The 2010 Players Charity Championship

Jeff Lannen Puts the Finishing Touches on an Epic Weekend of
Golden Tee With His Tournament Win

Saying that the 2010 Golden Tee Players Charity Championship couldn't have been a bigger success might sound cliché, but there really isn't any other way to put it.

After months of hard work and donations, GT's most meaningful event finally took place on August 27th through the 29th at Splinters Sports Pub in Palatine, Illinois. The beneficiary of this year's PCC was SALUTE, INC., a local charity that was founded to meet the financial, physical and emotional needs of military service members, veterans and their families. Seventy-four of the games best players competed in the 3rd PCC. And while their presence was vital to the weekend, it would be a crime to simply acknowledge those that played in the tournament. The support along with the donations from players, family members, and others involved in the GT community around the world helped pave the way for a weekend that blew away all expectations. Co-tournament directors and the Golden Tee Society's newest members Lance Bertram and Steve Churak summed it up best while addressing the PCC crowd on Friday night. "We certainly aren't perfect and we definitely don’t have the most to give, but this group of people in this community definitely have the most heart."

Will and Mary Beth Beiersdorf and their son, Chris, are presented a check for $75,110 from PCC organizers Lance Bertram, Steve Churak, Casey Brock and J.P. Biedermann.

Salute Friday: CTTP and Ira Dean

Splinters was jam-packed Friday evening with people looking to support Salute and take in some of the PCC festivities. The auction and 50/50 raffle were in full swing, and the Golden Tee 2011 games were occupied with players looking to get their first crack at the new courses.

The night continued with the highly anticipated Closest-to-the-Pin contest. Up for grabs was a spot in the WCOFF (World Championship of Fantasy Football) and some serious coin! During the 20-minute qualifying intervals, another $880 was raised from players looking to make the finals and have a shot at the top prize.

After qualifying finished, the 32-man bracket played its way down. Holes-in-one were hard to come by but matches were close and the room was fixated on the games being played. In the end, it was Chicago's John Jansa beating Paul Tayloe in the finals to take the PCC CTTP crown and earn the WCOFF spot!

Once the PCC CTTP contest came to a close, it was time for Ira Dean.

Ira, the writer and singer behind It's Golden Tee and one of the up-and-coming country singers/songwriters in the country, performed a live set that brought the house down. Ira's very lovely and talented girlfriend Brooke Burrows also jumped on stage to sing a couple of songs to the crowd. Needless to say, they put on quite a show.

Saturday: The National Anthem, The Qualifier, and the Big Check

The American Legion Color Guard presented the colors and veteran Torron Crawford kicked off the PCC on Saturday by doing a beautiful job on the National Anthem. Although the bar was rarely silent throughout the entire weekend, Torron left the entire room with chills and started the tournament with a bang.

The 3-course qualifier began on Saturday as the PCC participants teed it up on Great Wall, Tahiti Cove and Monument Valley. Outside of a minor power blip during the third round of qualifying, things couldn't have gone much better.

Ohio native and Golden Tee world champion Andy Haas took top qualifier honors with a 3-round score of –76 and 127,000 Great Shot Points. Also shooting a –76 but with less GSPs was Michigan's Mike Demko who took second.

Two former GT world champions rounded out the top four as Chicago's Graig Kinzler and Missouri's Jeff Harlow each fired –75s. New York trackballer Stu Fox rounded out the top 5 with his –73.

Scoring as a whole was nothing short of impressive for those that made the top 32. Our 32nd overall qualifier was Minnesota's Eric "Slider" Ringeisen who just barely made the Champions Bracket by averaging –22 on all three courses. Needless to say, the PCC field was one of the deepest and most impressive Golden Tee fields we've seen in recent memory.

For a full rundown of qualifying scores, you can check out the Online Qualifying Leaderboard.

Once the qualifier was complete, Salute was presented a big check totaling $75,110! This, of course, really summed up the efforts so many had put in and was what the weekend was all about. After the check presentation Gary Colabuono, IT Marketing Exec, surprised Lance and Steve with Golden Tee Society bomber jackets. He mentioned that they earned their "Advocate" patches and membership because they always looked out for and helped those in need.

Sunday: The Purple Bracket

Although much of the attention was paid to those that made the Champions Bracket, there was still a ton of talent and good matches were a plenty for those playing in the Purple Bracket.

After a long day of playing, the 32-man, single-elimination bracket played down to the final four.

Wisconsin's Dan Miser then took out GT legend and former IT employee Steve Sobe to move into the finals, while Ohio's Reid Somori bested Chicago native and Champion Bracket bubble boy Chuck Speiser to also move on.

In the finals, the two remained close early on but it was Reid who pulled away on the back 9 of Tahiti Cove to secure the victory. Speiser took home fourth, Sobe grabbed third, Miser ended up second.

