Here's your chance to win $1 million playing poker and golf

Mike Dudurich

Posted 2009-04-27

Have you heard about the guy from Portland, Oregon who’s so confident he’s the best combination golfer/poker player in the world that he’s issued a pricey challenge. His name is Dusty Schmidt, a 27-year-old who broke a pair of Tiger Woods’ records as a junior golfer in Southern California and has become something of an icon in the world on online poker in his mid-20s, winning more than $3 million in that arena in two years.

He certainly can find his way around a golf course, playing to a plus-2.9 index these days. Not bad for a guy who suffered a heart attack at age 23 which, in part, dashed his dreams of playing on the PGA Tour.

What started out as a post-round discussion with one of his poker buddies has evolved into the 10thGreen.com Million Dollar Challenge.

If you haven’t heard of it, here’s the breakdown.

Schmidt is looking for some to challenge him in 72 holes of golf and 10 heads-up poker matches.

Schmidt says the time and place of the challenge will be determined, depending on the availability of the challenger. But the format will be:

Day 1: 36 holes, made up of 4 separate 9-hole matches for $50,000 each.

Day 2: Another 36 holes of 4 separate 9-hole matches for $50,000 each.

The winner of a running 72-hole match will win $100,000.

Day 3: Five heads-up poker matches at $50,000 each.

Day 4: Five more heads-up poker matches for $50,000 each.

If your math skills aren’t up to snuff, that works out to a tidy $1 million to be won by someone.

“My challenge is open to the entire world. There are not a lot of people who could potentially take me up on this,” Schmidt said recently in an interview in Poker News Daily. “I don’t think anyone from the poker community can expect to legitimately compete with me on this. On the golf side, there is no one who would have an edge on me heads-up in poker.

The event is sponsored by 10thGreen.com (www.10thGreen.com), a social network and instructional website for golfers that Schmidt co-owns with famed golfer Casey Martin. You may remember that Martin won a controversial lawsuit against the PGA Tour in 1999. Martin was born with a defect in his right leg that made it impossible for him to walk in PGA Tour events.

He won that lawsuit and was able to ride a cart in Tour events.

Schmidt says the challenge is open to professionals or amateurs and he asks that potential challengers contact him at Dusty@10thGreen.com.

“I’m not boastful by nature,” Schmidt said. “This just seemed like a really fun event that could grow into something big. Golf and poker are global games, and I’ll be willing to take on anyone, anywhere."

If you want to keep up with Schmidt as he prepares for the event, both on the golf course and at the poker table, he is keeping a video blog on www.10thGreen.com, as well as www.Stoxpoker.com, which he also co-owns.

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About Mike...
As a sports writer for over 35 years, Mike Dudurich has seen a lot of great things, covered spectacular events, but his passion is, and has been golf. He recently ended a 29-year career at the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review and will now be a frequent contributor on GolfGearReview.com. Mike hosts a weekly golf radio show on 1250 ESPN in Pittsburgh from the beginning of April through the end of August. The show airs Saturdays from 8-9 a.m. and can be heard online at http://stations.espn.go.com/stations/espnradio1250/show?showId=insidepghgolf - Listen to Mike Here!.

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