|
2010 Desert Duel (2010-08-19)
Thursday August 19, 2010 LDA MEMBERS ONLY EVENT Mesquite Sports and Event Complex 1635 Bertha Howe Avenue Mesquite, NV 89027
LDA ANNOUNCES DETAILS FOR
2010 DESERT DUEL ON AUGUST 19
REGISTRATION OPENS MONDAY, JUNE 28
ROANOKE, TEXAS (June 21, 2010) – Long Drivers of America (LDA) today announced details for its 2010 Desert Duel, which will take place on Thursday, August 19 at Mesquite Sports and Event Complex in Mesquite, Nevada.
Based on a full field of 48 competitors, LDA’s members-only 2010 Desert Duel will offer a $30,000 total purse and pay $10,000 to the champion.
Registration opens on Monday, June 28. The entry fee is $600 if paid by Monday, July 12, or $800 thereafter. Entry fees are due at registration, which closes on Thursday, August 12.
The 2010 Desert Duel field will be capped at 48 competitors.
A total of three exemptions to the 2010 RE/MAX World Long Drive Championship powered by Dick’s Sporting Goods will be awarded: two to RE/MAX WLDC open division hitters and one to the highest Desert Duel finisher who competes in the RE/MAX WLDC senior (45+) division.
There will be no separate senior division competition at the 2010 Desert Duel, LDA officials noted.
To register, contact LDA headquarters at (888) 233-4654 or (682) 549-2105.
LDA’s 2010 Desert Duel leads off four consecutive days of power golf competition in Mesquite. The RE/MAX WLDC Region 8 finals unfold at Mesquite Sports and Event Complex on Saturday, August 21, and Sunday, August 22, following a final local qualifier for Region 8 on Friday, August 20.
Canadian Jeff Gavin, who hails from Mississauga, Ontario, captured the Desert Duel title in 2009.
Open Division
Field: 48
Purse: $30,000 (Based field of 48 competitors)
1st Place - $10,000
2nd Place - $5,000
3rd – $3,500
4th - $2,500
5th – 6th - $1,500
7th – 12th - $1,000
What else is at stake?
Open Division – Top 2 non-exempt competitors earn a spot in the field of the
2010 RE/MAX World Long Drive Championship
Senior Division – Top finishing senior competitor earns a spot in the field of 2010 RE/MAX World Long Drive Championship (Senior Division)
Format: Double-elimination.
Entry Fee: $600 prior to July 12 (After July 12 entry fee is $800)
2009 DESERT DUEL RECAP:
GAVIN, WILSON TOP GUNS AT LDA'S DESERT DUEL
Canadian
Jeff Gavin and American Bobby Wilson tuned up for the 2009 RE/MAX World
Long Drive Championship by winning their respective divisions at
LDA's Desert Duel in late August.
Gavin, whose swing speed and launch monitor readings are the stuff
of long drive legend, brought his "A" game to the tee at Mesquite
Sports and Event Complex.
The veteran from Ontario (Mississauga) defeated Jason Eslinger, who
was making his first LDA appearance, in the Open Division match-play
finals, 377-357.
Gavin earned $10,000 for the win while Eslinger, who posted the
event's longest drive (409 yards), added $5,000 to his bank account.
In semifinal matches, Eslinger topped 2006 world runner-up Eric
Lastowka, 372-356, while Gavin dispatched David Hedley, another LDA
newcomer, 390-OB.
Lastowka and Hedley each pocketed $2,500.
Other quarterfinalists were Dustin Merrill, Kevin Shook, Brian Friederichs and Tom Roskos. They earned $1,500 apiece.
A full field of 48 competitors took to the tee in sweltering
conditions, as the temperature soared to 110 degrees during the
afternoon and was still hovering near triple digits when the evening
finals began.
Nevertheless, a large delegation from the Mesquite Chamber of
Commerce was on hand as power golf's elite hitters competed under the
lights at the world championship setting.
While the victory was Gavin's first at an LDA-sanctioned
competition, Wilson is no stranger to collecting trophies or making
victory speeches.
Wilson, a Texas (Waco) native who currently resides in Arkansas
(North Little Rock), won for an LDA record 12th time. He relied on
sixth-ball heroics, nailing his final drive deep into the grid to
defeat Vince Ciurluini in the Senior Division match-play final,
379-365.
Wilson, the 2004 RE/MAX senior world champion, earned $3,000; Ciurluini, who was making his LDA senior debut, collected $2,000.
The payday pushed Wilson's cumulative earnings at LDA events
during 2002-2009 to over $100,000; he became the first LDA member to
reach six figures at tour events (note: independent of RE/MAX WLDC
earnings).
In semifinal matches, Ciurluini defeated top-seeded Kyle Sawyer,
382-368, while Wilson beat second-seeded Dan "The Stick" Scardina,
366-333.
Sawyer, winner at the LDA's 2009 Texas Shootout, and Scardina, the Desert Duel defending champion, each received $1,100.
LDA officials confirmed that, based on their Desert Duel performances, the following individuals secured spots at the
2009 RE/MAX world finals:
Open Division: Jason Eslinger, Ryan Louw, Vince Howell
Senior Division: George Schmidt
At the conclusion of play, LDA members participated in a
fundraising event on behalf of long drive veteran Ben Witter, who has
been fighting a recurring battle with cancer.
The event generated $700 in donations, to which LDA tossed in an
additional 50 percent; the net was a $1,050 contribution to one of long
drive's most popular veterans, a multi-time RE/MAX world finalist.
"We thank our LDA members for the donations and their show of
support for Ben and his family," said LDA chief executive officer Art
Sellinger. "We appreciate them for stepping up to help."
Open Division Shootout (8 for 4)
Dustin Merrill OB
Kevin Shook 355
Brian Friederichs 350
Tom Roskos OB
Jason Eslinger 392 (1)
Eric Lastowka 368 (4)
David Hedley 372 (3)
Jeff Gavin 387 (2)
Semifinals:
Eslinger (1) def. Lastowka (4), 372-356
Gavin (2) def. Hedley (3), 390-OB
Finals:
Gavin def. Eslinger, 377-357
2009 Senior Division Match Play
Semifinal Match 1
#1 Seed - Kyle Sawyer 368 vs. #4 Seed - Vince Ciurluini 382
Semifinal Match 2
#2 Seed - Dan Scardina 333 vs. #3 Seed - Bobby Wilson 366
Final Match
#3 - Bobby Wilson 379 vs. Vince Ciurluini 365
|
|
|
|
