WGT Golf News

Did you choose the wrong country when you registered at WGT, only to find that you cannot enter tournaments in which your country is eligible? Or did you move recently and need to update your account? You can update your country yourself by going to: https://www.wgt.com/user/contactinfo.aspx and clicking on the green "Change Mailing Address" link. Be sure to click the "Update" button underneath when you are done. Hope this helps!

The April Virtual U.S. Open Closest-to-the-Hole Challenge is available to play! USGA has teamed up with World Golf Tour and New York's Bethpage State Park to host the inaugural Virtual U.S. Open. A nine-hole skill contest of the Bethpage Black course is available on USOpen.com for you to test your skills for the upcoming Virtual U.S. Open Championship. The winner of the nine-hole skill contest will receive a U.S. Open flag signed by a 2009 U.S. Open player.

Wondering what 2009 Masters winner Angel Cabrera keeps in his golf bag? Add the new Virtual Ping G10 irons to your WGT bag and see if you can play like a Master!

Photo: Jamie Squire/Getty Images

When you play WGT, be sure to log in using your own account. Our terms of service allows each player to have just one account, and to only play the game using your own account. By sharing an account with someone else, or playing games using another person's account, you run a risk of having the accounts blocked. You also run the risk of being disqualified from any tournaments you played.

Speaking of the terms of service, be sure to check them out from time to time as they change periodically.

Happy golfing.

The Masters is underway and the players are dominating the course. Even some of the older players such as Larry Mize and Greg Norman are near the top of the leaderboard. Augusta National has lengthened the course, added more trees, and shifted tee boxes, but the course didn’t put up much of fight against the pros. The soft greens and the easy pin placements allowed for some really low scores.  Tiger Woods shot a 2-under 70 but was 7 shots behind the leader. One good omen for Tiger though is that he shot an opening-round 70 in his first three Masters victories.

All of us at World Golf Tour are watching the tournament and enjoying every minute of it. The Masters website is asking how people would like to see The Masters represented in an online game. Can you imagine playing Augusta in WGT? Post a comment on their website and give a plug for WGT! http://www.masters.com/ggw/ggw_newaudience.html

Heads up everyone, we have a system maintenance scheduled for tonight at 11:59pm PST that will require us to take down the site for up to 30 minutes. Please be sure to save any unfinished games before this time!

WGT

Congratulations to the following recent tournament winners!

Kiawah Resort Challenge

HACK TIER

1st: keith35
Prize: $100 Amazon.com Gift Card

2nd: albo1greens
Prize: $75 Amazon.com Gift Card

3rd: SlimShady
Prize: $50 Amazon.com Gift Card

AMATEUR TIER

1st: PortsD
Prize: $150 Amazon.com Gift Card

2nd: Hightower3
Prize: $100 Amazon.com Gift Card

3rd: gitthe
Prize: $75 Amazon.com Gift Card

ExpertCEO Open

HACK TIER

1st: Bub4RAIDERZ
Prize: $100 Amazon.com Gift Card

2nd: BeachGolf
Prize: $50 Amazon.com Gift Card

3rd: Ross4Fun
Prize: $25 Amazom.com Gift Card

AMATEUR TIER

1st: tibbets
Prize: $200 Amazon.com Gift Card

2nd: LincolnParkDave
Prize: $75 Amazon.com Gift Card

3rd: ncviz
Prize: $25 Amazon.com Gift Card

St. Valentine's Open

HACK TIER

1st: MrHitch
Prize: $150 Restaurant.com Gift Card

2nd: Drop-n-a-2
Prize: $100 Restaurant.com Gift Card

3rd: volmoss
Prize: $75 Restaurant.com Gift Card

AMATEUR TIER

1st: marioh
Prize: $175 Restaurant.com Gift Card

2nd: mike9217
Prize: $125 Restaurant.com Gift Card

3rd: gitthe
Prize: $100 Restaurant.com Gift Card

Week 10 Skill Challenge Sweepstakes

Winner 1: gmdevils
Prize: 200 WGT Credits

Winner 2: Huskerchad
Prize: 200 WGT Credits

Winner 3: Wemyss
Prize: 200 WGT Credits

Week 11 Stroke Play Tournament

HACK: ckauffman
Prize: WGT Credits

AMATEUR: TXBowhunter
Prize: WGT Credits

Week 11 Skill Challenge Sweepstakes

Winner 1: LBB1
Prize: 200 WGT Credits

Winner 2: Thinkel
Prize: 200 WGT Credits

Winner 3: TitileistTim
Prize: 200 WGT Credits

Week 12 Stroke Play Tournament

HACK: greatjuno
Prize: WGT Credits

AMATEUR: Pixie-pivot
Prize: WGT Credits

Play the front side, the back nine or the full 18 in this month's tournaments. With the addition of Wolf Creek and the back nine of The Ocean Course on Kiawah Island Golf Resort, April's tournaments have raised the stakes and expanded the playing field. Here's a deeper look at some of the new tournaments, and their formats and prizes:

"Play with Parker" 18-Hole Open - Unlimited Play!

