MIDWEST "PROS" AND "JOES" COMPETE FOR $25,000

The Midwest Open's "Main Event" began Saturday morning, September 2 with 153 qualifiers registered to compete. As the players faced the daunting task of finishing in the top-nine for the big money, memories of the Friday night fun were quickly replaced with focus on a new day.

The format consisted of a five-course qualifier where scores were tallied to generate a leaderboard ranked by total score. The player who qualified #1 was to be crowned "King of the Hill" and receive a bye to the final round while those who finished 2-9 would playoff in an 8-man, single elimination tournament to play the KOH in the final.

As added incentives throughout the day, the players with the best score on each round received Ben Hogan golf bags courtesy of Top Flite® and any player who hit a hole-in-one or double eagle received their choice of prizes from the sponsor table, which included: Golden Tee Home Plug-n-Play Editions from Radica®, 2-for-1 golf trips courtesy of JDR Tours, Golden Tee LIVE edition sunglasses from PRATO and Golden Tee LIVE golf balls from Top Flite®. Nearly 100 prizes were awarded throughout the weekend!



The Goldentee.com Pro Shop was on-site selling the official GTLRC shirt and raffled away a beautiful Golden Tee LIVE embroidered golf bag. Ned Eydmann of Bettendorf, IA was the lucky winner of the bag.

 

Graig Kinzsler and his Ben Hogan golf irons.

An additional prize was given to the Midwest's top online qualifier, Graig Kinzler, who’s 50-game average of -30.42 earned him a set of Ben Hogan BH-5 golf irons from Top Flite®, a brand-new Ben Hogan golf bag, a Top Flite hat and 2 dozen Top Flite golf balls.

The action ensued Saturday morning after welcoming remarks from the tournament’s emcee and IT marketing director, Gary Colabuono. 153 players were split into two squads - the first featured threesomes and the second twosomes - leaving ten Golden Tee LIVE 2007’s open for free play!

With less than 6% of the field able to win one of the top nine spots, there was no room for error during the five-course qualifier. The day’s hot shooter came in Graig Kinzler, who amazed the Joliet crowd by obtaining two of the day’s five top scores. Graig's -29 on Coral Vista and -27 on Heather Pointe earned the former World Champion two more Ben Hogan golf bags from Top Flite®. Matt Estepp was also a two-time winner with a -26 and 28,194 Great Shot Points on Kangaroo Trail and -25 with 24,853 Great Shot Points on Cumberland. Rob Anderson of Minnesota took home a golf bag for his -27 with 71,962 Great Shot Points on Whispering Valley.

As many could have guessed, Graig Kinzler qualified in the #1 position to become the King of the Hill and earn a bye into the finals. His total qualifying score of -130 and 145,767 Great Shot Points was a truly amazing feat and gave the former World Champ a five-stroke buffer between him and second place finisher Jimmy Parker.
 

CLICK HERE FOR THE COMPLETE 5-COURSE QUALIFIER LEADERBOARD!

The top nine shooters moved on, leaving the remaining 144 players in their final prize-paying position. Every player won something ranging from $200 - $25 for their efforts. All prize money was deposited directly into the competitors' player accounts.

With Kinzler sitting comfortably as the King of the Hill, the eight qualifiers beneath him competed in a do-or-die, single elimination bracket to face the day’s top shooter in the final round.

Former World Champion Jeff Harlow competed along side former Team USA members Jimmy Parker, Matt Estepp, Rodney Roberts and some of the region's most impressive players, Marc Muklewicz, Jeff Benjamin and Richard Lane. The crowd was amped-up to watch the finals unfold and everybody's eyes were on the big screen televisions to watch the action, hole-by-hole.

Bob Niehaus, Rodney Roberts, Jeff Benjamin and Richard Lane were the first round eliminations and earned $600 each for their 6th-9th place efforts.

In round two, Estepp defeated Jeff Harlow in a tight match and Marc Muklewicz upset strong contender Jimmy Parker in an unbelievable match in front of the crowd. The St. Louis boys, Parker and Harlow, took home 4th-5th and $900 each.

Muklewicz's "Cinderella Story" came to an end in the third round when he faced the undeniable "buzz saw" of the weekend, Matt Estepp. Estepp jumped out to a small, early lead while Muklewicz pulled every trick out of the bag in order to hang within striking distance. Estepp couldn’t be stopped and Muklewicz would have to settle for third place and a $1,500 payday.

Estepp's unparalleled performance quickly became the story of the day. Up until the final round, every shot he played was either perfect or near perfect and it was obvious that the man was out to prove he was one of Golden Tee's best.

But the plot thickened as Matt was set to face his longtime friend, Graig Kinzler in the final round. Kinzler's game was irrefutably on fire and Matt would have to give it everything he had to take down one of the most accomplished players in the game.

Their fate was to be decided on Kangaroo Trail. Every eye in the room was now on the duo as they teed-off and the odds were as good as 50/50 on who would win. The two stayed neck-and-neck through the front nine, leaving only nine more holes of virtual Australian outback to settle the score.

Graig made a small mistake and barely drops a ball in the water early on the back nine. And just that little bit was enough for Matt, who was living up to the precedent set earlier in the day, as the "Technician." Keeping mistakes to a minimum once again, Matt Estepp went on to become the first Champion of the Golden Tee LIVE Regional Championships!
 

Matt Estepp wins the 2006 Golden Tee LIVE Midwest Open

Graig's amazing feat of topping the 153-man field earned him a $2,000 payday and even more respect as one of the greatest players to ever touch a trackball. But September 2nd belonged to the game’s new champion, Matt Estepp, a long time great that will now be enshrined forever as a Golden Tee star.

Matt’s phenomenal performance earned him a $5,000 payday and an impressive, gold, USA-shaped plaque to hang on his wall to commemorate the day he conquered 6-states to become the Golden Tee Midwest Champion.