Coming off a controversial tie in 2007, the Golden Tee Worlds team competition proved that the gap between Team USA and the World Team had tightened. While some may blame the eight draftees for Team USA’s untraditional lack of domination, there’s no doubt that players across the globe have improved remarkably over the past few years.

"Our players now know the game," said World Team captain Danny Zivanovic. "In this year and the coming years it will be a matter of getting better and executing to the level of the top tier USA players. It will take time, but I believe we will get there."

Team USA was arguably its strongest since 2002 "Dream Team", with players qualifying through the three regional events along with the Club Lucky and Promo Nation contests. The World Team countered with a mix of seasoned pros and young up and comers who qualified through their national tournaments.

Friday night at 7:00 p.m., the two 12-man teams went head to head in Ballroom A at the Las Vegas Hilton. The competition consisted of five rounds, with the first two rounds being paired events and the last three rounds being singles matches. With 48 total points up for grabs, the first team that claimed 24.5 points would have the rights to the cup for 2008.

While the matches were relatively tight, Team USA showed off some of its bright young talent right from the start.

If Jacksonville's Ryan McCook and Minnesota native Chris Thorbrogger were nervous in their first Team USA match, they certainly didn't show it. Paired together for rounds one and two, the young duo quickly went up three strokes on the front against Australian Valent Mikosic and Canada's Anthony Goertz. McCook's double eagle on the 10th hole secured the win as Team USA earned a point, and McCook and Thor debuted with a bang.

In a match loaded with talent and big tournament experience, Michigan’s Jeff McClellan and local Las Vegas favorite Brant "OSO" Arrington took down Canadian sharpshooter Nick Feijo and World Team captain Australia’s Danny Zivanovic.

Team USA swept the card going 6-0.

Round 1 Score
TEAM USA	6.0
WORLD TEAM	0.0

Eager to dig into an early lead by Team USA, the World Team hoped that the alternating shot format for round 2 would lead to more success than round 1. They got their first victory when the team of Goertz and Mikosic downed Chicago native and Team USA captain Graig Kinzler and Ohio's Ambarish "Sonu" Khatri.

Feijo and Zivanovic got their revenge after an early loss, as they took down McCook and Thorbrogger in the closest match of round by the score of –24 to –23. With the World Team on the board Team USA needed to respond, and they did. Two of Golden Tee's most historic players paired up in a match loaded with fireworks.

A hole-in-one sparked England’s Marc Douglas early, but the double eagle from top overall qualifier Chris Litzinger quickly answered the call. The Cincinnati native, paired with Michigan's Jason Matkovich, took down World Team rookies Douglas and Canada’s Craig Levis.

Opening the gap a little farther, Team USA stretched the lead to eight points.

Round 2 Score
TEAM USA	10.0
WORLD TEAM	2.0

The first round of singles play provided both teams the chance to make a statement in this crucial round. With twelve points up for grabs, the World Team could have eliminated its early deficit, while Team USA could have wrapped it up.

Off the bat Goertz and Kinzler went at it again, with Kinzler getting his revenge against the experienced Canadian –20 to –19. Litzinger kept his hot streak going taking out Danny Zivanovic –25 to -22.

Valent Mikosic made some noise for the World Team taking down Chicago's Marc "The Mouth" Muklewicz by two strokes, while Aussie Tyrone Geise earned his first Worlds win, upsetting the three-time player of the year Matkovich. The World Team also got wins from Canadians Robert Brown and Dave Garnett.

Team USA kept up the heat however, netting wins from Ohio superstar Andy Haas and Illinois's Brian Bernhardt.

With seven wins of the twelve total matches in round 3, Team USA extended their lead ever so slightly.

Round 3 Score
TEAM USA	17.0
WORLD TEAM	7.0

In the second round of singles play Team USA again drew first blood as Litzinger bested Canadian Ben Zeidenberg by the score of –25 to –23 in the feature matchup. Michigan product Jeff McClellan edged South African Morne Goosen –23 to –22, while Muklewicz got an impressive win, beating determined World Team rookie Robert Brown –24 to –23.

Anthony Goertz showed off why he's made it to every Worlds thus far, spoiling Haas's hopes at an undefeated tourney by hitting a hole-in-one on 12, and going on to win by two. Feijo and Zivanovic managed to net a half point each with ties, but Team USA could not be stopped. With wins from Kinzler, McCook, and Matkovich, Team USA proved it was a team for the ages.

With four rounds in the book Team USA was assured victory already eclipsing the magic number of 24.5.

Round 3 Score
TEAM USA	25.0
WORLD TEAM	11.0

With the cup already guaranteed to stay on US soil, the teams played out the final round for pride and to determine final standings. The rookies for the World Team showed heart and perhaps a glimpse into future as Tyrone Geise, Craig Levis, and Valent Mikosic all concluded their first Worlds with wins.

Litzinger kept his record perfect with a win over Canadian Robert Brown. He was a perfect 5-0 in team competition, while Kinzler, Haas, Muklewicz, and Thorbrogger also earned a point for Team USA. With all five rounds complete, Team USA eclipsed the thirty-point mark and doubled up the World Team score.

Upon the conclusion of round 5, IT marketing director and tournament emcee Gary Colabuono couldn't help hold back a smile. He joked, "The best part of Team USA winning, is I get to keep the Cup in my office for another year, which is just fine by me."

While the World Team obviously wanted to claim victory once again, captain Danny Zivanovic believes that for a lot of the international players this was simply part of the growing process. "In some of the matchups I purposely put some of the young rookies against the greats like Kinzler and Litzinger. Sure we want to win, but I also wanted these guys to get the full experience against the best. Even though we lost, this was unbelievable and the Team USA players couldn't have played better or been more gracious winners."

As for Team USA, this marks the team's fourth victory in the six-year history of the event. Captain Graig Kinzler reflected on the memorable night. "Our guys really played well against a World Team that is obviously improving quickly. The matches were all closer than the final score might lead you to believe, and being the captain I definitely didn't want to go home empty handed. What else can I say but U-S-A!"