Great Shot CodeMajor Upsets Make for Memorable Illinois
Lottery Golden Tee Championship
Marc "The Mouth" Muklewicz Entertains Crowd En Route to Title
Cubby Bear North may be known for its ties to Chicago's lovable losers, but there were only winners in Lincolnshire Wednesday night!
Spectators must have thought the Cubs had just made the playoffs as cheers flooded the bar during the Illinois Lottery's Golden Tee Championship.
For two months, the Illinois Lottery had been exciting fans with Golden Tee competitions. Celebrating the release of the Golden Tee Golf instant ticket - where players can win up to $25,000 in cash or their very own Golden Tee machine instantly - the contests had players avidly trying to stick it close for a chance to compete in the championship on March 12.
Well, after thousands of pin-seeking shots and heart pumping holes-in-one across Chicagoland, it was finally time to crown a champion!
15 players entered Cubby Bear with the thought of Golden Tee glory, but only one would claim the title to take home $5,000 and - more importantly - their very own Golden Tee machine!
But the finalists weren't the only players who walked away winners. During a break in the action the Golden Tee Ambassador of Good Will, three-time national champion Steven Sobe challenged the crowd to a "Beat the Pro" contest for Chicago Blackhawk tickets. While plenty walked away with prizes from Golden Tee and the Illinois Lottery, Jay Wolf from Oswego knocked it stiff and claimed the rink-side seats.
With plenty of opportunities to purchase Golden Tee Golf Instant Tickets throughout the night, everyone in the bar had a chance at Golden Tee riches!
But only the 16 qualifiers had a chance at glory!
As Chicago's top rock radio station 97.9 The Loop personality Hector and Incredible Technologies own "Duffer" Dan Schrementi revved up the crowd, these brave players tried to control their nerves and take in the moment. But all of them knew in the back of their minds that any one of them could have find themselves with a single swing worth thousands.
One player who's no stranger to playing Golden Tee for big money was two-time world champion Graig Kinzler of Chicago who was easily the odds-on favorite to win the event. Meanwhile, Ron Nayal of Aurora had to feel he was in for a quick night facing just a daunting task in the first round. But they don't call closest-to-the-pin "the great equalizer" for nothing. Nayal shocked the crowd by sticking his shot a mere 3.63-feet away to pull the tremendous upset! A gracious Kinzler proved once again to be a class act as he wished Nayal the best after his defeat.
While the world champion took a seat, his girlfriend Cortney Black of Chicago brought the crowd to its feet. With her round one opponent Kevin Flemming of Chicago having set the mark at 9.17-feet, and only having one shot left, Black summoned nerves of steel and hit a hole-in-one that caused an eruption from the crowd.
But her performance wasn't just a fluke. Black took down Vitaliy Pavlyuk of Lisle in round two and claimed a spot in the final four along with Richard Gregg of South Elgin who beat Jose Cruz of Mundelein and Nayal.
Causing an uproar of his own, Golden Tee pro Marc "The Mouth" Muklewicz - the Team USA member who had been on a hot streak with a second-place finish at the Frozen Open in Chicago and a third-place finish at the Player's Charity Championship in St. Louis - entertained the room with his gregarious attitude and impressive Golden Tee skills. And he did it all despite being a marked man - literally. Friend and fellow finalist Matt Weiland had a $20 reward for whoever could knock Muklewicz out of the event. But, while Muklewicz was blazing his way into the final four by taking out Jeff Gryszkiewicz of Oswego and Nick Thompson of Chicago, Weiland fell victim to his own gentlemanly nature in round two.
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| The final four: (From Left) Tina Lukasz, Marc Muklewicz, Cortney Black and Richard Gregg. |
Facing Tina Lukasz of Buffalo Grove - a fan favorite who qualified for the event with a hole-in-one despite having never played Golden Tee before - Weiland decided to be chivalrous and help Lukasz with her shot. But in an ironic twist, Lukasz stuck her shot 7.06-feet from the pin to beat Weiland so both women made the final four. But this 'nice guy finishes last' story has a happy ending as Incredible Technologies presented Weiland with $100 worth of Golden Tee Golf instant tickets to reward his act of generosity.
With just a quarter of the field left, the final four took stock of the situation and realized that their next few shots could be the biggest of their lives - with the possibility of thousands of dollars riding on any given shot.
Unfortunately for Gregg, his nerves got the best of him as he failed to register a shot on the green which allowed Black to coast into the finals. Waiting for her was the familiar face of Muklewicz who had also easily made it into the final pairing after Lukasz's Cinderella story finally came to an end after she failed to register a shot on the green herself.
Lukasz gave the crowd one more cheer when she hit a shot 5.38-feet from the pin in her third place match. But Gregg countered with a shot that ended up a mere 2.8-feet away which was good enough to claim third place and 
$1,000. Lukasz took home $500 for her efforts.
And then it was the moment everyone came for - the finals. Having lost the coin toss, Black went first and set the mark at 22.56-feet. But Muklewicz's hot streak continued as he countered with a shot that rested 10.24-feet away. Black had two shots worth $2,000 but neither could beat the mark set by Muklewicz as he took home the Illinois Lottery Golden Tee crown!
"This is my first big check!" exclaimed Muklewicz as he held up his $5,000 check. "Hopefully it's a sign of things to come. This was one of the most fun things I have been apart of!"
Considering she didn't expect to do as well as she did, Black said she was very pleased to pocket $3,000 for her second place finish.
After two months of hosting these promotions, Illinois Lottery Promotions Manager Paul Arnell was proud to see so many come out and enjoy themselves at Cubby Bear - which is why he called the championship "a perfect finale."
"We couldn't have asked for a better finish," commented Arnell. "This has been a wonderful promotion. But players have to remember that it's not over. The Golden Tee Instant Ticket is still out there. So if any player missed the boat on this event, they can still have a chance to win $25,000 or their very own machine!"
Congratulations Marc Muklewicz and All The Finalists!
'Duffer' Dan Schrementi and Chicago's 97.9 The Loop's Hector get the crowd ready for the event |
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Along with Hector emceeing the event, 97.9 The Loop aired ads for the event as well as contributed prizes. |
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A line of players thought they could beat Steven Sobe... |
... but only Jay Wolf of Oswego was good enough to win the Blackhawks tickets. |
The finalists gather before the event. |
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An overhead veiw of Ron Nayal hitting the shot that knocked world champion Graig Kinzler out of the event. |
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Tina Lukasz celebrates after sticking it close. |
Matt Weiland's generosity didn't go unrewarded as IT Marketing Director Gary Colabuono (right) presents him with $100 worth of Golden Tee instant tickets. |
Tina Lukasz evades a hug from Marc Muklewicz after Muklewicz defeated her. |
Muklewicz receives a check for $5,000 from Illinois Lottery acting superintendent Jodie Winnett. |
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