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The World Golf
Teachers Cup
The World Golf Teachers Cup
is the biennial world championship event of the World Golf
Teachers Federation (WGTF). There is no other event in golf
like it, as it is golf's only global competiton for golf
teaching professionals. The World Cup brings nearly 200
teaching professionals from over 30 countries together every
two years for championship honors in both individual and
team competition. Each team represents a country, comprised
of at least three individuals from that country on
six-person teams. Those not representing a country are still
competing in the individual portion of the tournament. The
event normally rotates between the United States and an
international location. All WGTF Level III (fully-certified)
and Level IV (Master Golf Teaching Professionals) members
are eligible to compete.
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History of the World Golf
Teachers Cup |
1997
Location: Golden Gate Country Club, Naples, Florida
Individual Champion: Mark Harman (Tallahassee, Florida)
Score: 72
Team Champion: USA
Harman bested a field of international professionals from the United
States, England, Scotland, Ireland, Canada, and Korea to become the
first individual champion. Team USA held off Team Europe in a play
6, count 5 format. A humorous situation occurred when Mark
Umphreyville, playing anchorman for Team USA, thought his 5-foot
putt on the last hole was necessary to win the team championship.
Umphreyville made his putt, then later said he was never so nervous.
It turned out that Team USA already had the team title well in hand
and Umphreyville worried needlessly.
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1998
Location: San Roque Golf Club (Old Course), San Roque, Spain
Individual Champion: Mark Harman (Pensacola, Florida)
Score: 70
Team Champion: USA
Harman repeated as champion, defeating several players by two shots
on the San Roque course, which annually hosts the European Tour’s
final stage of qualifying. Jackie van den Hemmel shot 73, which to
this day represents the highest finish by a woman competitor in the
individual event. As only Team USA and Team Europe fielded teams for
the team competition, a 7-man match play format was decided upon.
The first six matches were split 3-3, with Team USA’s Mike Stevens
and Team Europe’s Rolf Bagge tied after 18 holes. This necessitated
a sudden-death playoff between the two, and the fate of the entire
team competition rested upon these two. Stevens won the first hole
in sudden death, permanently placing himself as a legend in Team USA
lore.
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1999
Location: Ballantrae Golf Club, Port St. Lucie, Florida
Individual Champion: Ken Butler (Jensen Beach, Florida)
Score: 73
Team Champion: USA
Scotland native Butler became the first foreign-born winner of the
individual championship. Formerly a touring professional in Europe,
Butler had his playing career cut short by a severe back injury
after falling from a building. Fighting his way back to playing
form, Butler became one of the USGTF’s best players in the late
1990’s and represented Team USA several times. Team USA won the team
portion without much difficulty over Europe, Canada, and Korea.
Scores throughout the week were generally high on the Jack Nicklaus-designed
facility, as trick pin positions and hard-to-read greens made for
difficult conditions.
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2000
Location: Oliva Nova Golf Club, Oliva, Spain
Individual Champion: Doug Borland (Scotland)
Score: 70
Team Champion: Europe
Borland’s victory in the individual portion was not unexpected, as
he was an experienced and tough competitor who was teaching golf in
Turkey at the time. However, Europe’s victory in the team portion
was a bit unexpected as Team USA fielded an extremely strong team.
Europe’s best rose to the challenge, though, and took a two-stroke
victory to the bank. Although oft-criticized as a designer, Seve
Ballesteros crafted a hidden gem in fashioning the par-72 Oliva Nova
course.
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2001
Location: Eagle Marsh Golf Club, Jensen Beach, Florida
Individual Champion: Henrik Jentsch (Germany)
Score: 75
Team Champion: USA
Jentsch, a former European Challenge Tour player, was able to
overcome high winds, cold temperatures, and rock-hard greens in
taking a two-stroke victory. In the team portion, the United States
once again emerged victorious in a play 6, count 5 stroke play
format over 18 holes.
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2003
Location: Orange Lake Country Club, Kissimmee, Florida
Individual Champion: Dave Belling (Sarnia, Ontario)
Score: 71-69 – 140
Team Champion: USA
This was truly Belling’s championship, in both the individual and
team portion. Trailing by a stroke entering the final round of the
individual championship, Belling shot the low round of the
tournament, a 69. He then parred the first hole of sudden-death to
defeat Mark Harman and win his first WGTF championship. Belling
wasn’t done, as the next day he represented Team USA (Belling,
although a Canadian resident, is a USGTF member) in the team
portion. Team USA and Team Brazil finished 1-2 in qualifying, which
meant that they would play six team matches to decide the champion.
As fate would have it, a 3-3 tie emerged, necessitating another
sudden-death playoff. Belling teamed with Harman to represent the
USA against Brazil, and Belling holed a 12-foot birdie putt on the
second hold to win the title.
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2005
Location: Sao Jose Golf Club, Itu, Brazil
Individual Champion: Raul Fretes (Paraguay)
Score: 70-71 – 141
Team Champion: Paraguay
Fretes, a former European Tour player, scratched out a two-stroke
victory in the first World Cup played south of the equator. In the
team competition, Paraguay defeated Brazil 5-1 in match play to
capture its first team title. Perennial favorite Team USA never got
it going and finished in sixth place. This World Cup team
competition was notable in the fact that a record 12 teams
participated. A pro-am was held the day after the World Cup with
dozens of Brazilian dignitaries on hand. A formal closing banquet,
featuring several Brazilian celebrities, made for a memorable event.
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2007
Location: Boulder Creek Golf Club & Boulder City Golf Course,
Boulder City, Nevada
Individual Champion: Christopher Richards (Trinidad & Tobago)
Score: 71-67 – 138
Team Champion: Caribbean
Richards erased the disappointment of losing a playoff for the 2006
United States Golf Teachers Cup by setting a new individual 18- and
36-hole scoring record, all while leading Team Caribbean
(representing Trinidad & Tobago) to its first team title. Team USA
failed to win the team portion for the second World Cup in a row,
which had never happened before this year’s event. A record 193
participants teed it up on the diametrically different courses:
Boulder Creek, a big modern desert-style course with immaculate
conditioning, and Boulder City, an tree-lined old-style layout with
modest conditioning.
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2009
Location: Palmetto Dunes Resort, Hilton Head, South Carolina
Individual Champion: Luis Menezes
Score: 69-73 - 142
Team Champion: United States
Menezes, from Brazil, became the second South American to win the
championship. A seasoned competitor, Menezes only had modest success
in WGTF events before emerging victorious on the George Fazio and
Arthur Hills courses at Palmetto Dunes. Team USA returned to the
winner's circle for the first time since 2003, defeating defending
champion Team Caribbean (representing Trinidad & Tobago) by a single
shot over the 36 holes. Caribbean held a 4-stroke lead after the
first round of play, but uncharacteristically struggled the final
day to allow USA to take the title.
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2011
Location: Orange County National, Orlando, Florida
Individual Champion: James Douris
Score: 69-68 - 137
Team Champion: United States
Douris wins his first World Cup individual title, cementing himself as the WGTF's current best player. To date, Douris has five WGTF championships to his credit. In the team competition, the United States ran away with a 39-stroke victory in routing Team Canada. 2007 champion Team Caribbean finished third, unable to hold on to its second-place position after the first round. This was the first World Cup closing banquet and awards ceremony to feature the USGTF Hall of Fame induction ceremony with Mike Stevens of Tampa, Florida, and David Vaught of Oceanside, California, added to the prestigious list.
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info@usgtf.com
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