World Long Drive is back this weekend starting Friday, June 23rd, in Memphis, Tennessee. The best hitters in the world are fresh off competing in Colorado two weeks ago and are ready to make their way to the birthplace of Rock ‘N Roll, Memphis, Tennessee. The Open Division, Amateur Division, and Senior Division will all be competing over three days at Winstead Turf Farms. Each event is leading up to the World Championships taking place in Atlanta, Georgia, from October 18th to October 22nd, which will be broadcasted on the Golf Channel.
Just two weeks ago, Zach Holton put together one of the best and most consistent rounds in World Long Drive history in the finals to capture his first WLD win. Five of six of Holton’s balls were over 460 yards, with his longest traveling over 468 yards. The win moved Zach Holton’s rank from 8th in the world, up to 3rd, just behind Martin Borgmeier and Kyle Berkshire.
This weekend Zach Holton will be looking to make it two in a row, while Kyle Berkshire has a similar idea in mind to repeat last year’s victory in Memphis. The field is stacked as all of this season’s tour winners will be competing; Martin Borgmeier (Mesquite V1), Justin James (Hobe Sound), Seb Twadell ( Mesquite V2), Zach Holton (La Salle)
There are other big hitters in the field ready to take a title. Bryce Verplank put the world on notice in Colorado, hitting the longest ball of the event at 489 yards. The Texas native has made two semifinal appearances this season, Colorado and Hobe Sound. Sam Judah and Sean Johnson also knock on the door of victory as they’ve registered some big distances. Lastly, Josh Koch will also be a name to watch as he won the Long Drive event in Germany, and will be looking for his first win of the year on U.S Soil.
The competition kicks off Friday June 23rd at 8:00 a.m with the regional qualifier. The Amateur Division will follow the regional qualifier starting at 12:00 PM and running until we crown our 2023 Amateur Division Memphis champion. On Saturday, June 24th, the range will open at 7:00 a.m for all competitors, streaming will start with Group 1 starting at 8:00 a.m. Group 2 will follow right after them at 10:00 a.m, followed by Group 3 at 12:30 p.m, with Group 4 concluding the day at 2:30 p.m.
Sunday will begin with the senior division starting at 8 a.m. The Top 8 competitors will advance out of the two groups, with Matchplay starting at 11:30 a.m. Matchplay will run until we crown our senior division champion; Eddie Fernandez will look to win his third title of the season and 2nd in a row after winning in La Salle. Once the Senior champion has been decided, the Open Division matchplay will begin from the Group of 16 until the champion has been crowned. The stream on Youtube will cover the quarterfinals and beyond for the Senior Division, as well as all of the Open Division’s coverage on Sunday.
Watch the stream live on Youtube @Worllongdrive and follow along on social media @worldlongdrive.