Eight players will be going long in Las Vegas on Wednesday night – and they won’t be in a casino.
Golf Channel at 9 p.m. (ET) on Oct. 30 will televise the Re/Max World Long Drive Championship in Las Vegas, where eight contestants will vie for the $250,000 winner-take-all prize and global bragging rights.
The two-hour, live finale on Golf Channel will take place under the lights on a venue built at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway, where the finalists will hit from a custom-made platform built into the speedway’s grandstand to a grid on the race track infield below. Bob Papa has the play-by-play, flanked by Michael Breed, host of The Golf Fix on Golf Channel, who will offer analysis and share some of the swing science behind the long drive; Morning Drive co-host Holly Sonders, who will conduct interviews with the competitors; and Art Sellinger, long-drive pioneer, two-time national long-drive champion and current Long Drivers of America CEO.
Starting with 192 hopefuls in the open division, local and regional qualifying has narrowed the field to the eight finalists who will be competing to take home the championship belt with drives eclipsing 400 yards.
Last October, the Long Drivers of America reached a three-year broadcast partnership with Golf Channel. ESPN had been the previous rights-holder for the past 17 years.
"The finale of many long months of qualifying will play out Wednesday night under the lights on live television with eight of the longest hitters in the world going head to head for the title of world champion," said Keith Allo, vice president of programming and original productions, Golf Channel. "There's a lot on the line for these competitors who have put in the hours to try and make their mark, so they should put on a great show."
Re/Max World Long Drive Championship Finalists:
· Matt Hanger, Anaheim, Calif.
· Patrick Hopper, Columbia, S.C.
· Will Hogue, Collierville, Tenn.
· Tyler Kellett, Scottsdale, Ariz.
· Aaron Mansfield, Washington, Penn.
· Joe Miller, London (2010 champion)
· Jamie Sadlowski, St. Paul, Alberta, Canada (2008, 2009 champion)
· Tim Burke, Orlando