Upon winning, Reid was generous enough to buy the entire bar a drink and donate the rest of his Purple Bracket winnings to Salute – just another unbelievable gesture in a weekend chock-full of kindness.

Sunday: The Champions Bracket

With the $3,000 top prize up for grabs, Saturday's top 32 qualifiers teed it up in head-to-head games. Wasting little time, round one featured some interesting matchups and perhaps the match of the day.

Indianapolis golfer Rodney Roberts and Illinois native Ed Godfrey played an instant classic on Monument Valley that took 31 holes to finish. Tied at –25 through 18 holes, the two went into sudden death. The first person to go up a stroke in extras would win, and 13 holes later Rodney found that stroke and prevailed in one heck of a battle.

Round 2 was tough on GT world champions as Andy Haas, Graig Kinzler, and Jeff Harlow all lost and found their way into the loser's bracket in the double-elimination tournament. Meanwhile, the state of Minnesota showcased its strength as Todd Penticoff, Tony Johnson, Andy Fox, Marc "The Mouth" Muklewicz, and Chris Thorbrogger all played their way deep into the tournament. As the bracket progressed, Tony and Marc remained unbeaten, and joined Houston's Mark Stenmark and Illinois native Jeff Lannen in the final four on the winner's side. Stenmark then took on Muklewicz and Johnson played Lannen for a shot at king-of-the-hill honors.

Both matches needed extra holes to decide a winner and the suspense was high. Stenmark brought his showdown to an end by acing hole 3 in extras against Marc and moved into the winner's bracket finals. Meanwhile, Johnson and Lannen needed OT as both finished Monument Valley tied at -25. On hole 5 in extras, however, Johnson found the water and Lannen birdied to secure victory.

Stenmark and Lannen then played for king-of-the-hill, and once again needed extra holes to decide a victor. Both closed out 18 with impressive –26s, but after Mark got wet on hole 2, Lannen took advantage and secured a spot in the finals.

After Thorbrogger took down his Minnesota buddy Tony Johnson in the loser's bracket semis, Stenmark had another shot to reach the finals if he could topple Thor. Although the two battled throughout their critical match, Stenmark picked up a shot on the 15th hole and that was the key difference. Thorbrogger tried to get the stroke back on the 18th hole but ended up in the hazard securing the victory for Mark. Thorbrogger ended up 3rd and took home $1,500 while Tony Johnson took 4th and cashed $1,000.

The final game was a rematch of the king-of-the-hill matchup, and Stenmark was going to need two wins over the unbeaten Lannen if he wanted to take home the PCC title. While Mark certainly has the skills to pull off such a feat, Jeff Lannen was too good on this day.

Playing on Southern Oaks, Mark missed a putt early on and bogied hole 6 to give Jeff an early lead. From that point on, Lannen never looked back and cruised to the PCC title in game 1! Jeff's unbeaten run is one of the most impressive GT accomplishments we've seen in recent memory.

"That was the best Golden Tee I've ever seen and been a part of on a tournament Sunday," Jeff said. "Unbelievable matches all around and I'm fortunate that I was able to make it through unscathed."

Jeff took home a cool $3,000 dollars for the win. And like our Purple Bracket champion Reid Somori, Jeff bought the entire bar a drink afterwards and generously added $300 to the Salute donations. Mark Stenmark continues to add to his Golden Tee resume and earned $2,000 for second. It seems fitting that one of the game's biggest tournaments featured two of GT's brightest young stars.

Your PCC Final Four From Left to Right - Chris Thorbrogger (3rd), Mark Stenmark (2nd), Jeff Lannen (1st), and Tony Johnson (4th)

PCC: Final Words and Top Fundraisers

While the tournament certainly was exciting, the weekend and the months leading up to the event showed just how powerful and generous people can be.

"Our community was able to raise more than $75,000 for our troops and that really is what this whole weekend was all about," said Lannen. "The tournament win is no doubt special, but I've never been more proud to be a part of something this meaningful with people I really care about."

Congrats to Jeff and thanks to everyone that was a part of this fantastic event. Special thanks go out to those that went above and beyond potential expectations and really raised a lot of money for Salute. We conclude by highlighting the top 10 donators who will also have a spot in Golden Tee 2011.

What a weekend…

Posing with Salute's Mary Beth and Will Beiersdorf are the PCC's Top Fundraisers. From left to right: Casey Brock, Jeremy Fuller, Steve Churak, Rob Anderson, Nicholas Strike, Margo Townsend, Tim Glenn, Skipper Horner, Bill McCormick, J.P. Biedermann, Steve Snyder, and Jeff Allums.

Golden Tee 2010

Rock On.