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Argentina  INESfun

22 Feb 2020 at 13:37

There are about 300 recesses on one golf ball, and thanks to them, the ball flies three times farther than a smooth one. ... Balls of the same size...

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United States of America  Smitty

07 Jun 2023 at 04:45

Jason and team make this place beautiful and the tournament is fun and well run.

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From which country will the overall WAGM 2022 (June 17-19) Champion come from?


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Total 1 votes, since 23 May 2022.

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2018 U.S. Open a Rainey One


United States of America 23 May 2018 at 02:39 | Published by: PatPenguin | Views: 20409 | News search

2018 U.S. Open a Rainey One
Rainey Statum  (Photo by The Putting Penguin)

Hendersonville, NC – Perhaps it’s only fitting that a U.S. Open tournament week that was marked by times of torrential rain and localized flooding would be won by a man named Rainey. Weather would interrupt practice week a couple of times and delay the start of the first rounds of the United States ProMiniGolf Association’s (USPMGA) U.S. Open, but once the wet moved out, the “Rain Man” moved in. The Par Tee Time Course at Champions Golf Learning Center is a difficult course, providing few ace opportunities but that didn’t stop Rainey Statum from posting three of the twenty below par (36) scores in the tournament.

Rainey, who is a local ambassador for the Major Series of Putting (MSOP) and a member of Team USA, started the tournament with a 114 after the first break, putting him in a tie for 5th place as Danny McCaslin, a past U.S. Open winner, was in the lead at 110. As the course dried out, the scores heated up, as Rainey would post back-t0-back 35 and 34, moving him into the lead after the first day with a 183. The 34, which was shot by a few other individuals during the tournament, was the course record for a few moments until Randy Reeves, past Master’s champion, posted a 33, a low for the tournament. It looked like Rainey might pull away after day one, with second place being at 187 and belonging to Rick Baird, a member of Team USA, after he shot a pair of 35’s in the afternoon session.

However, day two saw the field tighten up during the morning 3 rounds. Rainey would drop a couple of spots, ending the morning at 305 after four straight scores in the 40s. Rick Baird came in at 301 after a solid morning and be rejoined by Danny McCaslin at the top of the leaderboard. Eight rounds also marked the cut line for the tournament as the top 29 (including ties) players moved on to play two final championship rounds. The cut ended up at a score of 319, showing just how close the field was as the top player was only separated from being cut by 18 strokes over the first eight rounds.

The pressure mounted in the afternoon as Brian Johnson, another member of Team USA and sitting at 304 after 8 rounds, would make a bid for the win by shooting a 36 to Baird’s 42 and McCaslin’s 38. Statum would shoot a 38 in round 9 but sealed the deal in round 10 by posting his last below par score, a 35. Statum won by just one stroke as local professional John Powell made a move, averaging a 36.25 in the last four rounds to jump into second place. There would end up being a three-way tie for third place between McCaslin and Mike Johnson (another Team USA member) and Gary Hester who both made late charges. After 10 rounds, only 21 strokes separated first place from the last paying place (29th) in the tournament. In addition to the top prize of $2,250 (~1,910 EUR) Rainey also won an entry to the MSOP event in Las Vegas in October. Players in the U.S. Open could purchase a $25 insurance in an attempt to win the free entry or $150 off the entry fee which was paid down to the fourth eligible insurance purchaser. It also seemed fitting that he would win this inaugural partnership having sported MSOP gear throughout the tournament and having won money in the qualifying rounds in Las Vegas at last year’s MSOP.

This was Rainey’s first major minigolf tournament win. During his acceptance speech, he would express thanks to the people pulling for him and relief at “getting that monkey off his back”. Bob Detwiler, President of the USPMGA, also remarked that the partnership between the USPMGA and the MSOP would be a benefit for everyone who loved putting and that he saw a great future ahead for the major putting tournaments.

The next major USPMGA event is the Master’s on October 11 – 13, 2018 in Myrtle Beach, SC. The 2019 U.S. Open will be held at Mr. Putty’s Fun Park in Tega Cay, SC.

Top Finishers – Overall Division
1. Rainey Statum – 378
2. John Powell – 379
T-3. Danny McCaslin, Gary Hester, Mike Johnson – 380
6. Rick Baird – 381
T-7. Joey Graybeal, Brian Johnson - 384

» Final Results

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Pro-Am Tournaments in Canada Kick Off the Season

Canada 16 May 2018 at 18:56 | views: 19679 | Comments: 0

With the snow almost completely melted, the minigolf courses in Canada now been opened for about 4 weeks so it's time to slowly get back to competition. The tournament season started with the first preseason day on May 5th at Mini-Putt Terrebonne just north of the ...
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Pro-Am Tournaments in Canada Kick Off the Season

Shh...Library Minigolf Part 4

Shh...Library Minigolf Part 4

United States of America 09 May 2018 at 14:43 | views: 19008 | Comments: 0

In Part 3 of this series, we continued our look at how miniature golf has been positively impacting people's relationship with their local libraries and helping to raise funds to keep them in order. For this part, we highlight even more events that have been ...
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Interview with Jarno Bottenberg (WMF Youth Re-Post)

Netherlands 07 May 2018 at 13:06 | views: 22438 | Comments: 0

In part 9 our series of re-posts of the youth interviews from the WMF Youth Facebook page, we have an interview with Jarno Bottenberg from the Netherlands. In case you missed the eighth in the series, you can catch it here. The following interview can also be ...
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Interview with Jarno Bottenberg (WMF Youth Re-Post)

Entry Open to World Crazy Golf Championships 2018

Entry Open to World Crazy Golf Championships 2018

United Kingdom 30 Apr 2018 at 14:09 | views: 17944 | Comments: 1

Entry to the World Crazy Golf Championships is open. Taking place at Hastings Adventure Golf on June 9 and 10 the competition is open to anyone and any ability. The global competition has two categories - one for novices that is played on Saturday 9, June and ...
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