Las Vegas, Nevada (October 9, 2013)–For the first time, the finals of the RE/MAX World Long Drive Championship (October 30 from Las Vegas Motor Speedway at 6 PM PST) will be televised live on Golf Channel. And kicking off the coverage is a series of specials that accent "Long Drive Month" on the network. The first airs Wednesday, October 9 at 6 PM PST, and weekly specials will run October 16th and 23rd before the live event on October 30. Then a special highlight show will air on NBC on December 28th. The Finals are free and open to the public in Las Vegas so if you live or are visiting the area, click now to download your free tickets. — By Brian Hurlburt, Like on Facebook. Follow on Twitter.
"The rightful home of the RE/MAX WORLD LONG DRIVE CHAMPIONSHIP and everything associated with Long Drivers of America is Golf Channel," says Art Sellinger, Owner of Long Drivers of America. "Long Drive is a true international sport and viewers from across the globe will gain an even deeper appreciation for the talent, dedication, and sheer strength of our professionals. These players generate the fastest swing and ball speeds in all of golf, a fact that leaves every level of golfer, from tour professionals to amateurs, in awe."
Golf Channel will dedicate more than 20 hours of programming to the art of hitting it long and showcasing the personalities that compete in a sport where the golf ball regularly travels in excess of 400 yards. Golf Channel’s coverage will showcase the men and women who compete in long drive, beginning with grassroots local and regional qualifying, and culminating with the RE/MAX WORLD LONG DRIVE CHAMPIONSHIP finals, a live, primetime event under the lights of the Las Vegas Motor Speedway where eight finalists will compete for a winner-take-all $250,000 prize. Additionally, NBC will air a 60-minute recap show of the entire RE/MAX WORLD LONG DRIVE CHAMPIONSHIP in December, which will mark the first time golf’s premier distance event will be seen on network television.
The two-hour, live finale on Wednesday, Oct. 30 will take place under the lights and in front of a spirited crowd at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The pumped-up finalists will hit from a custom-made platform built into the speedway’s grandstands on to a Championship grid on the race track infield below. Bob Papa will provide play-by-play, Michael Breed, host of THE GOLF FIX, will offer analysis on the driving grid, and MORNING DRIVE Co-Host Holly Sonders will handle interviews. Art Sellinger, long-drive pioneer, two-time national long-drive champion and Long Drivers of America Chief Executive Officer, also will be on hand to provide long drive analysis.
During Golf Channel’s coverage, viewers will see dramatic qualifying as a field of 192 hopefuls in the Open Division will be whittled down to the final eight finalists, as well as profiles of the golfers that compete and examinations on the science and strategies behind the long ball. Each 60-minute special will premiere on consecutive Wednesdays at 9 p.m. ET, beginning this Wednesday, Oct. 9.
The schedule is as follows:
Wed., Oct. 9, 9 pm. ET RE/MAX World Long Drive Championship – Qualifying
Wed., Oct. 16, 9 p.m. ET RE/MAX World Long Drive Championship – Elimination Rounds
Wed., Oct. 23, 9 p.m. ET RE/MAX World Long Drive Championship – Semifinals
Wed., Oct. 30, 9 p.m. ET RE/MAX World Long Drive Championship – Finals (Live)
Two-time RE/MAX World Long Drive Champion Jamie Sadlowski made headlines recently when he broke Golf Channel's golf simulatorwith a massive drive that pierced the projection screen and its protective net. And he did it again months later with a 7-iron. Sadlowski also hit the longest drive ever recorded to win the RE/MAX WORLD LONG DRIVE CHAMPIONSHIP with a strike of 418 yards in 2008.