MEMPHIS, Tenn. (June 25, 2023) – Colton Casto will not be feeling crabby as he returns home to the Pacific Northwest. Casto, a fourth-generation crab fisherman off the coast of Alaska, earned his first career World Long Drive tour win at WLD Memphis on Sunday.
Casto, who entered the weekend ranked No. 8 in the world, improved as the weekend progressed. He hit six out of 30 balls in play in Round One, topping out at 369 yards. He put eight of 30 balls on the grid in Round Two with his best ball traveling 379 yards. Combining the Round of 16, Quarterfinals, Semifinals, and Final, Casto put 11 of 24 balls in play and saved his best drive of the weekend for the final round, hitting a 380-yard drive to beat Justin James by four yards.
James, the winner from WLD Hobe Sound in April, hit his best ball of the weekend (392 yards) in the Quarterfinals.
With another victory, Eddie Fernandes has now won three of the last four events in the Senior’s Division. Fernandes got stronger as the head-to-head rounds progressed – he drove it 354 yards in the quarterfinals to get by George Nagy 354-316. In the Semifinals, Fernandes outdrove Troy Caley 365-346. Fernandes, the No. 1 player in the world in the Senior’s Division, saved his best for last, driving the ball 382 yards to beat EJ McDonnell 382-340 in the Finals.
Beau Blair earned his first career win in the Amateur’s Division with a 354-yard blast in the final round, taking down Casey Steed. Steed’s best drive in the finals was 331 yards.
MISCELLANEOUS
World No. 1 Kyle Berkshire and No. 12 Ryan Gregnol tied for the longest drive of the weekend: 399 yards. Berkshire’s 399-yard drive was during the Round of 16 on Sunday while Gregnol’s longest was during first round play on Saturday.
In the Open Division, five different players have won the first five events of the season: Martin Borgmeier, Justin James, Seb Twaddell, Zack Holton, and Colton Casto.
UP NEXT
The next World Long Drive event is WLD Port Rowan, scheduled for July 8-9 in Port Rowan, Ontario.
WLD