The next best thing to playing on the PGA tour is playing a round of golf with a PGA Professional. "The Play with Parker" Open is your chance to make a golf dream come true, where you will get to play a round of golf with Parker McLachlin. Compete in WGT's first unlimited full 18-hole stroke play tournament and win an all-expense-paid trip to Parker's home course, the TPC Scottsdale's Stadium Course. And yes, Parker McLachlin is the PGA golfer who played basketball with President Barack Obama. He also won the 2008 Reno-Tahoe Open and tied for 5th place in the 2008 AT&T Classic. Golf with Parker, airfare, hotel and spending money are included. Eligibility: US, Canada. Entry fee: 1,800 credits.
Enter now

April Kiawah Back Nine Open

Compete on the back nine holes of The Ocean Course in this stroke play tournament. Winners get new virtual clubs! Eligibility: US, Canada, UK, Germany, Australia, Norway, Japan. Entry fee: 100 credits
Enter now

The Wolf Creek Challenge Sweepstakes

Find out why Wolf Creek is considered one of the most beautiful courses in the world in this free-to-enter skills challenge sweepstakes. Winner takes home a USD $100 Amazon.com gift card. Eligibility: US, Canada, UK, Germany, Australia, Norway
Enter now

April Amateur Open

Amateur Tier players compete for premium golf gear in this 18-hole stroke play tournament on The Ocean Course. Prizes include a PING Rapture Driver and a TaylorMade Burner Rescue with graphite shaft. Eligibility: US, Canada, UK, Germany, Australia, Norway, Japan. Entry fee: 800 credits.
Enter now

If you haven't posted your hottest swing for a chance to win a $500 gift card to Golfsmith, do it before June 30! In the meantime, check out the great swings that have been posted so far and cast your vote!

USGA announced today their partnership with WGT to host the first Virtual U.S. Open Championship! See the full press release below:

Far Hills, N.J. -  The United States Golf Association and World Golf Tour (WGT) announced Wednesday that they have formed an agreement to host the first Virtual U.S. Open Championship on www.USOPEN.com.

Developed in partnership with Bethpage State Park in Farmingdale, N.Y., the Virtual U.S. Open will take place on a state-of-the-art simulation of the Black Course at Bethpage, allowing golf enthusiasts everywhere to play an online golf championship from their computers at no cost, at the same time and on virtually the same course as the actual U.S. Open competitors in June.

Visitors to www.USOPEN.com, the official Web site of the U.S. Open, can play qualifying rounds for the Virtual U.S. Open, beginning May 25 through June 21. The top 156 qualifiers plus ties will then square off for the Virtual U.S. Open title on June 22. The winner will be crowned the USGA Virtual U.S. Open Champion and will be a guest of the USGA at the 2010 U.S. Open at Pebble Beach Golf Links in Pebble Beach, Calif.

A closest-to-the-hole challenge on WGT’s virtual Bethpage Black will be available starting April 13, on www.USOPEN.com for players to test their skills, before the Virtual U.S. Open qualifying rounds begin.

“This is a unique opportunity for fans to experience a very realistic online representation of the Black Course at Bethpage State Park,” said Alex Withers, USGA managing director of Digital Media. “We are thrilled to be able to bring this product to golf fans around the world and to be working with World Golf Tour on this exciting project.”

WGT has utilized its patented technology to bring Bethpage Black to life online. First, nearly 100,000 high-definition images were taken of the course from the ground and with helicopters using precisely mapped GPS coordinates. These images and additional data collected from the course were then translated through WGT’s proprietary physics engine to enable players to virtually experience Bethpage Black within a photo landscape. Championship tees and hole locations, U.S. Open-quality rough and accurate green contours and speeds all combine to make this the most realistic championship golf experience ever offered online.

“Through WGT’s association with the USGA, fans now have the opportunity to get more involved in one of golf’s four major championships,” said YuChiang Cheng, CEO of World Golf Tour. “This opportunity is a strong step forward in demonstrating the ability of WGT’s platform to integrate live events with an online experience. We are honored to be working with the USGA to bring players the Virtual U.S. Open, with some of the pressure and elation that the real competitors feel.”