Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/366077
FROM THE FRINGE BY COMPILED BY iG EDITORS Professional Tour Event Makes History Allowing Players to Compete Using Mobile Live Scoring App Competitors taking part in the Audi Finnish Tour event at Peuramma Golf, in June, were each given a smartphone pre-loaded with Golf GameBook's mobile live-scoring app, the first time professional golfers have used a handheld device to post scores in full tour- nament play. Mikko Rantanen, Co-Founder and CEO of GameBook Inc., said, "This was fully embraced by the competitors. Not only did it make scoring easier, it allowed each player to instantly check the leaderboard." GameBook offers a sophisticated, but easy- to-use platform for any golfer, golf club or golf tournament organizer to set up live scoring for all types of golf events and is the only scoring app to offer social interactivity. It has also been widely used by some of the best golfers in the world competing in the pro-ams at the Volvo Golf Champions in South Africa, Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship, the PGA Tour's Honda Classic and last year's WGC-HSBC Champions at Sheshan International Golf Club in China. Finnish professional golfer, Jaakko Mäkitalo, who competed in the event, said, "It was flawless and it was fun…and golf should be fun, shouldn't it? In this weather (it was raining) it was much easier than trying to write on a wet paper scorecard—I really hope the Finnish Tour stay with this innovation and in my opinion, Golf GameBook should be the perfect solution for other professional golf tournaments." The business was founded by PGA profes- sionals with the goal of making golf more relevant, fun and welcoming, and is the fastest-growing golf community in the world with more than 700,000 app downloads. It is available for free on all major smartphone platforms and golfers can download it from the App Store, Google Play, Samsung Apps, BlackBerry World and Windows Phone Store. For fur ther information about Golf GameBook, visit golfgamebook.com. Golf GameBook, a free smartphone app, has created a piece of history by becoming what is one of the first mobile live-scoring apps to be used by players competing in a professional golf tournament. With a dramatic 70-foot birdie putt and a final round 9-under 62, Summerland's Greg Machtaler captured the inaugural FORCES & FAMILIES OPEN, becoming the first Canadian winner on PGA TOUR Canada in 2014. The 30-year old made a brilliant charge up the lead- erboard on Sunday, playing his final 11 holes in 9-under par, a run that included two eagles and a back nine 30. The win comes just under a year after Machtaler's father Glenn passed away, a decision that spurred the 2007-2011 PGA TOUR Canada member to resume his chase for success on TOUR. "It's been hard. Emotionally, you think about him all the time. You're sad and you go through some moments where you wish you could see him one more time. To be able to win this for him, it kinds of makes a really tough situation just a little bit easier to deal with," said the Brigham Young University alumnus. The 2014 season had been a trying one until Sunday for Machtaler, who had been dealing with a back injury that had limited his ability to swing the club effec- tively. After ongoing treatment, the 30-year old said he finally thought a return to form was in the cards this week. "I thought I was going to have to write off the year," said Machtaler. "My back was just so bad, I couldn't even swing. I just have to thank all the physio teams that I've worked with back home and on the road with PGA TOUR Canada. They've really helped me. It got the point where I could finally stop thinking about it and I could finally just let my swing go again." The win moves Machtaler to 9th on the Order of Merit with four events to go. The top five at season's end get status on the Web.com Tour. LATE BREAKING NEWS… BC's Greg Machtaler Wins Forces & Families Open Greg Machtaler With Ambassador of Golf Brad Fritsch (Image Courtesy Canadian Armed Forces) 10 INSIDE GOLF