(August 21, 2007 – Arlington Heights, IL)  The 2006 Golden Tee LIVE Regional Championships (GTLRC) made history as nearly 5,000 players qualified to compete, and the 2007 edition of the tournament is going gangbusters again!  Building off the success of its first year, the GTLRC has captivated the Golden Tee community and become one of the most anticipated events of the year.

The 2007 Midwest Open on August 3-4 at Harrah’s Casino in Joliet, IL kicked off the series of three competitions tagged as the tournament for "every player, every game, and every location."  During a 6-week period starting June 1st, over 850 qualifiers played 100,000 games of Golden Tee LIVE.  Along with hundreds of Golden Tee fans, the mainstream media and a massive tournament staff, over 190 players descended upon Harrah’s to seek fame and fortune.

Incredible Technologies’ marketing director Gary Colabuono, tournament director and emcee, greeted everyone and then introduced the crowd to president and CEO Elaine Hodgson, VP of product development Larry Hodgson, and senior game designer Jim Zielinski.  Elaine Hodgson thanked everyone for coming and for their dedication and passion for Golden Tee, while Larry Hodgson and Zielinski gave a brief outline of the highly awaited new 2008 courses.

Part One – Pub Championship

After the commencement, the Pub Championship began and the Midwest Open was officially underway.  An event designed for the top qualifiers in every midwestern pub - the Pub Championship pits players against each other in a blind draw closest-to-the-pin contest for $1,000 and the coveted Pub Championship mug.

Many dressed in attire from the establishments they represented, a total of 113 champions battled their way through two 64-man brackets before the field was whittled down to just two men.  Mike Demko from Allen Park, MI and Jade Johnson representing Majors Sports Cafe in Minneapolis, each navigated their way to the final round.  Demko took down Johnson to win the $1,000 prize, take home the pewter mug and be crowned the Midwest Pub Champion.  Johnson earned $500 for his runner-up efforts.  Third place and $250 went to Todd Penticoff of Minneapolis and fourth went to fellow Minnesotan Chris Thorbrogger of Crystal, MN.     

"The Pub Championship puts a local spin on the Regionals,” said Colabuono.  “It allows our operators the chance to more closely connect with their players and locations.  We had a 40% increase in the number of contestants in this year’s event and we attribute that directly to our operators helping to promote it in their locations.”

Part Two – Team USA Shootout

The night’s action continued after the Pub Championship with the highly anticipated Team USA Shootout – a newly structured 50-man contest designed for the top midwestern qualifiers.  The stakes are high: the top three shooters in the event earn a spot on Team USA and an all-expenses paid trip to the 2008 Golden Tee World Championship in Las Vegas next spring – so the pressure started to build from the onset.  

The region’s top 50 Golden Tee stars each played a “cycle” (all five 2007 courses) with the best 3 shooters earning a spot on the team.  In a field of world champions, Team USA members and state champions, Jeff McClellan from Grand Rapids, MI, Jason Matkovich from Madison Heights, MI and Marc Muklewicz of Naperville, IL each distanced themselves from the field to become the newest members of Team USA!

Part Three – The Main Event: Largest Field of “Pros” and “Joes” Compete for $25,000

With the previous night's excitement still fresh in everyone’s mind, the Midwest Open’s “Main Event” began Saturday morning with 190 players of all skill levels eager to compete.  The format consisted of a five-course qualifier and the individual scores were then tallied to generate a leaderboard.  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 face the “King” in the final round.

As an added incentive throughout the day, the player with the best score on each course received a $100 bonus, 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 LIVE sunglasses from PRATO and Golden Tee LIVE golf balls from Top Flite®.  TouchTunes, the official jukebox of the GTLRC, donated a brand-new Lance Armstrong LIVESTRONG jukebox to fill the hall with music – with every dollar going to the Lance Armstrong Foundation’s LIVESTRONG program.  Colabuono announced that Incredible Technologies would match, dollar-for-dollar, all contributions made by the players.  In order to keep the tournament running smoothly, Happ donated 25 new trackballs to assure that the players competed on the best equipment possible.

Before the day started a brand-new set of Ben Hogan Apex steel shaft irons was given to Jason Matkovich for being the event’s top online qualifier.  The Goldentee.com pro shop also raffled off a beautiful Golden Tee LIVE embroidered golf bag that was won by Chicagoan Brett Decosola.  

This year’s King of the Hill was Chris Thorbrogger, who came out of nowhere to nearly make the cut last year.  In 2007 he set the mark with a score of –129.  The next eight highest shooters then faced-off in a single-elimination, head-to-head bracket to advance to the finals.

The remaining 181 competitors were paid prizes based on their final qualifying position.  Every player cashed with prize amounts ranging from $25 to $200.  In a twist unique to Golden Tee, all prize money was deposited directly into the competitor’s player account, making it easy for them to spend it on more Golden Tee when they got home.

World champion Graig Kinzler and last year's Midwest Open champ Matt Estepp couldn't stop Jimmy Parker of St. Charles, MO from blazing his way through the bracket to face Thorbrogger in the final match.  Every eye in the room was fixed on the big screens as the pair vied for the $5,000 payday and the title.

An early 2-stroke deficit was too much for Parker to overcome as Thorbrogger went on to defeat the former Team USA member with a show of consistency and precision rarely seen in Golden Tee.

"I'm shocked that I won with the field as tough as it was," Thorbrogger said after he was named champion. "It feels great being on top.  It totally felt like I was at home. I can't thank IT and everyone enough for the wonderful job they did to make this weekend happen."

Thorbrogger's phenomenal performance earned him a $5,000 payday, while Parker went home with $2,000.  

The remaining stops on the GTLRC tour are the Peachtree Plaza in Atlanta on August 24-25 and the Las Vegas Hilton on September 28-29.  All attendees of the AMOA International Expo are invited to attend the tournament in Las Vegas to see all the action first-hand.  The close proximity to the LVCC makes attending the tournament at the Hilton easy and convenient.

“We want our operators to see the excitement, passion and the drama that a tournament like this generates,” said Colabuono.  “Heck, we’ll even give every operator who attends a free lunch!”  

For more information about the Golden Tee LIVE Regional Championships, including rules, regional breakdowns and final event details, visit www.goldentee.com.  For any further questions regarding the tournament, including local marketing and promotional ideas, contact IT marketing director, Gary Colabuono at 847.870.7027 x 192.

About Incredible Technologies

Arlington Heights, Illinois-based Incredible Technologies is the largest manufacturer of coin-operated video games in the United States.  Along with its flagship video golf series, Golden Tee LIVE, IT’s stable of award-winning games includes Silver Strike Bowler’s Club and their newest sensation, Target Toss Pro: Bags.  For more information visit the Incredible Technologies websites at www.itsgames.com, www.goldentee.com, www.silverstrikebowling.com, and www.targettosspro.com.