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Twenty finalists will vie for 2009 Military Long Drive Championship 090609
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PHOTO CAPTION: U.S. Coast Guard Petty Officer 3rd Class Ryan Hixson wins the 2008 Military Long Drive Championship presented by 7UP with a drive of 389 yards in Mesquite, Nev. With the victory in the Army Family and Morale, Welfare and Recreation Command event, Hixson won ,000 and an exemption into the 2009 RE/MAX World Long Drive Championship. Twenty competitors will vie for the 2009 Military World Long Drive Championship presented by 7UP on Oct. 28 in Mesquite.
(Photo by Tim Hipps, FMWRC Public Affairs)
Twenty finalists will vie for 2009 Military Long Drive Championship
By Tim Hipps
FMWRC Public Affairs
ALEXANDRIA, Va. – For the first time in the competition, 20 big hitters will advance to the finals of the 2009 Military Long Drive Championship presented by 7Up to compete for ,000 on Oct. 20 in Mesquite, Nevada.
In the first year of the event, five military golfers competed at the finals. In the second year, the competition was opened to military family members and six competitors advanced to the finals.
This year, the size of the original finals field has been quadrupled for a trip to the desert oasis golf resort town.
From the moment competitors land in nearby Las Vegas, they receive the green-carpet treatment of a lifetime while vying for military long drive bragging rights.
Former Army sergeant and military spouse Brandon Boehmer, who finished second in the 2008 Military Long Drive Championship, can’t wait to earn another trip to Mesquite.
“It gives you an opportunity to go out there and win some money, get some sponsors, and meet good people, too,” Boehmer said. “I’ve met a ton of good people out here. And if you win these little scrambles, they give you like thousand-dollar clubs. I feel like a king.
“I said the first day, ‘I don’t even need to win this event. Shoot, you get here and [the sponsors] give you 0 worth of stuff the second you walk in.’
“I’m from the country. If you go to tournaments out there, you get a hot dog and a Coke – and a smile and a cigar, if you want one. Out here, they gave me clubs, they gave me this, gave me that: a free flight over here, a stay in a nice hotel.
“It was awesome. The whole thing was great from start to finish.”
Two-time Military Long Drive champion Coast Guard Petty Officer 3rd Class Ryan Hixson seems to have the event wired from start to finish.
“It’s a little nerve-racking your first time here,” he said. “Once you’ve been through it and know the process, it’s a good time.
“It’s a great time to go out there and interact with the sponsors,” Hixson said of playing in pro-am tournaments as a prelude to the big event. “That’s what it’s all about. Without the sponsors, we wouldn’t be here.
I feel kind of obligated to do that, just out of respect for them. We appreciate what they’re doing for us and it’s just a little bit of giving back to interact and put a personality with us so they can get to know us a little bit. I’ve got to know a lot of great guys out here.”
“There was a great crowd, and they got into it, and the venue was just amazing.”
Boehmer played golf without much success as a youngster and took up the sport of long driving just 40 days before stepping onto the grand stage in Mesquite.
“I golfed with our club pro a couple of times and he told me I had a hell of a swing” said Boehmer, who works with Army Youth Sports programs at Camp Zama, Japan.
He was ready to tee it up again in Mesquite before he left last autumn.
“My workout partners back home are already ready to go,” Boehmer said after finishing runner-up to Hixson. “They called me three times and I hadn’t gotten from the driving range to the ESPN tent over there.
“What did you do?” they asked.
“Finished second,” Boehmer replied.
“Got to hit the weights harder,” the voice shot back.
Boehmer assured everyone within earshot “when I come back here next year, y’all won’t be able to recognize me.”
Army Staff Sgt. Bryan King reached the finals in each of the first two years of the military competition.
“The Army always has some of the best people in anything in the world – you can put it right up there with people that are great at it or have the potential to be great,” King said. “I think more people are getting aware of this event. I know people in my unit were asking me if I was competing again this year, and they were keeping up with my competitions, so I know the word is getting out.”
Air Force Reserve Staff Sgt. Carl Taylor, who qualified at Fort Leonard Wood, Mo., and a regional event at Fort Carson, Colo., had a rough night in the 2008 finals. He did not keep a single ball on the grid with his mighty 12 drives.
The morning after, as golfers and long drivers boarded carts for a Pro-Am Scramble at the Oasis Golf Club, Long Drivers of America CEO Art Sellinger joked with Taylor that he “created a new zip code for Mesquite: 0-4-12.”
Taylor could only laugh it off.
“Last night, I just kind of let it go and started making jokes about it,” he said. “I went 0-for-6, and then finished 0-for-12. I told myself that I was here last year and I was nervous; and I wanted to come this year and get it done. It just didn’t happen.
“I didn’t hit me until this morning when I woke up at about 4 o’clock. Then it hit me. I worked all year to get here and then blew it, but I had fun while I was here. Everybody took care of us. It was an awesome experience. I’m coming back next year.
“MWR did it up right,” he concluded. “They treated us like kings. It was even better than the first time. It was awesome.”
After all, “MWR is all about Families, not just Soldiers,” added King, who is accustomed to being treated like a King. “I wouldn’t be surprised if some of the top open-division guys have a military dependent card.”
The Army Family and Morale, Welfare and Recreation Command-backed Military Long Drive Championship is open to all active duty military and Family members 18 and older, including National Guard, Reserves and retirees from all services.
King dreams of eventually seeing a long-drive competition added to the Armed Forces Sports calendar. For now, a week in Mesquite with the Long Drivers of America will suffice.
“If they’re doing it, I’m doing it,” he said.
This time, however, every local winner earns a trip to Mesquite. The schedule of qualifiers:
NAS North Island, Calif. Aug. 6
Fort Jackson, S.C.Aug. 8
Heidelberg, Germany Aug. 8
Schofield Barracks, Hawaii Aug. 9
Fort McPherson, Ga.Aug. 15
Fort Carson, Colo.Aug. 15
Fort Leonard Wood, Mo. Aug. 15
Camp Zama, JapanAug. 15
Fort Bliss, TexasAug. 21
Fort Hood, TexasAug. 22
Fort Campbell, Ky.Aug. 22
Fort Dix, N.J.Aug. 22
Fort Benning, Ga. Aug. 24
Fort Sill, Okla. Aug. 24
Fort Lewis, Wash.Aug. 28
Fort Lee, Va.Sept. 12
Fort Bragg, N.C. Sept. 19
Fort Belvoir, Va.TBD
Fort Huachuca, Ariz.TBD
Yongsan, KoreaTBD
Rules and regulations are available at:
www.armymwrgolf.com or www.longdrivers.com.
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