Play Against The Pros

In conjunction with the MasterCard Colonial Tournament, EA Sports has announced the third "Play Against The Pros" competition, to be held on May 18 to 21 at the Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth. By playing Tiger Woods PGA TOUR Golf over the Net, gamers have the chance to compete in real time against Justin Leonard, Davis Love III, Stewart Cink, and Lee Janzen. Among the prizes available is a brand-new Buick Regal, a trip to the Buick Invitational Tournament, golf clubs courtesy of chipshot.com, and a golf bag from Burton Golf. The event, sponsored by Buick, will also have other peripheral prizes available.

EA Sports tracking teams record the exact shot locations of the four PGA TOUR players throughout the MasterCard Colonial. While the PGA TOUR players battle shot for shot on the real golf courses, the "Play Against The Pros" Internet golfers join them in real time as their playing partners on the cyber versions of these courses. Within one to two minutes of the actual golf shot, Internet golfers will view the PGA TOUR members' shot through the game's interface. After watching your chosen player's shot, you then take your own shot online. The process is repeated throughout the duration of each day's 18-hole competition.

Fortunately, the Internet player has the choice of competing in real time or after the Tour round has finished. Playing after the tour is estimated to take around 45 minutes. An archive of the shots will be saved so the player can compete weeks, or even months, afterward.

To compete in the event, players must first register online at www.PlayAgainstThePros.com. From there, players can download the course, if they do not already have it, then select the Internet play option in the Tiger Woods game. After an automatic update, Internet golfers will be ready to play. One interesting feature is that the player chooses which PGA TOUR member to compete with head-to-head. Have you got a grudge against Davis Love III? Take it out on him by beating him at his own game.

Players can take part in this promotion by using either Tiger Woods PGA Tour '99 or Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2000 for the PC.