NEWS
Leaderboard | Main Bracket | Purple Bracket | Pink Bracket
The 2026 Golden Tee National Tour made its final stop at the Missouri Open. The four-day weekend brought 133 players, plus a crowd of friends and family, to Funny Bones in St. Louis, Missouri. With the 2026 Golden Tee World Championship looming in June at the Palms Casino in Las Vegas, tensions were a bit higher. Players were not just chasing tournament wins. They were battling for momentum and in some cases, a 2027 World Championship pass.
From start to finish, the Missouri Open delivered. Upsets shook the brackets. Veterans players reminded everyone why they are at the top but a new names broke through!
Saturday qualifying at the Missouri Open pushed players to their limits from the very first shot. The day opened on Alaska Lakes, one of the toughest courses in the Golden Tee 2026 carousel, and it immediately put pressure on the entire field. Even top competitors felt the bitterness of the course early. From there, players rotated through Hawkeye Hills, Acoma Mesa, Desert Valley, and wrapped up on Elkhorn Ridge. As rounds shifted to Acoma Mesa, you could sense some relief in the room, but the scoring still demanded precision and confidence.
Andy Haas rose above the chaos with a dominant performance, posting a -146 overall to claim the top qualifying spot for the 13th time. He also stood alone as the only player to fire a -30 on Alaska Lakes, stacking up 44,470 Great Shot Points along the way. Nate Webb answered with a highlight of his own, becoming the only player to hit a -30 on Hawkeye Hills while collecting 10,147 GSPs. Joey DeAngelo lit up Acoma Mesa with a sharp -32 and 71,534 GSPs, while Missouri’s own Evan Gossett delivered one of the loudest rounds of the day, shooting a -32 at Desert Valley and piling up 118,674 GSPs. Closing things out, Steve Beattie capped qualifying with a -31 on Elkhorn Ridge, adding 48,601 GSPs to his total.
Missouri native JD Hopwood did not just win. He carved his way through a tough paths. Hopwood’s Sunday run wasn’t a walk in the park. He knocked off Gordy Brown, James Hickey, and former World Champion Paul Tayloe, beating each by multiple strokes. Every match raised the pressure, and every time Hopwood answered.
Waiting in the finals was Burak Temel, who clawed his way back through the loser’s bracket with wins over Joe Massara and Hickey. Both finalists both took down Tayloe, a clear sign that they were locked in.
The championship came down to Elkhorn Ridge, hole 11. With the match dead even, Hopwood stepped up and buried a huge 48-yard chip. Temel needed an answer and lined up an 84-foot putt to keep up. It tracked toward the hole, then drifted just left. That miss gave Hopwood the edge.
From there, Hopwood controlled the finish. He protected the one-stroke lead with confidence. On hole 18, he delivered once again, dropping another clutch chip to secure his first National Tour Main Bracket title. His “peace sign” pull back chipping style proved to be his weapon to win.
A former Purple Bracket champion and multiple-time Women’s Bracket winner, Jamie Arrington stormed through the field without giving anyone a chance. She reached the final as the King of the Hill, taking down every opponent in her path. Her toughest test came against Rhys Wahleithner. Their first clash ended in overtime, with Arrington edging out the win to secure her spot in the finals.
Wahleithner battled back through the loser’s bracket for another shot. Arrington went down multiple strokes by getting stuck behind the rocks at Acoma Messa. But she battled back without letting that pressure overcome you play. The rematch had all the ingredients for a comeback story, but Arrington shut the door at the end.
With her second Purple Bracket title, she punched another ticket to the World Championship. That win also placed her in rare territory, again. Arrington now holds two World Championship passes at the same time, locking in appearances for both 2027 and 2028.
Chris Ivens took control of the Pink Bracket and never let go. Ivens put together a flawless run, staying unbeaten from start to finish. His path crossed early with Greg Bader on Machu Picchu, where Ivens secured a victory. Bader responded with a determined run through the loser’s bracket, earning a second shot in the finals.
On Hawkeye Hills, Ivens delivered a controlled performance and closed out the tournament with a -24 to -21 win!
The weekend was filled with a complete performance that capped an undefeated weekend for all three winners.
The Missouri Open wrapped up the final chapter before the biggest event of the year, and it did exactly what a final stop should do. It created momentum, built storylines, and introduced players who are peaking at the right time.
After the World Championship in June, the National Golden Tee Tour heads to Nashville for its next stop, scheduled for August 6th through 9th.
If Missouri was any indication, the competition is only getting sharper.
