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Eastern Open
After seven months of anticipation, Golden Tee diehards from Michigan to Maine were given their chance to shine in the final round of the Golden Tee LIVE Regional Championships – the Golden Tee Eastern Open. The beautiful Turning Stone Resort and Casino in Verona, NY – just north of Syracuse – set the background for what was predicted to be the most competitive event of the Regional tour. Marking the conclusion of the Regional Championships and the 2006 tournament schedule, the Eastern Open was more than a tournament, but a celebration of good people, good times and amazing Golden Tee action! A Rivalry for the Ages Another dramatic chapter was added to the famous rivalry history books on November 18th, 2006 as The Ohio State University Buckeyes battled the Michigan University Wolverines in a bout for a shot at the title in what was heralded as the biggest football game in NCAA history. 500 miles northeast of the Horseshoe a different score was to be settled between those very same states, only with a smooth plastic trackball in hand, instead of a cold, leather football. Michigan vs. Ohio to finally settle the score: Who is “Best in the East”? Since the dawn of Golden Tee tournaments, these two states have cultivated some of the most talented and driven Golden Tee players in the game. Ohio with storied names like Dean Liakakos, Steven Tirey, Sonu Khatri and Andy Haas, and Michigan with their superstars such as Jason Matkovich, Jeff McClellan, Nate Schomberg, and Paul Kovacs – these players and countless more combined to form a star-studded cast more impressive than any other region of the country. And finally a stage was set where these titans of the trackball could battle for their home state pride along side their Golden Tee comrades from the remainder of the eastern region. So while the eyes of everyone throughout Michigan and Ohio were glued to their televisions as their colleges battled for the title, their most-talented barroom gamers honored the rivalry and settled a score of their own – Golden Tee style. A roster spot on Golden Tee Team USA is one of the most coveted honors in the game. 4 players have already been named to the squad; Chris Eversole for being the reigning World Champion, along side Midwest region winner Matt Estepp, Western winner Rod Critchlow and Southern winner Chris Litzinger, with one more regional roster spot available for the Eastern Team USA winner. With IT yet to announce their plans for the remaining 11 Team USA spots coming into the Eastern Open, players readied for the final Team USA shootout with the utmost focus and determination. Eastern Region Team USA Shootout Qualifiers
Impressively, ten players out of the sixteen man field have been a part of Team USA before, making the concentration of talent in the Eastern Shootout more potent than in other regions. Round one of the Shootout came with a handful of byes due to some players who were unable to attend the event. The lucky dogs to receive the free passes included Andy Haas, Dean Utt, Dean Liakakos, Jason Matkovich and Will Lee. Not everyone could be so lucky, as Steven Tirey defeated home state player Stu Fox, Ohioan Sonu Khatri beat Michigan star Paul Kovacs and Jeff McClellan defeated his hometown pal, Ryan VanManen. Round two saw all former Team USA players moving on to compete for a return trip to the Worlds. The biggest match of the round came via two of the game’s most famous names Jason Matkovich and Dean Liakakos as Jason defeated the 5-time Player of the Year in a close match. In addition Andy Haas defeated Dean Utt to advance to round three along with Steven Tirey who beat his Ohio pal Sonu Khatri. Finally, Will Lee’s efforts to represent New York State were ended by one of the game’s top players, Jeff McClellan. The semi-finals gave spectators the first glimpse of the Ohio – Michigan rivalry as four of the states’ best faced one another for a chance to advance. After a hard-fought match, McClellan bested Tirey to move on to the final round. At the same time, Ohioan Andy Haas defeated Jason Matkovich in front of an excited crowd on the big screen.
Two of the best players in the country and good friends Andy Haas – originally of Stow, OH – met Jeff McClellan – of Grand Rapids, MI – keeping the rivalry alive in the final round of the tournament. The duo was neck-and-neck on Palm Springs as the crowd watched every swing on the big screen in awe. Then on the 9th hole, known as the “playground hole”, Jeff fell on some unfortunate luck that gave Andy the lead and ultimately the win. Andy Haas, a clear favorite coming into the event, defeated Jeff McClellan to win the Eastern Team USA Shootout and take the 5th roster spot on Golden Tee’s Team USA. In a post match interview the now three-time Team USA member said, ”Wow, this is great! This was a lot of fun and I can’t wait to be on the team again this year. I’m really looking forward to it!” he added. An Eastern Bout for Barroom GloryThe Pub Championship has emerged as the Regional Championship’s biggest success story of the year. A contest touted for “Every Player” since day one, the Pub Championships have seen players from bars throughout every corner of the nation getting a chance to bask in the Golden Tee spotlight on an even playing field with the game’s greats. The Eastern Pub Championship was no exception, more than fifty players throughout the north east region of the country were in attendance hoping to be the one to take a swig out of the silver Pub Champion tankard. Blind-draw was used to seed the 50-players on a 64-man bracket, leaving some lucky players with byes in round one. Two Golden Tee LIVE 2007 machines were used and spectators cheered the action as they watched on the big screen.
