Ladd’s Jeff Lannen has been chasing the Golden Tee World Championship for two decades.

Lannen, who plays the arcade golf game as a full-time job, has won many Golden Tee tournaments over the years, but it wasn’t until Sunday at the Palm’s Casino Resort in Las Vegas that his goal became a reality.

Going into the final hole of the championship match, Lannen found the cup on his second shot from 110 yards out. His opponent, Andy Fox, missed from 102 yards on his second shot of the Par 4 to clinch the title for Lannen. And a $30,000 prize.

“It was pure joy,” Lannen said in a phone interview Tuesday. “I’ve won other tournaments, but I’ve been chasing this one, and to look back at it and how I won, it’s so rewarding. It hasn’t finally sunk in.”

Lannen said the world championship was a 14-hour marathon. The day began at 9 a.m. with practice rounds and didn’t conclude until after 11 p.m. The 32-player tournament is played through head-to-head matchups in a double elimination bracket.

“It’s a mental grind,” Lannen said. “You have to remain mentally focused, or these guys are good enough to knock you out.”

Lannen is among the top 10 Golden Tee players in the world. He started playing the game as a teenager about 25 years ago when he worked at Rip’s in Ladd. He and some coworkers would play the game, found in restaurants and bars across the country, every day. After playing for a while, he realized he could compete at national tournaments and his game continued to grow from there.

Playing competitively for money online and at tournaments, he started to tackle it full-time. He still uses Rip’s as his home base.

He said he practices six days a week to stay among the best players in the world.

“I still have people who are interested when they hear this is what I do to make money,” Lannen said.

Lannen won player of the year about a decade ago and many traveling tournaments, but this is his first world championship.

He said he was appreciative of all the support he’s received from friends and family who watched him compete on YouTube and many others who have sent congratulations after hearing he won the title. He said he is expecting to celebrate at Rip’s soon.

Many of the players in the world championships come from larger cities and play in groups there, but Lannen continues to compete from his hometown in the Illinois Valley.

“Nobody has heard of Ladd; they ask where it is and I have to tell them it is about an hour and a half from Chicago,” he said.

One of Rip’s coworkers from when he started playing lives in Oswego now and competed against him in the world championships in Vegas.

“I’ve played a lot, of a lot, of games,” he said. “I’ve played in tournaments, I’ve played a lot of good players. It’s been a lot of working on stuff. It’s been a long time. This is the one I’ve wanted.”