The inaugural high-goal polo season at International Polo Club Palm Beach combined pomp and circumstance, and culminated with the championship match of the Stanford Financial Group – 100th U.S. Open Polo tournament before a packed house of 6,896 spectators.

The season finale was all about polo as John Goodman’s Isla Carroll team scored eight consecutive goals en route to a 10-6 victory over Peter Brant’s White Birch team. Pancho Bensadon scored eight goals to lead Isla Carroll. Hall of Famer Memo Gracida of Isla Carroll won his 16th U.S. Open title, more than anyone else in the history of the sport.

Star Jones of ABC-TV’s award-winning program “The View” and actress Nicolette Sheridan, best known for her portrayal of Paige Masterson on “Knots Landing” stylishly handled the pre-game coin toss ceremony. They also presented the Most Valuable Player award to Isla Carroll’s Pancho Bensadon. Among the spectators were actor Tommy Lee Jones, TV personality John Walsh and legendary restaurateur Norman Brinker.

Decorated pilot Lance Vedder performed a triple jet flyover prior to game and the club recognized more than a dozen past U.S. Open champions who were in attendance, including Tim Gannon, whose Outback team won three consecutive titles, Bill Ylvisaker, who won the 1972 U.S. Open, Carlos Gracida, who has won nine U.S. Open championships and Gillian Johnston, the only female patron to win a U.S. Open (2002 with Coca-Cola).

Dawn Puzzitello performed the national anthem while The Sultans provided halftime musical entertainment and a mini-concert after the match in conjunction with a traditional Argentine asado.

For membership information, please call (561) 204-5687 or visit the club’s website at www.internationalpoloclub.com. The 2005 high-goal polo season begins in late December.

Thirteen teams, featuring 10 10-goalers, entered the Stanford Financial Group – U.S. Open Polo Championship, the most prestigious polo tournament in North America, highlighting the historic inaugural polo season at the International Polo Club Palm Beach. Fifteen teams, in 2002, is the record for teams in a U.S. Open.

Like the high-goal teams on the field, the International Polo Club Palm Beach has amassed a lineup of prestigious sponsors for the U.S. Open. The Stanford Financial Group – U.S. Open tournament will feature a different presenting sponsor every Sunday, including Bombardier Aerospace, Cunard Ltd. and HUMMER, Mitchell-Peck Jewelers, Piaget, Roderer Estate, Kubota and Roder.

International Polo Club Palm Beach is located at 3667 120th Avenue South, between Lake Worth Road and Pierson Road, in Wellington.

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