Mar
2
LDA has assembled a sparkling field for its first professional long drive event of 2010.
Big hitters signed up for LDA’s Desert Launch on March 28 include three of the top eight hitters at last year’s RE/MAX World Long Drive Championship finals: Mick Yelovich, Zac Adams and Jeff Gavin.
Yelovich and Adams made the semifinals in 2009 by pounding out massive drives of 403 yards and 399 yards, respectively, during the RE/MAX WLDC quarterfinals last fall.
Gavin posted the sixth-best drive in the quarterfinals, 391 yards, but fell five yards short of advancing.
Also in the 44-man field for the 2010 Desert Launch at Mesquite Sports and Event Complex in scenic Mesquite, Nevada will be winners of LDA Tour events in the recent past.
The list begins with Gavin, the speed merchant from Mississauga, Ontario, who captured the 2009 Desert Duel in August for his first LDA title.
The list also includes a trio of tour winners from 2008 — Phoenix-area residents Allen McDougall and Mitch McDowell, and Little Rock resident Brooks Baldwin.
McDougall captured the Desert Launch, McDowell the Texas Shootout and Baldwin the Desert Duel during a memorable 2008 LDA campaign.
The 2010 Desert Launch’s portfolio of pounders also includes 2004 RE/MAX world champion David Mobley.
The Desert Launch follows immediately on the heels of the all-comers Diamond in the Desert Classic, which tees off 2010 qualifying for the RE/MAX World Long Drive Championship powered by Dick’s Sporting Goods, the premier event in power golf.
The Diamond in the Desert Classic unfolds March 25-27 on the world championship grid in Mesquite and features qualifying in both the open and senior (45+) divisions.
Long drivers seeking to punch their ticket to the 2010 RE/MAX finals can find out more about the DDC at www.longdrivers.com or by calling LDA headquarters (888) 233-4654.
Top finishers in both the Desert Launch and Diamond in the Desert Classic earn exemptions to the big show next fall.