After an hour of intense closest-to-the-pin action, the field was whittled down to four players hoping for a $1,000 payday. Again, Ohio and Michigan were well represented in the final four as Ohioans Sonu Khatri and Darren Patterson squared-off against Michigan’s Paul Kovacs and Ryan VanManen. Khatri and Kovacs advanced to the finals leaving Patterson and VanManen to battle for third place. The dreaded 17th hole of Moose Landing - a 200-yard par 3 complete with pot bunkers, water and a hard-sloping green – was selected for the final match. After setting a mark of 7 ft. 6 inches on his second shot, Kovacs watched as Khatri worked the trackball and hoped to beat the Michigan player’s distance to the pin. With his best effort of the day, Khatri stuck the green on his final shot and left the ball 7 ft. 8 inches from the pin – a mere 2 inches from a big $1,000 payday! Paul Kovacs chalked one up for the Michigan contingent winning the Eastern Pub Championship. In a post-event interview Kovacs said, “I didn’t really expect to win the Pub Championship, but I love par 3’s. I always go for the hole-in-one on par 3’s,” he said. “This was really exciting and I had a good time.” Congratulations Paul Kovacs on winning the Eastern Pub Championship!
The Battle for Eastern Bragging Rights and $25KWhile the big game’s kick-off wasn’t scheduled until 3:00 p.m. on Saturday, November 18th, tee-time for $25,000 started promptly at 2:00. Over 900 Golden Tee players from across the northeast qualified to make the pilgrimage to Turning Stone Resort in Verona, NY to compete in the final round of the Golden Tee LIVE Regional Championships. From the far upper corners of Michigan, down to the lower stretches of Virginia on up to the northern peaks of Vermont, these players converged in New York to become a part of the Biggest Golden Tee Tournament in History. Just as the prior three tournaments, the format consisted of a five-course qualifier where scores would be tallied to generate a leaderboard ranked best to worst. The player with the best overall score was “King of the Hill” and would receive a bye to the final while those who finished 2-9 would playoff in an 8-man, single elimination tournament to face the KOH and play for $5,000. Coming in to the Eastern Open, the “Curse of the King” reigned true as none of the Kings had yet to hoist the Regional Championship trophy. Eastern Open competitors received added prize incentives throughout the day, including a Ben Hogan golf bag courtesy of Top Flite® for the top shooters on each course. Also, any player who hit a hole-in-one or double eagle received their choice of prizes from the sponsor table, which included: Golden Tee Plug-n-Play Home Editions from Radica®, 2-for-1 Arizona golf trips courtesy of JDR Tours, Golden Tee LIVE limited-edition sunglasses from PRATO and Golden Tee LIVE golf balls from Top Flite®. Nearly 100 prizes were awarded throughout the day. Additionally, a special prize was given to the top online qualifier, Andy Haas, for his GTLRC record-breaking qualifying average of –30.58. Andy received a Ben Hogan golf bag fully stocked with a brand new set of Ben Hogan BH-5 golf irons courtesy of Top Flite Golf. And as always, the Goldentee.com Pro Shop was on-site selling the official GTLRC tour t-shirt. The Pro Shop also raffled away a limited-edition Golden Tee LIVE embroidered golf bag, which was won by Michael Bunis. The sounds of trackballs spinning, music pumping and, of course, football filled the Turning Stone conference center as the players embarked on their five-course qualifier. Despite the big game on television, the focal point of the room was the huge real-time leaderboard projected onto the big screen were players watched their scores update as they played. A blistering pace was set in round one on Rustic Bridge as Jason Matkovich, Sonu Khatri and Dean Liakakos tied with top scores of –27. Jason, who bested the other two competitors in Great Shot Points, earned the Ben Hogan golf bag for his efforts. Round two on Indigo Mound saw another trio of competitors on top of the leaderboard. Ryan VanManen, Paul Kovacs and again, Sonu Khatri all shot –26 on the Mayan course. VanManen took home the Ben Hogan bag for having the most Great Shot Points. But from round 3 on, no one could stop Andy Haas, the leading Golden Tee LIVE money winner in 2007. Andy shifted into high gear to earn the top scores on Glacier Ranch Could the top player in the country break the Curse of the King? EASTERN OPEN TOP NINE QUALIFIERS
