RE/MAX World Long Drive Championship Will Have Three Divisions In 2009
ROANOKE, TEXAS (Nov. 19, 2008) – Long Drivers of America (LDA) today announced that qualifying for the 2009 RE/MAX World Long Drive Championship, the premier event in power golf, begins with the all-comers Diamond in the Desert Classic at Mesquite Regional Park in Mesquite, Nevada on March 4-7.
A portion of the proceeds from the tournament will be directed to Children’s Miracle Network, LDA’s designated charity.
“The Diamond in the Desert Classic gives long drivers a chance to face a strong international field on the world championship grid in Mesquite,” said Art Sellinger owner and chief executive officer of LDA, which stages and oversees the global RE/MAX event. “The DDC provides a tremendous opportunity to jump start the new season. Plus, the experience gained from competing at Mesquite Regional Park is invaluable.”
At stake during the Diamond in the Desert Classic will be exemptions to the 2009 RE/MAX world finals, scheduled for October 25-30 in Mesquite. “DDC winners bypass local and regional qualifying rounds,” Sellinger explained. “They can focus all their time and energy on peaking at the world finals in the fall. Punching a ticket to the big show early is huge.”
Entry fees for the Diamond in the Desert Classic are $40 per try for qualifying rounds on Wednesday and Thursday. Players who advance to championship rounds on Friday and Saturday will pay regional entry fees of either $75 (LDA members) or $150 (nonmembers).
New Division Structure
Sellinger also announced that competition at the 2009
Diamond in the Desert Classic will be conducted in three divisions – open, senior (ages 45-52) and super senior (ages 53 and up).
“We have decided to streamline the RE/MAX championship in 2009 by eliminating two divisions, grand champions and women,” he said. “We salute 2008 RE/MAX world champions Rick Barry and Lana Lawless for their victories, and we thank all the grand champions and women’s division entrants for their support. Eliminating these divisions was a difficult decision, but one we felt was necessary going forward. The fact is that participation in those two divisions has fallen well short of expectations. Simply put, we are unable to envision a reversal to that trend. It’s time to move on.”
Sellinger said a complete list of 2009 RE/MAX WLDC local and regional qualifying sites and dates will be available by March 1, 2009. “It’s our intent to give competitive long drivers as much time as possible to plan when and where they attempt to qualify,” he said.
LDA also released the list of long drivers who earned exemptions to the 2009 finals at the recently concluded 2008 RE/MAX world championship. Exemptions have been awarded to:
OPEN DIVISION
Champion: Jamie Sadlowski, Canada
Runner-up: Dewald Gouws, South Africa
Semis: Landon Colling, USA
Derek Hines, USA
Quarters: Vince Ciurluini, USA
Joe Miller, England
Joe Shuba, USA
Jason Zuback, Canada
Top 12: Tim Hanley, USA
Adam Lipinski, USA
Steve Monroe, USA
Jerimie Montgomery, USA
Top 24: Zac Adams, USA
Winston Ahoy, Canada
Kevin Blenkhorn, Canada
Tom Celone, USA
Jeff Crittenden, USA
Jason Frey, USA
Tyler Kellett, USA
Josh Matthies, USA
Allen McDougall, USA
Mitch McDowell, USA
J.D. Murkerson, USA
Jesse Pettersen, Canada
SENIOR DIVISION
Champion: Dan Boever, USA
Runner-up: Mike Gorton, USA
Semis: Brian Harris, USA
Gerry James, USA
Top 8: Craig Brown, USA
Kyle Sawyer, USA
Greg Walker, USA
Mark Wamsley, USA
SUPER SENIOR DIVISION
Champion: Mike Gorton, USA
Runner-up: Steve Griffith, USA
Semis: Pete DeBoer, USA
Kim Shearburn, USA
Top 8: Ted Fostey, Canada
Fred Hooter, USA
Miguel Jaime, USA
Doug Miller, USA
An additional six exemptions to the 2009 world finals will be awarded at the Diamond in the Desert Classic — three in the open division, two in the senior division and one in the super senior division.
SCHEDULE OF DDC EVENTS
The schedule of events for the 2009 DDC is:
Wednesday, March 4 – Local qualifying (all divisions)
Thursday, March 5 – Local qualifying (all divisions)
Friday, March 6 – Open division finals
Saturday, March 7 – Senior and Super Senior finals
More information about the 2009 RE/MAX World Long Drive Championship and LDA’s other professional power golf events is available at www.longdrivers.com.
Contact:
Russ Pate (817) 819-4547 or
Gretchen Welde (888) 233-4654
