Essex club golfer Lucas Dornan has bagged a place in the World Long Drive Championship after smashing a 368-yard drive during the finals of the American Golf Long Drive Championship held at at High Legh Park Golf Club in Cheshire.
The 31 year old from Stockbrook Manor Country Club in Billericay, who also picked up a hamper of products from Garmin as part of his prize, came into the final as one of the pre-tournament favourites, after progressing through the two qualifying events with ease, despite never having entered a long drive event before.
Using a 3-degree Callaway XR 16 driver with a Fujikura XXX shaft, Dornan proved his worth throughout the early rounds, dispatching a number of huge drives, including one 383-yard monster, though having made it through to the final match he struggled for consistency in a tense encounter.
The pressure of the final, under the spotlight of Sky Sports cameras, was intense, and with five drives from six completed, Dornan didn’t have a legal ball in play. His opponent, Dave Evans from Bedford, had previously recorded 364 yards from his first set of three, but Dornan managed to send a 368-yard rocket out with his final drive of the competition. With three balls left to win, Evans struggled for control, and having consistently hit over 370 yards all competition, failed to record a legal drive in his final set.
“I’m delighted to have won the American Golf Long Drive Championship in my first ever long drive event,” said Dornan. “I knew from looking around the swing speeds of the other competitors that if I hit it well I’d be among the leaders. I‘d clocked 152mph during the day, so I knew I was swinging it fast, but was just missing the middle of the club, so it was a relief when I managed to get a legal drive on my last hit in both semi final and final. From qualifying in store through regionals and to the final, I’ve had a fantastic experience and can’t thank American Golf and Garmin enough for giving me the chance to go on and compete with the best in the world.”
Daniel Gathercole, director of marketing and communications at American Golf, was impressed with the standard at this year’s event. He said: “The Championship took a big step up this year. Nine of our U45 finalists recorded drives in excess of 350 yards, and Lucas stood out among them. This was the first Long Drive competition either finalist had entered and they showed tremendous nerve under pressure.”
In the ladies’ category, Rebecca McGinley defended her title with a winning drive of 299 yards in the final against Olivia Raybould. The pair’s best drives of the day were 318 and 285 yards respectively. While Anton Reader took the over 45’s title from David Willmore with a drive of 343 yards.
All three players will represent American Golf and Garmin at the World Long Drive Championships in Oklahoma in October. The UK final is being show on Sky Sports 4 on September 20.