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Long Drive
Results & Reports
2nd June 2007
RE/MAX Long Drive Championship of Austria
Rif Golf Academy, Salzburg
A new season of long driving started in earnest for Paul ‘Hammer Time’ Glazier and the rest of Europe’s longest hitters last weekend at the picturesque Rif Golf Academy in Salzburg, Austria. The title up for grabs was RE/MAX Long Drive Champion of Austria and automatic entry to the RE/MAX European Long Drive Championship Final to be held in Holland later this year.
On a very soggy grid into a moderate headwind, only the very longest all-carry drivers were going to prevail. A truncated qualifying session saw ‘Hammer Time’ cruise into the knock-out stages with a drive of 305 m (334 yds). In the quarter-final, Glazier hit his longest ball of the day at 315 m (344 yds) and, after an incorrect measurement in what proved to be a very tough semi-final, the academic from Blackawton only just scraped through to the final by virtue of a wild-card.
The competition in the final was fierce. Among the finalists was Richard Allen, the current RE/MAX European Long Drive Champion, Phil 'The Power' Naylor, a previous long drive World Record holder, and three Scandinavian long drive stalwarts, Janos 'The Terminator' Uotila, Mika Lindblom, and Marcus 'Maximus' Edblad, who all made the trip to Las Vegas last October for the RE/MAX World Long Drive Championship. Glazier was second to hit in the final and finished with a best of 308 m (337 yds) - not a bad effort under testing circumstances. This drive was only surpassed by Lindblom with 310 m (339 yds) and the powerful Edblad, who hit a best-of-the-day 326 m (357 yds) to secure victory.
Paul’s third place earned him seven Order of Merit points and qualification for the RE/MAX European Long Drive Championship Final to be held in Amsterdam on September 9. Reflecting on the weekend’s events, Glazier said, “I’m pleased to get a top-three finish and qualify for the RE/MAX European Long Drive Championship Final in my first outing of the year. My hard work during pre-season held me in good stead when the pressure was really on and my new Cobra drivers certainly made a massive difference to the distances I was able to hit. I am looking forward to the remainder of the season with great expectation”.
Jamie Waugh, Managing Director at Dartmouth Golf & Country Club and swing guru to the big-hitting Devonian, commented, “This is a great start to the new long drive season for Paul. We worked quite intensively a couple of weeks ago on the driving range to iron out a few technical faults, but all that hard work seems to have paid off. Paul’s third place at the RE/MAX Long Drive Championship of Austria is only the start of what promises to be a very successful season”.
The next RE/MAX National Long Drive Championship is to be held at the famous La Manga Resort in Spain on June 16 and 17. However, Paul’s attendance at this event will only be guaranteed if sufficient funding becomes available. If any prospective sponsors are interested in subsidising Paul’s travels to various destinations across Europe this summer, please email longdrive@dgcc.co.uk.
For comprehensive results, please download the results sheet, brought to you courtesy of Long Drivers of Europe.
For further information and photographs of the event, please visit here.
