York County Golfer Steven Goodley Takes First Place at 2011 MercedesTrophy World Final in Germany

LANCASTER, Pa., Nov. 17, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Steven Goodley and his wife Lena sit at their kitchen table in front of a windowsill lined with Mercedes-Benz golf trophies as they recall Steven's win at the prestigious MercedesTrophy World Final.  

"For three years my client, Bud Morgan, asked me to go to the MercedesTrophy World Final qualifier in Salisbury, Maryland, and for three years I turned him down."

Steven began his career as a golfer at Dallastown Area High School in York, Pennsylvania.  His golf team went undefeated all four years of his high school career.  Securing a full scholarship to University of Charleston, Steven continued cultivating his talent in college and turned pro afterwards, participating in mini-tours and the Nike (now Nationwide) tour.  His talent has earned him certain celebrity status in the local area where his expertise of the game precedes him on the golf course.

Steven didn't realize the weekend in July 2010 at Salisbury was an individual qualifier for the MercedesTrophy World Final until ten minutes before he began golfing, and he didn't feel he had done well when the qualifier was over.  

He actually walked away as the gross winner, and he and teammate Stan Botts (winner of the Net division), went on to the Eastern sectional for the MercedesTrophy World Final held at the Pinehurst Resort in North Carolina in October 2010.

Steven and Stan won at Pinehurst as a team, and Steven took individual honors, qualifying them both for a place at the Nationals in Augusta Florida in April 2011, a week that stands out to Steven because of their proximity to world-class golfers during Master's week held at the same country club.

"(Professional golfers) Camilo Villegas and Tim Rosaforte spoke at our awards dinner.  It was great," he says.

Steven and Stan's team tied for first in Augusta, a huge feat given a rough winter in Pennsylvania with little time to practice.  Ultimately, a team from California was chosen as the winner at Nationals, their combined handicap being lower than that of Stan and Steven's.  

Steven individually finished second at Nationals, escaping first place by only a shot.  It was unexpected when Mercedes-Benz representatives called him after Augusta requesting he represent the US at the MercedesTrophy World Final in Germany that Fall, with the team from California, when they learned the first-place winner from Augusta had a scheduling conflict.

Steven and Lena stayed one week from September 27-October 4, 2011 about thirty minutes from the Mercedes-Benz plant in Stuttgart, Germany.  

In addition to site seeing, the Goodley's visited Mercedes-Benz headquarters.  "We were taken on a tour of the plant and you could literally watch a car being made from sheet metal to final product," Steven said.

Everything they learned about Mercedes-Benz engineering prompted The Goodley's to purchase their first Mercedes-Benz when they returned.  They went to Mercedes-Benz of Lancaster in Lancaster, Pennsylvania to purchase their black C class.

Steven and the team from California finished middle of the pack at the 2011 MercedesTrophy World Final in Germany, but they were recognized in other ways.  "There was an award for the Most Fun Team, and we won.  The guys from California were great and we had an awesome time," he says.

Steven individually took first place at the MercedesTrophy World Final with the overall low gross with scores of 71, 69 and 69.  His final two rounds of 69 and 69 were used toward his individual title with a point system scoring 1 point for bogey, 2 points for par, 3 for birdies and 5 for eagles.

The Goodley's look back on the experience as a wonderful year.  "We plan to build a space for all of the memorabilia from the trip," Lena says.  In the meantime, Steven plays whenever he can and drives their new Mercedes-Benz remembering his win at the 2011 MercedesTrophy World Final.

Mercedes-Benz of Lancaster (www.mboflancaster.com) has been proudly serving Central Pennsylvania for 54 years with luxury new and pre-owned vehicles. Mercedes-Benz of Lancaster maintains a complete inventory of new Mercedes-Benz vehicles including the C-Class, CL, CLK, E-Class, GL, GLK, SLK, M-Class, S-Class and more.

SOURCE Mercedes-Benz of Lancaster