WGT Golf News

Congratulations to WGT player StoneColdKiller who won the 2011 Virtual Open Championship played on Royal St George's last week. He wins the grand prize trip to the British Open next year!

There have been over two million rounds of virtual golf played on Royal St George's, but only 195 top players qualified for the two Championship rounds. Conditions were challenging with the fastest championship greens and high winds, similar to the real conditions at Royal St George's for the Pros.

This year's champion, StoneColdKiller, posted a 58 in the first round and a 61 in the second round for a winning score of 119.

See StoneCold's eagle on hole 12

Close behind StoneCold was Funkyjunkie3000 with 120, who also finished XXX in the Virtual U.S. Open.

See Funkyjunkie's eagle on hole 9

Tied for third place were Hanswurst72 and jakestanfill7, each with a 62-59 for 121. And four players were tied for fifth place at 122, including PRIESTESS, LeopoldStotch, PGAbound67 and JCOlson.

The lowest single rounds in the championship were 56 by racoondad, 57 by jbooch09, and 57 by mrenn29 who was the the winner of the Virtual U.S. Open.

Congratulations to everyone participated in this year's Virtual Open. Here are all the prize winners...

Championship - StoneColdKiller - Trip to 2012 British Open

Sweepstakes Winner - Odaddy68 - $500 gift card to OpenGolfShop.com

Qualifiers - 195 players - 195 official Imperial Open caps

Front 9 Challenge Winner - BolloxInBruges - 33.28 feet - Royal St George's art print

Back 9 Challenge Winner - jakestanfill7 - 35.91 feet - Royal St George's art print

Good luck everyone and big thanks to Dianne81 for  making this post about the  2011 Virtual British Open in our forums

:

"Huge congrats to great rounds with 1st round scores in the 50s to stonecold and funkyjunk in horrid conditions!! Wow.... really WOW!

Racoondad, congrats on having low round (56) of tourney thus far, with mrenn (usopen winner) and  Jbooch (wtg Boo!) also having  terrific second rounds of 57!!!

Congrats to our most consistent player Hanswurst72 in the clubhouse with 3shot lead and score of 121 (62/59)

Wtg all whom qualified  and playing in the tourney and goodluck to those of you who have yet to post second round !"

195 WGT players have qualified for the Virtual Open Championship 2011. The qualifying cutline was 57 and the best score posted was a 52 shared by Shankette and  BolloxInBruges, both of them were also very serious contenders in the Virtual US Open last month.

The Virtual  Open Championship 2011 rounds starts today for the 195 qualifiers to decide the ultimate champion.

The Virtual Open culminates in this 2-round, 36-hole championship for the 156 qualifiers (plus ties). Each round is stroke play and the player with the best combined scores of both rounds wins the grand prize, a trip for 2 to the 2012 Open Championship at Royal Lytham & St Anne's. Round 1 begins at 1am PST on July 18th and ends at 11:59pm PST on July 20th. Round Two begins at 1am PST on July 21st and ends at 11:59pm PST on July 24th. Anyone can play, but only residents of certain countries are eligible to win the prize. See rules for details.

Here is the list of all the Championship Qualifiers, well done!

Last Fall, GamerLive.TV joined the World Golf Tour team in Kent, England to film the making of Royal St George's and the Virtual British Open.

This exclusive behind-the-scenes documentary video has just been released. It includes interviews with WGT founder and president Chad Nelson that show how WGT photographed the course from the ground and from the air via helicopter, as well as the post-production process that created the virtual reality version of this championship course that's hosting the British Open this week.

The video is available on GamerLive.TV, YouTube, and directly from the World Golf Tour game. Just visit the Open Championship section of the game at www.wgt.com and click on the picture of Chad and the helicopter. And while you're there, be sure to play the same course from the documentary and experience the virtual conditions for yourself.

More improvements to World Golf Tour, and the highlight this month is the Virtual Open held on Royal St George’s, host to the 2011 British Open.

Play the Virtual British Open this month

Don’t miss the Virtual Open on Royal St George’s, now thru July 17th. The Back 9 Challenge and the main 18 Hole Qualifier feature a variety of great prizes, and the top 156 (plus ties) qualify for the Championship rounds to compete for a trip for two to the 2012 Open in the UK. And be sure to watch the Pros take on the real-life Open, televised July 14th-17th.

New - Consecutive Days Bonus

See the new Consecutive Days Bonus Reminder in the game. You can earn extra XP for playing WGT every day, and the XP bonus increases every additional day you play. Level-up faster and unlock more new equipment.

New - Last Ball Reminder

Checkout the new Last Ball Reminder in the game. It let's you know if you're down to your last ball (of the type you're playing) and gives you the option to get more in the game. Note, if you choose not to, the next ball will continue to be a free standard WGT ball.

TaylorMade SuperFast Woods for New Players

Improve your long game with the latest TaylorMade Burner SuperFast 2.0 Woods, exciting clubs designed for new players that unlock at Level 11-13. These all-white virtual clubs are lighter and faster for longer and straighter shots from your driver, 3-wood and hybrid.

Get Your WGT Replays on YouTube

All saved WGT replays ware now considered for the new WGT Highlight Videos on YouTube. As a reminder, you can save any of your best shots using the Save Replay button and then share the link with your friends.

Ready Go’s and Country Club Tournaments on Congressional

You can now play Ready-Go Tournaments on Congressional, home of the 2011 U.S. Open. Ready-Go's are quick 50-person WGT tournaments that are only 100 credits to enter and Top 30 of 50 win credits based on scores. WGT Country Club’s can also set-up tournaments on Congressional.

New WGT Payment Methods

In addition to a variety of ways to earn free WGT Credits, there are also new payment methods on WGT. Support for Google Checkout makes it easy to use your saved Google Checkout payment methods. And you now use Gift Cards on WGT, including Gift Cards from Subway, CVS and Circle K with more stores coming soon. Just enter your Gift Card number when you buy WGT Credits and you get 100% conversion (ie. $1 Subway equals $1 WGT).