Let’s crown the best player in the world. Let’s have a party in Vegas. Let’s give away big cash prizes.

Only this time, let’s do it even bigger.

The Golden Tee 2017 World Championship will do just that. The field is larger, the stakes are higher and there will be more ways to qualify than ever before.

The event will take place May 19 through May 21 at Hi Scores Bar-Arcade in Las Vegas, Nevada—not the one in Henderson!

The top prize will be $10,000. The overall prize pool is more than $70,000! The winner will also get their face in the game. More significant than any dollar amount or virtual real estate is the chance at Golden Tee immortality.

There is much to discuss, including how you can qualify for the monster event. Here is everything you need to know about the Golden Tee World Championship.

Qualifying for the Golden Tee World Championship

There are multiple ways to qualify for the Golden Tee World Championship, which will no longer be limited to a single game mode and a handful of live events. Between November and March, you will various chances to punch your ticket.

It might take many games. It might take one unbelievable shot.

We are looking for 64 players. That’s double the field from the 2016 event, where we put 32 of the best in a room and had them duke it out.

Not this year. The more, the merrier. Here’s how you can qualify.

Best 50-Game Average Score (January 15 – March 15, 50 Spots): A classic, proven form of qualifying returns to this year’s worlds with a slight twist. Between January 15 and March 15, all Golden Tee players will be able to qualify by playing LIVE Prize Play.

In order to have a chance at qualifying, each player must finish 10 Prize Play games on all five Golden Tee 2017 courses—for a total of 50 games. In these two months, players are allowed and encouraged to play as many games as they please.

But it's not just about playing 50 games. It's your best 50 games—or your best 10 scores from each course. The goal will be to better your best 10 scores on each course through qualifying.

Once March 16 arrives, this 50-game average will be final. Combined Great Shot Points in these games that are counted will serve as the tiebreaker. The 50 players with the best average score and most Great Shot Points are in.

All states that allow Prize Play along with Canada will be included in this contest: 50 of the 64 players who compete in the Worlds will come from this event.

Freaky Friday World Championship Qualifiers (November – December, 4 Spots): Last year, the Daily Contest served as the sole way to qualify. This year, starting in Late November, it will lock up four different spots in a unique way.

New to Golden Tee 2017, Freaky Fridays are special 18-hole events that will take place on the Daily Contest every Friday. For four consecutive Fridays, the winners of these contests will lock up a spot in the Golden Tee World Championship.

The four contests that will ultimately secure spots will take place on November 25, December 2, December 9 and December 16. Course designer Jim Zielinski will create four Championship Courses, selecting holes from all 60 courses in the history of LIVE.

Will be they hard? Easy? Whatever they will be, they will ultimately help us lock up four players in the World Championship field.

LIVE Event Winners (November – December, 2 Spots): The winners of Club Lucky’s Tournament of Champions and Power Events’ Player of the Year Tournaments will each be awarded a spot in this year’s Worlds.

The TOC will take place in October (and thus will be the first spot handed out). The PEGT Tour Player of the Year Event will take place in December.

In the event that a player wins both contests or has already secured a berth by winning a Freaky Friday, the second-place finisher for the Player of the Year Tournament will secure the bid.

Best 50-Game Average Score for Non-Prize Play States (January 15 – March 15, 3 Spots): Do you play Golden Tee in a state that doesn’t allow Prize Play—specifically Alaska, Louisiana, New Jersey or South or Dakota?

If so, you too can qualify for the Vegas event. A separate online contest for players from these states will take place with the exact same 10-game average, 50-game total format mentioned above during the exact same time period.

The top three finishers during this time will earn spots in the Golden Tee World Championship.

Please note: all qualifiers must be a resident of the state that they qualified in.

The Golden Tee Home Edition World Rankings (January – March, 3 Spots): Surprise! Not only will Golden Tee Home Edition owners be included in this year’s Worlds, but we are also creating World Rankings that will be specific to Golden Tee Home Edition locations.

For those new to World Rankings, it takes the top score on all five current courses in a given month, averages them together and takes the total Great Shot Points in those games to rank players.

The top Golden Tee Home Edition World Rankings finishers during January, February and March will each be rewarded a spot in Vegas. In the instance that a player wins first more than one month, the No. 2 player will be selected.

Please note: In order to qualify for the Worlds on a Golden Tee Home Edition, a player must be the owner of the game.

“Last Chance” Golden Tickets Money $hot Spectacular, 2 Spots): The final two vacancies for the Golden Tee World Championship will be rewarded to the winners of two separate Money $hot contests—two “Golden Tickets” events. These contests will take place on March 24 and March 31 of next year.

One shot. That’s all it takes. If you can hit one brilliant iron or fairway closest to the pin on these two days, you can secure your spot for lovely Las Vegas.

One Final Note on Qualifying…

We expect there to be some crossover, of course. Certain players will win multiple events. As soon as a player secures their spot, they will be omitted from earning a qualifying birth in future contests. And if a player who has already qualified wins a certain contest, we will pick his/her replacement from the specific event in which they won.

After each player qualifies for Vegas, we will ask that they confirm their attendance. Once they do, there spot is set. In the event they cannot attend, we will take the runner-up from that contest to fill the spot. No substitutions will be made after April 15, 2017.

The Golden Tee World Championship LIVE Event

As mentioned above, the event will take place May 19 through May 21 at Hi Scores Bar-Arcade in Henderson, Nevada. While not technically Vegas, it is a short commute from the strip.

The top prize will be $10,000, although all 64 players will walk away with a prize for playing. All players must be in attendance to claim the prize.

The structure of the live event will be different from past years. On Friday, May 19 we will host a Closest-to-the-Pin Contest for all qualifiers. There will be further details to follow, but it will be a casual, laid back celebration of the players, the event and the game. Spectators and fans are welcome to come out and watch all weekend long.

On Saturday, May 20, a more traditional five-course qualifier will take place to determine the Championship Bracket and also seeding. The 64 players will play all five 2017 courses on locked conditions to get a total score. Top 32 players will be placed in the Championship Bracket; the remaining players will be placed in the Silver Bracket.

Saturday will be strictly for qualifying. On Sunday, the event will turn to match play. The Championship Bracket will compete in double-elimination match play. The Silver Bracket will consist of single-elimination match play.

The prizes, more than $70,000 total for all participants, are as follows:

Championship Bracket (Double Elimination)

1st Place: $10,000

2nd Place: $5,000

3rd Place: $4,000

4th Place: $3,000

5th-6th Place: $2,500

7th-8th Place: $2,000

9th-12th Place: $1,500

13th-16th Place: $1,250

17th-24th: $1,000

25th-32nd Place: $750

Silver Bracket (Single Elimination)

1st Place: $1,500

2nd Place: $1,250

3rd Place: $1,000

4th Place: $750

5th-8th Place: $600

9th-16th: $450

17th-32nd Place: $350

Specific times for qualifying and matches along with complete rules will be relayed closer to the event. We anticipate the Golden tee World Champion to be crowned sometime early Sunday evening.

This 2017 champion, as mentioned, will also be a playable character in Golden Tee 2018.

All qualifiers in this year’s contest will receive their own Golden Tee World Championship Player Card as well as more goodies that will be announced soon.

So get excited. Get ready. And be sure to be one of the 64 players who qualifies on a Golden Tee 2017 cabinet. It’ll be here sooner than you realize.