CENTENNIAL, COLO. (Nov. 20, 2007) – To the list of names of long drivers who have wowed the crowds at the annual RE/MAX World Long Drive Championship – including Evan "Big Cat" Williams, Sean Fister and Jason Zuback – you can now add Sgt. Joey Bozik. A triple amputee after being wounded in Iraq in 2004, Bozik hit the ceremonial first drive to open the Military Long Drive portion of the 2007 Championship and twice brought the crowd to its feet.
Hitting from a SoloRider golf car, which allows golfers to play their shots from the comfort and stability of the car’s seat, Bozik hit his first drive down the left side of the Palms Golf Club fairway in Mesquite, Nev. The plan was for him to drive away at that point and turn the festivities over to the five military finalists. But the crowd wanted more. So Art Sellinger, CEO of the Long Drive Championship and a former long drive champ, teed up another ball, which Bozik hit approximately 200 yards, this time down the middle.
"Pure inspiration," said Sellinger. "You could just see the determination in his eyes."
Coast Guard Airman Ryan Hixson became the first Military Long Drive Champion and was awarded the $10,000 first prize with a drive of 367 yards. Hixson was also impressed by Bozik, who was wounded when his humvee rolled over an IED while patrolling in Baghdad.
"He got the recognition he deserved from the crowd, and the support. I was looking around at a couple of the guys and they were a little teary-eyed. I was, too. It was a very touching moment," Hixson said.
Mike Dobbyn of Las Vegas won the open division and the $50,000 first prize with a drive of 385 yards.
When he’s home in Danville, Calif., Bozik plays golf at a club where his membership is sponsored by the Sentinels of Freedom Scholarship Foundation, a program that helps wounded troops readjust to civilian life.
The SoloRider golf car, which has a rotating stand-up seat, hand controls for accelerating and braking and goes on tees and greens without hurting the turf, helps Bozik get around the course.
"You have to have a lot of passion to go out and play on a regular basis because it’s not easy," Bozik says. "The SoloRider gets me on the golf course and allows me to do what I love to do."
About SoloRider
Established in 1991, Centennial, Colo.-based SoloRider Management LLC manufactures and distributes the industry’s leading single-rider golf car. SoloRider is the only single-rider golf car that meets or exceeds the safety, performance, stability, speed and suspension standards of conventional golf cars. In 2002, SoloRider received the prestigious da Vinci Award from the Engineering Society of Detroit in recognition of innovations that empowered all people, regardless of physical ability. Monroe Berkman, an avid golfer, polio survivor and longtime user of the SoloRider golf car, purchased the company in 2004. Fore more information, please go towww.solorider.com.
Contact:
Bill Bryant, Bryant Marketing Communications
678-366-3232
bbryant@bryantmarcomm.com