The remaining eight-man field behind Andy Haas was comprised of some of the most talented players in two countries. Not only did the final eight consist of Ryan VanManen and four former Team USA members in Khatri, Tirey, McClellan and Matkovich, it was rounded out by three former Team Canada stars as well. Canadians Tim Glenn, Enzo Polidori and Nick Feijo made up 33% of the final field. Canadian Golden Tee players have a reputation for being fiercely competitive and acutely talented. As in all of the Regional Championship events, qualification was open to all countries in the Golden Tee LIVE universe. Considering New York’s close proximity to the Canadian border, ten Canucks made the trek and were joined by two of their English friends from across the pond. With the exception of the 2005 World Champion runner-up, Enzo Polidori, the Americans rolled through the threats from the North to protect their country and move on The storyline in the semi-final round followed the rivalry theme yet again as Dayton, Ohio’s Sonu Khatri battled one of the Michigan’s best, Jeff McClellan. McClellan edged Khatri in a tight match to move on to the finals of the 8-man bracket while Matkovich and Polidori battled on the big screen to advance. In a decision fraught with controversy, Jason Matkovich accidentally teed-off with the wrong set of clubs making his efforts against the tough Canuck that much harder. Despite the mistake, the duo put on a dazzling display of talent that was capped by Polidori’s victory over the former 3- time Player of the Year and advanced to the final round of the 8-man bracket. Moose Landing was the course of choice for the final bracket round of Polidori vs. McClellan. The crowd watched the action while wondering if it would be a McClellan-Haas rematch or perhaps a 2007 World Championship preview against Polidori. McClellan held the lead most of the match, forcing the tough Canadian to keep pace with mistake-free golf. It wasn’t until the dreaded 18th hole where a window opened for the Canadian when McClellan missed the green and watered his chip shot. The former Team USA member’s unfortunate luck turned into fortune for the Canadian as Polidori now set his sights on dethroning “King Haas” in the finals. The video golf action leading up to that big match was unlike that of any other regional. Close matches, huge upsets and some amazing shot making scripted the story along the way. The crowd was on the edge of their seats to watch what may be a preview for the $15,000 World Championship fight in Las Vegas next March. The duo teed-off on Indigo Mound, one of the more challenging and undulating courses in the game. Club decisions played a dramatic factor on the first hole again, with Golden Tee Society member, Haas, failing to change his set. But like Matkovich in the earlier rounds, the unbelievably talented competitor didn’t let the mistake affect his efforts. As they approached #18 the pair stood tied at –25 with the match coming down to a long, daunting par 4. Against a stiff wind, Haas stuck the hard-sloping green leaving an easy eagle putt to put the pressure on Polidori who had just missed the green. Left with a nasty 10° downhill chip that either goes in the hole or into the water, the cool Canadian put his game face on and focused before he swung. The pressure mounted and the crowd quieted – all eyes were on Polidori and his high-stakes chip. And like a true champion, Polidori nailed a perfect shot that never looked out of the cup for a second! As the crowd cheered, Polidori made his eagle and forced a sudden-death playoff for the $5,000 payday! Mistake-free for the first 3 holes of sudden death, the two Golden Tee stars made it look easy and left the crowd wondering if it would take a full 18 to decide the champion. But on hole #4, a tricky, yet unassuming par 5 that twists and turns through the dense Yucatan jungle, a small mistake by Polidori opened the window that Haas was waiting for. The Canadian just narrowly missed the green after Haas stuck a beautiful shot and drained his eagle putt forcing Enzo to make a miraculous chip yet again! Like a replay, the crowd held their breath as Polidori attempted to defy the odds once more, only this time to find himself a mere inch off of the cup to make Andy Haas the Golden Tee LIVE Eastern Open Champion! “WOW!” was the only word event emcee, Gary Colabuono, had to describe the match after it ended. While Haas has racked up a historic amount of tournament victories, there’s no doubt that this win will stand out in his mind. “Man, I feel great!” the Eastern Champ said in a post-match interview. “That was one of the toughest matches I’ve ever played. Enzo’s a great player and I caught a few breaks, I’m just happy that I lucked out!” he added. Luck? Hardly. There’s no doubt that Andy Haas is one of the hottest Golden Tee players of the year, winning almost everything he touches with the exception of “The Big One” – the World Championship. While Enzo Polidori did an amazing job trying to keep the “Curse of the King” alive, Andy Haas proved yet again that no curse (or club selection) can keep him out of the Golden Tee spotlight. Andy won $5,000 for his efforts, while Enzo went home $2,000 richer. Congratulations to Andy Haas and Enzo Polidori on an Outstanding Performance!
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