WESTERN OPEN

With a head of steam more powerful than a freight train, the Golden Tee LIVE Regional Championships made the second stop on its nationwide tour with the Western Open at the Riviera Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, NV. "Sin City" turned into "Spin City" as 50 Golden Tee LIVE machines and hundreds of video golf fans descended on the entertainment capital of the world to take their part in the largest Golden Tee tournament in history!

They came from every corner of the western United States, even some from as far as Canada. 150 qualifiers of all walks of life and varying levels of skill came together to compete for $25,000 in prizes and the honor of being recognized as one of the best players in the country.

While the competition may have brought them to Vegas, the friends, the fun and - of course - Golden Tee are what brought them together for this historic event. ■

TEAM USA HOPEFULS SHOOTOUT FOR WESTERN BID

After welcoming remarks from the event's emcee, Gary Colabuono, the weekend kicked-off with the Team USA shootout, where the winner would receive a coveted roster spot on Team USA for the 2007 World Championship. The top 16 online qualifiers in the region made up the field and an intense head-to-head, single elimination format would be the deciding factor for who would move on to join the Midwest winner, Matt Estepp, and the reigning world champion, Chris Eversole.

As the "Best of the West" teed-off in the first event of the weekend, the Riviera crowd was able to watch every swing on an amazing sixteen-foot screen above a featured Golden Tee LIVE game!  15 of the 16 players were in attendance, with only Gerald Turner unable to attend due to a conflict.  Players were seeded according their qualifying rank with #1 playing #16, #2 versus #15 and so on.

Whispering Valley was randomly selected as the course for the first round.  The most notable matches included Danny Beall's defeat over former Team USA member Marc Sameroff as well as Chisolm Woodson's upset over the event's #1 qualifier, Jeff Vordahl.   Other players eliminated in the first round were Chris Care, David "Frosty" Bracher, Mike Collier, Mark Lyall and local shooter John Kerr. 

The excitement continued on Heather Pointe in round two, most notably between the Kansas and Washington contingent.  Danny Beall eliminated his Wichita buddy Brandon Ball while former Team USA member Mark Firestone took down his Washington cohort, Chris Care.  Ninth seed Rod "Sothpa" Critchlow defeated Chisolm Woodson while Marc Zwygart lost to former Team USA member Brant "OSO" Arrington on his home court.

Coral Vista was selected for the semi-final round between Critchlow vs. Arrington and Firestone vs. Beall.  Critchlow, an old school name in Golden Tee, proved himself yet again as he defeated one of the event’s undisputable favorites, Brant Arrington.  Beall moved on to defeat Firestone to receive a chance to play Critchlow in the final round.

"Sothpa" and "Dannyboy" teed-off on Kangaroo Trail in front of an excited and anxious Rivera crowd.  Beall, one of the favorites for the Team USA spot before the weekend began, gave Critchlow a run for his money but his efforts fell short as Critchlow edged the Wichita player to earn his first spot on Golden Tee Team USA.

"It's a tremendous honor to make the team," said Critchlow.  "I don't want to let my teammates or my country down, so I have a lot of practicing to do. I can't wait to meet some new faces at the Worlds next year."

Critchlow received an all-expenses paid trip to the Golden Tee World Championships next spring and is guaranteed a minimum prize of $1,000 for competing on the game's global stage. See images below! ■

 
            Team USA hopefuls Critchlow, Zwygart, Bell, Vordahl,                                                          Critchlow gives his thoughts on
                                 Firestone, Jaeger and Beall                                                                                          making the team