Hi, I'm Adam Kramer, the new guy in the IT marketing department. You'll be seeing me at all the big tournaments and live events. I'm responsible for stories about our games and the people who play them, so if you have an idea for a story - I would love to hear about it. You can reach me at akramer@itsgames.com.
2008 Indy Open Features More of the Same
As Chris Litzinger Keeps Rolling Along, I Just Plain Rollover in Qualifier
Going into Indianapolis this weekend, I hoped to meet a lot of good people and possibly surprise the Golden Tee community with my much-improved play. I was eager to accomplish what my boss, Gary Colabuono, bragged about leading up to the tournament.
“Yep, back in ’01 I shocked the Golden Tee world by making the cut at the Mt. Airy Open. Beat a bunch of the big dogs that weekend…”
I had been here a week, and already that story was beginning to sound like a broken record, but I digress.
At least this weekend I managed to attain one of my goals. Any guesses?
The tournament took place at the Sidelines Sports Pub in Noblesville, Indiana. The field featured 78 players, including a ton of the top players in the country, as well as IT’s own Steve Sobe. Gametime Amusements, a local Indianapolis operator, sponsored the event.
Jason Kendrick, Gametime’s owner, had these thoughts on the weekend. “This tournament is a great way to get a lot of the top players together and compete. Of course we also want to show them all a good time.”
And boy was it a good time! As one of Incredible Technologies’ most recent hires, I thought playing in this tournament with Golden Tee’s ultimate players would be a great way to kick things off. In last year’s Midwest Regional in Joliet (my first tournament), I was very nervous throughout qualifying, and my play suffered accordingly. I wanted my redemption at the Indy Open.
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Friday night featured the more relaxed but still competitive State Battle Royale. In this team play format, a stacked Ohio squad featuring Chris Litzinger from Cincinnati, Andy Haas from Stowe, and Steven Tirey from Dayton won the event to capture their second consecutive Battle Royale title. These guys were far from finished. Saturday began with qualifying in the morning, with each player playing a cycle (all five courses). A bit nervous AGAIN, I was paired up with none other then Chicago’s own Graig Kinzler. I was intimidated at first, but the two-time and reigning Golden Tee world champion was helpful and great company to be around. The same could definitely be said about the rest of the players at the event. Although I didn’t shoot as error-free as I would have liked, I had a fantastic time, and eventually missed the cut (sorry Gary) by only two shots (thank you Bayou Bay). Graig on the other hand finished tops in qualifying with an impressive five course score of –120. Steve Sobe finished top 5 in qualifying with a solid –115. |
In the end, Chris Litzinger took home first place, taking down his Battle Royale teammate Andy Haas. Andy would have had to beat Chris twice in the final to win the title. After beating Chris in the first match, Andy put a ball in the water on Misty 16, which opened the door. Chris cruised from there to take the 2008 Indy Open title.
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| Ryan McCook, Andy Haas, Chris Litzinger, & Tony Johnson |
Other top performers included Tony Johnson from Golden Valley, Minnesota and Jacksonville’s Ryan McCook. These two rounded out third and fourth place respectively. A very energized Chuck Fastner of Germantown, Wisconsin, won the Purple Bracket.
As for Chris, this was his third Indy Open championship win in its four-year history. Chris also posted an amazing 156,000+ great shot points during one of his rounds on his way to victory. This performance clearly marks him as one of the favorites for the World’s in September.
With two Golden Tee tournaments in the books, I hope to have more success covering Golden Tee than I have competing in it. The 2008 Indy Open was an extraordinary success, and an enjoyable event to attend, even if I missed the cut. Congrats to all the winners and Gametime Amusements on a job well done.
Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to go invest in some virtual golf balls, and some lessons at Bayou Bay. Maybe even from you Gary.
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