WSOG Going Online?

August 26, 2008 (InfoPowa News) — The success of World Golf Tour's virtual golfing product has brought the company together with the World Series of Golf in an ambitious project that could see a vast Internet platform offering online players the opportunity to play major tournaments on a variety of the world's top golf courses.
 
Following June's successful CBS Network Television broadcast of its second annual tournament, the World Series of Golf is going global with online business ventures and high-stakes international tournaments, a spokesman said this week.
 
The company is busy developing an online gaming platform based on the World Series Of Golf event, a patent-pending format that combines the wagering action of Texas Hold 'Em with the skill of golf. The Internet-based program will provide users with photo-realistic golf courses and allow "gamers" to make wagers using Texas Hold 'Em style betting on the game.
 
"Capitalizing on the popularity of the World Series of Poker and Internet-based gaming, the World Series of Golf is launching an international online platform," says Terry Leiweke, president and CEO of the company. "Soon, playing tournament-style golf on some of the world's finest golf courses will be just a few keystrokes away."
 
The game is currently under development in conjunction with World Golf Tour (WGT). WGT brings its patent pending broadcast quality virtual golf game to the joint venture, a format that enables players to compete in contests on some of the world's most challenging golf courses.
 
Several of the key WGT developers previously worked for gaming giant Electronic Arts (EA) and were directly responsible for EA's successful Tiger Woods PGA Tour line of online games. A nine-hole demo version of the WGT game is currently available in beta form at World Golf Tour.com.
 
Plans are also afoot to rollout the World Series of Golf tournament format internationally, with a high-stakes $200,000 buy-in event scheduled for 2009, and a series of smaller events open to amateurs from around the world. The company's proprietary land-based golf event, "The World Series of Golf," is held annually at the Mirage Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, and the company has engaged in a multi-year domestic U.S. broadcast partnership with network television's sports leader, CBS Sports.