Long Drivers of America, the organizing body of the World Long Drive Championship, announced the complete field of the World Long Drive Championship.
The 2015 World Long Drive Championship will take place Tuesday, Oct. 14-21 at the WinStar World Casino and Resort, located north of Dallas in Thackerville, Okla. The championship also will feature a new match-play format starting at the round of 64, with the men’s open championship division competing for the coveted World Long Drive Championship belt and a $250,000 purse.
Jeff Flagg, a former first baseman with the New York Mets minor league organization who played collegiate baseball at Mississippi State University, captured the 2014 World Long Drive Championship title by a mere 13 inches over professional golfer Jeff Crittenden. When both competitors hit drives that measured 365 yards, Flagg’s 13 extra inches proved to be the shortest margin of victory in the history of the World Long Drive Championship. Both competitors are in the field.
In all, four champions will be crowned at the 2015 World Long Drive Championship: open men and ladies, senior men’s (45+), and super senior men’s (50+). The match-play format for the open division will run from the second round of qualifying (round of 64) through the championship final.
The World Long Drive Championship offers sports fans a chance to witness competitors who generate mammoth swing speeds of 150 mph and ball speeds of 220 mph. In comparison, the highest average swing speed on the PGA Tour in 2014 was 123 mph, generated by Bubba Watson. Long Drive athletes train and prepare year-round for the chance to take a swing at becoming the World Long Drive Champion, through specialized training to generate maximum ball and swing speeds, and focusing solely on maximizing distance during competition.
In local golf news, the first annual Mesquite Ultimate Long Drive Championship was held at the end of September. The Mesquite Ultimate Long Drive Championship is an attempt to bring back long drive to Mesquite. It was a dramatic finish final pairing with Joe Miller and Kevin Shook both hitting the ball over 400 yards, and Miller winning the championship. The longest ball in that competition was 438 yards by Tommy Hug! For more information, visit captncrushpowergolf.com.
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