tee manufacturer Incredible Technologies. "But the World Team boys put up a great fight. There's no question they can play. They just needed more time to practice."
Fridays' Front Row, America's premier sports bar and grill, played host to the championship for the fourth straight year. The festivities kicked-off Sunday, November 13 and never stopped until after the championship match Tuesday evening. New to this year's event, players competed in a high-stakes Golden Tee LIVE closest-to-the-pin competition Sunday night. Reigning world champion, Jeff Harlow, of Florissant, Missouri, won the contest and took home a $500 Golden Tee LIVE gift card. Andy Haas, of Stow, Ohio, was the runner-up and earned a $250 LIVE gift card for his efforts. 5-time player of the year, Dean Liakakos, of Dayton, Ohio, won $150 for third place and 2002 world champion, Graig Kinzler, of Schaumburg, Illinois, took home $100 for fourth. The contest was followed by a gala reception at Friday's Front Row. After dinner the contestants played a 36-hole seeding round to determine the bracketing order for Tuesday's prestigious World Championship individual competition. As an extra incentive, the top seeded player on each team received a set of Ben Hogan C-F-T irons provided by Top-Flite. Andy Haas won the clubs on the American team while Nick Feijo of Brantford, Ontario won on the international side.
Monday's team competition - one of the most exciting days of the year in Golden Tee Golf – is contested in a traditional Ryder Cup-style format. After the World Team upset Team USA in 2004 with a one-point victory, the Yanks had to wait an entire year to avenge their loss as the World Team savored their amazing victory. "We were outplayed by the underdogs last year," said 2005 Team USA Captain, Jeff Harlow, in an interview prior to the event. "We don't intend on letting the Cup slip away again in 2005!" Harlow's team lived up to his words. In commanding fashion, Team USA reclaimed the Cup with an impressive 38 to 10 victory. Each member of Team USA contributed at least one point to the tally making it a true team effort.
In World Championship tradition, World Team captain, Martin Awatere, of Wellington, New Zealand, officially passed the Cup to Harlow at an awards banquet held at Universal Studios later that evening. While Team USA proved dominant in the team competition, Tuesday's individual competition for a $57,000 prize pool and a World Champion title marked the beginning of a new day for the international squad. The field consisted of 3 past world champions, 3 player of the year champions, 2 Golden Tee all-stars and a variety of national champions from around the world. Everyone had an equal shot at the title.
Two former world champions, Kinzler and Chris Eversole of Atlanta, quickly found themselves moving through the American side of the bracket alongside Dayton Root of Houston and Steven Tirey, of West Carrollton, Ohio. Root went on to defeat Tirey in an exciting match to move on to the semi-finals while Eversole edged-out Kinzler in front of an excited crowd. Eversole went on to defeat Root in the semi-finals –22 to –19 to move on to the final round for the second time in his career. It was all Canada in the World Team bracket. Four Canucks made it to the quarterfinal round, where Nick Feijo faced Ben Zeidenberg of Toronto in what turned out to be one of the most historic matches ever. Zeidenberg defeated Feijo by the remarkable score of –30 to –29 – a World Championship record. Zeidenberg's Canadian comrade, Enzo Polidori, of Brantford, Ontario, ultimately joined him in the semifinals after an impressive win over Anthony Goertz, of Kitchener, Ontario. Polidori went on to defeat Zeidenberg –23 to –20 to move on to the finals against American Eversole.
As the championship round began all eyes were on Eversole and Polidori. In keeping with World Championship tradition, two final round victories were required to be crowned the Golden Tee World Champion. Eversole and Polidori tied after 18 holes in their first match forcing a sudden death playoff. Polidori's birdie edged Eversole's par on the third playoff hole giving him his first win. Needing only one more victory to be the first-ever international player to win the crown, Polidori was all business in the second match, but the results were all American. Eversole jumped out to an early 4-stroke lead that proved too much for the 2004 Canadian player of the year to overcome. Eversole won –24 to –18 and forced a third and final game for the first time in World Championship history. Eversole quietly jumped in front once again forging a two-stroke lead going into the back nine of the game's toughest course, Heather Pointe. Eversole sealed victory on the 15th hole when he aggressively attacked the pin for an eagle after Polidori safely laid up for a birdie. Eversole's lead was too much for the Canadian to overcome and he safely played the next three holes to be crowned the first-ever two-time Golden Tee World Champion. Eversole took home $15,000 for his performance, while Polidori earned a $5,000 prize for second place. Dayton Root defeated Ben Zeidenberg for third place honors and a $3,000 check, while Zeidenberg received $2,000 for his performance.
PICTURED: The Final Four: - (L to R) 3rd place finisher Dayton Root - Houston, TX, 4th place finisher Ben Zeidenberg - Toronto, Ontario, 2005 World Champion Chris Eversole - Atlanta, GA and runner up Enzo Polidori - Brantford, Ontario proudly display the most prized possession in Golden Tee, World Championship cups
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