VIEW PHOTOS HERE!

-The Qualifiers-

16 players were invited to compete in the event, combining the top-10 2004 Player of the Year competitors with the top-6 Blind Play Championship (BPC) competitors.

POTY Qualification - Throughout 2004, all players who completed 100 (20 each course) GTGA League games played without an online opponent were ranked according to total League Points and Average Score of their best 100 games. Players competing for POTY were allowed to compete in multi-player games during the qualification period. POTY qualifiers are the pinnacle example of precise repetition play and demanded perfection in every round to top the POTY leaderboard.

BPC Qualification - To qualify for the BPC, players were required to compete in single player GTGA League games ("blind" play) and were also ranked according to total League Points and Average Score of their best 100 games. BPC qualifiers never see the same set-up more than once and are masters in the art of situational shot selection.

2004 Player of the Year Qualifiers
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-The POTY Experience-

Players began arriving in Chicago throughout the week of May 9th, 2005 and were welcomed by a personal limousine at O'Hare International Airport. An all-expense paid trip, lodging arrangements were made for players and their significant others at the beautiful Hyatt Regency in Schaumburg, Illinois.

The festivities kicked-off Friday, May 13th at U.S. Cellular Field – home of the Chicago White Sox - with a celebration inside a luxurious skybox suite. Players enjoyed a fully stocked bar, complete dinner menu, a scoreboard message welcoming them to the park and a surprise visit from famed White Sox/Yankee first baseman Bill “Moose” Skowron!

Watching the White Sox defeat the Baltimore Orioles while sitting in the lap of luxury truly set the tone for a phenomenal weekend.

-The Championship-

With the fun Friday night behind them, the players put on their game faces and headed out to Splinter’s Sports Club in Palatine, Illinois, bright and early Saturday morning. With 16 of the year's greatest players in one room, there was certainly no clear favorite and everyone had a shot at the $10,000 check.

Before the head-to-head, double-elimination tournament began, an awards ceremony took place to honor the four competitors who qualified first in their respective POTY categories. Each player received a beautiful crystal trophy and a $1,500 check for the feat.

After the check presentation, IT Marketing Director and event emcee, Gary Colabuono, introduced each player and handed them their POTY Championship hat and commemorative card as they stepped up for the one-round seeding qualifier. Top qualifier received a Golden Tee Oddyssey® 2-Ball Putter set courtesy of www.goldenteeproshop.com operators, Signs of Success in Chicago. Dean Liakakos won the set with his stellar score of –24 combined with 14,106 Great Shot Points.

The double-elimination format set the stage for an exciting day of Golden Tee Golf, giving competitors a second chance of bracket survival after their first loss. The dreaded two-and-out claimed four victims in the second round as Tom Payne, Jimmy Parker, Jeff Harlow and David Duncan had their days cut short.

After round one, the winners bracket contained many of the usual suspects and the POTY field offered no simple victories. Ryan Bourgeois, Chris Litzinger, Steve Dakin and Lance Harris were knocked into the losers bracket after round two as Dean Liakakos, Brian Bernhardt, Chris Eversole and Daniel Gralapp advanced.

Chris Pierce, Joe Caradonna, Dayton Root and Dakin ultimately reached their demise in round 3 and pocketed $1,250. The pressure mounted as the competition filtered down to the final eight.

Liakakos defeated Bernhardt, while Gralapp defeated Eversole to both move on to the semi-finals. Bernhardt defeated Chris Litzinger to move on to the losers bracket, while Everole's hope of a POTY Championship repeat were crushed by Bourgeois in round 4 of the losers bracket. Liakakos was shooting lights out and later knocked Daniel “Bear” Gralapp into the losers bracket.

After losing to "red hot" Bourgeois in the losers bracket, Brian Bernhardt went back to Iowa $2,000 richer. Bourgeois then went on to defeat Gralapp in a Texas grudge match for honors to compete against Dean Liakakos in the championship round.

With names like Liakakos and Bourgeois in the finals of the last major live event on Golden Tee Fore!, the drama could not have been scripted any better. Needing to defeat the 5-time Player of the Year twice for the title, most of the pressure fell into the lap of three-time National Champion Ryan Bourgeois.

Everyone in the house at had their eyes on the big screen to watch these two video golf masters square off for a $10,000 payday. While they have faced-off time and time again in tournaments of old, Liakakos never has defeated the “Tough Texan” in a major event.

Marking the end of an era, Dean Liakakos snaps his Bourgeois winless streak in front of the eyes of their closest friends.

Cheers rose in honor of Dean's fantastic play as the two competitors hugged in respect for one another after the 18th hole. The 5-time Player of the Year navigated the best-of-the-best to become the 2004 Golden Tee Player of the Year Champion

One of Golden Tee Fore!'s most decorated players sent the famed platform out with a bang! Check out the results:

Golden Tee 2004 POTY Championship Results

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Congratulations to Dean Liakakos and All of the POTY Championship Competitors!

CHECK OUT 2003 HERE!

Golden Tee Golf It's YOUR Game!