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Long Drive
Results & Reports
30th June 2007
RE/MAX Long Drive Championship of France
Saint Omer Golf Club, Lumbres
The picturesque Saint Omer Golf Club in Lumbres, France, was the venue for Round Four of the RE/MAX European Long Drive Championship last weekend. There were some notable absentees from the starting line-up, including Marcus ‘Maximus’ Edblad and Mika Lindblom, so this was a great opportunity for Paul ‘Hammer Time’ Glazier and Janos ‘The Terminator’ Uotila to put some daylight between themselves and the chasing pack at the top of the Long Drivers of Europe (LDE) Order of Merit.
The day started overcast and the grid played soft with very little roll. The best drives in qualification were set very early on when the weather was at its best. Dan ‘The Ukrainian’ Konyk set the standard with 317 m (347 yd), closely followed by Chris Moss with 314 m (343 yd), Adam ‘Stinger’ Stacey with 313 m (342 yd) and Chris ‘Maradona’ Roberts with 308 m (337 yd). Paul ‘Hammer Time’ Glazier’s best drive was 297 m (325 yd), which saw him qualify in seventh position.
As the skies brightened and the temperatures increased for the afternoon’s final, so did the distances. In the quarter-final, Adam Stacey, third in the RE/MAX World Long Drive Championship in 2005, produced the longest drive of the day with a sensational 349 m (382 yd) bomb to cruise through to the semi-final. All the other LDE European Tour regulars safely negotiated this first hurdle in their quest to be crowned RE/MAX Long Drive Champion of France except current RE/MAX Long Drive Champion of Spain, Stef ‘Grizzly’ Gresel, who had to rely on a 278 m (304 yd) drive in the ‘last chance’ round after going out of bounds. Gresel’s luck ran out in the semi-final after only managing 291 m (318 yd), as did that of morning pacesetter, Konyk, who went out of bounds much to his disappointment.
The final was an entertaining affair. Loesberg set the benchmark with 300 m (328 yd) before crowd favourite and ex-World Record holder, Phil ‘The Power’ Naylor, drove 313 m (342 yd) second out. Naylor thought he done enough to get a top three finish after Glazier only managed 301 m (329 yd), but solid hits of 331 m (362 yd), first by Moss and then a few inches further by Uotila, saw the extroverted Englishman relegated to fourth. Adam ‘Stinger’ Stacey, once again, showed why he is one of the finest long drivers on the planet as he struck a magnificent drive of 334 m (365 yd) with his third ball to steal the show and earn him the title of RE/MAX Long Drive Champion of France for 2007.
On his trip to France, Paul said: “The grid didn’t really suit me and I was unable to reproduce the form I showed on the range in practice. I’m a little disappointed to only finish fifth but the five Order of Merit points I gained keeps me on top of the table. Janos has closed the gap, but there’s now 10 points between third place and me, so qualification for the RE/MAX World Long Drive Championship via one of the top two Order of Merit slots is looking good.”
The LDE European Long Drive tour takes a well-earned break next week but resumes the week after in the Emerald Isle for the RE/MAX Long Drive Championship of Ireland at the Ballykisteen Hotel & Golf Resort, County Tipperary. Sponsorship opportunities are still available to support Paul’s trips around Europe this summer—please contact longdrive@dgcc.co.uk for further details.
For comprehensive results, please download the results sheet, brought to you courtesy of Long Drivers of Europe.
