WEST BOUNTIFUL, Utah. (August 12, 2023) – Bryce Verplank became the second player with multiple wins in the Open Division this year after beating rookie Jack Smith 433 yards to 403 yards in the final of WLD West Bountiful on Saturday. Verplank hit nine out of 24 balls on the grid in head-to-head play with a longest drive of 439 yards. Spanning the entire event, Verplank averaged nearly 405 yards per drive with a longest of 445 yards.
The most dominant player on tour added another Senior Division trophy to his collection as Eddie Fernandes earned his fourth win of the season. Fernandes beat Ryan Reisbeck403 yards to 385 yards in the final. Reisbeck, making his Senior Division debut at his hometown event (originally from Layton, Utah), also competed in the Open Division. Reisbeck’s best drive of the weekend was a 425-yard blast during Round One of the Open Division competition.
Andrew Eigner, the top-ranked amateur in the world, continued his fantastic 2023 season with another win. Eigner, a three-time winner this year, outdrove Jason Hudak 383 yards to 367 yards in the final. He also had the longest drive of the Amateur Division – 417 yards in the semifinals.
MISCELLANEOUS
Justin James hit the longest drive in the Open Division: 459 yards.
Eddie Fernandes and Ryan Reisbeck tied for the longest drive in the Senior Division at 403 yards.
Andrew Eigner’s 417-yard drive was the longest in the Amateur Division.
Josh Jackson reached his first career Round of 16 and quarterfinal.
Rookie Jack Smith has three top-16 finishes in three events.
UP NEXT
The next World Long Drive event is WLD Kingsport, scheduled for August 26-28 in Kingsport, Tennessee. WLD Kingsport is the first of three major events this season. It will be broadcasted nationally on GOLF Channel on August 28, airing at 8 and 9 p.m. ET.