American Golf crown Long Drive champ

• Lucas Dornan is crowned American Golf Long Drive champ
• The Billericay man saw off Dave Evans in a nail-biting final
• Impressive Rebecca McGinley retained the Women’s title

Lucas Dornan produced an excellent display of power hitting to become the American Golf Long Drive Champion, winning a hamper of products from Garmin and a place in the World Long Drive Championship.

Using a three-degree Callaway XR16 with a Fujikura XXX shaft, Dornan – a trader from Billericay – overcame stiff competition, beating Dave Evans from Bedford by a mere four yards on 368. What’s more, it was with his last and only legal drive of an incredibly tense final.

“I’m delighted to have won” – Lucas Dornan

“I’m delighted to have won the American Golf Long Drive Championship in my first ever Long Drive event,” said Dornan afterwards. “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.

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“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 added: “The Championship took a big step up this year. Nine of our U45 finalists recorded drives in excess of 350 yards and our reigning champion Dan Konyk went out in the quarter-final with 372. Lucas and Dave were so long all day.”

“The Championship took a big step up this year” – Daniel Gathercole

Rebecca McGinley defended her title in the Ladies category 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, signalling a real challenge to Rebecca’s dominance of this event.

Anton Reader (343) took the Over 45’s title from David Willmore with an incredibly consistent display of power hitting. Lucas, Rebecca and Anton now go forward to the World Long Drive Championships in Oklahoma in October where they will represent American Golf and Garmin on the biggest stage.

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American Golf :: Long Drive champs

The Long Drive Championship is a vital part of American Golf’s drive to get more people out playing golf more often. 2017 will see a series of free events added to the current event schedule when the Scratch and Individual Championships, Family Cup, Pitch & Putt Championship and Adventure Golf Championship will be added to the Junior Championship, Long Drive, 9 Hole, Seniors and Ladies.