This weekend, World Long Drive is back on the east coast in Portland, Connecticut. The Chris Cote’s Driving Range will host all four divisions (Open, Women’s, Amateur, and Senior) starting Friday morning until the final champion is crowned Sunday afternoon. With just five events remaining on the schedule, every player will be looking to bolster their resumes to secure a spot in their division’s championship.
This event is the first one back in the United States after a trip up north to Port Rowan, Ontario, where Bryce Verplank captured his first career WLD trophy. Along with winning his maiden title on the WLD tour, Bryce Verplank also hit the longest ball of the event in the finals. The former Texas Longhorn pitcher will look to continue his success this weekend and break into the Top 10 for the first time in his career.
The Women will make their return to the grid in Connecticut since La Salle, Colorado, where we saw Phillis Meti capture her first title of the year. Phillis is just the second winner on tour this year in the Woman’s division, as Monica Lieving won the first two events of the year in Hobe Sound and Mesquite. Phillis Meti will be the favorite in the Woman’s division coming into this tournament, as she won on this grid just last year. The field will be stacked like usual, with the majority of the Top 10 Female Long Drivers in the World competing.
The action will kick off at 9:00 AM on Friday July 28th, when the amateur division will begin and run until a champion is crowned. A couple amateurs have made some strides in the Open Division, most recently Bud Weidner, who made the Semifinals in Port Rowan. After the Amateur Division finishes up, the regional qualifier will begin at 12:00 PM in a double elimination format. On Saturday, the Open Division will begin at 8:00 AM with four groups of 16 players, where the top 8 in each group will advance to Sunday and the round of 32. After the Open Division finishes for the day, the Senior Division will start at 3:30 PM, where world number 1 in the Senior Division, Eddie Fernandes, will return to play after taking the last event off.
Sunday’s will kick off at 9:00 AM with the Round of 32 for the Open Division. The men will be broken up into two groups where the top 8 from each group will advance into Matchplay, which will begin at 3:00 PM. Before the Open Division starts, The Women’s Division will start featuring 16 of the best female hitters in the world. Starting at 1:00 PM, the Woman will hit in a round robin format that will cut the field in half down to 8. Following the initial round, the top 8 players will be reseeded and compete in a head to head bracket until one woman is left standing and crowned the champ.
To Stay up to date this weekend, follow @Worldlongdrive on Instagram and Twitter for updates throughout the day and the best behind the scenes look at the top World Long Drivers in the world. For any Connecticut locals, feel free to come out to Chris Cote’s Driving Range this weekend to see the longest hitters in the world in person. If anyone is interested in watching this weekend, head on over to our YouTube channel @WorldLongDrive.