The ALD Midwest Qualifier presented by EK Golf took place Saturday July 21st at Willow Creek Golf Course between 5 PM and 7:30 PM. The field of competitors included entries in Adult Male, Senior Male, Youth 12 and Under Female and Youth 12 and Under Male. Competitors came from Canada, Texas, Minnesota, Colorado, and Iowa to attempt to make their way into the 2018 Amateur Long Drive™ World Championship August 16-18th at Barefoot Resort and Golf Club in Myrtle Beach, SC.
Each competitor hit two set of six balls to score their longest drives into a stiff headwind. The following hitters are qualified for the 2018 Amateur Long Drive™ World Championship:
Youth 12 and Under Female
Kendall Curran – 109
Youth 12 and Under
Dru Mushumanski – 204
Senior Male
Curt Rice – 284
Jim O’connor – 203
Adult Male division
Jake Redlinger – 334
Rob St. Sauver – 317
Brett Steinwagner – 307
Drew Sikkema – 295
Aaron Cawthorn – 295
Joel Anderson – 294
Patrick O’Connor – 291
Nick Dawdy – 290
Chuck Rios – 285
Mitchell Hauge – 285
Travis VanDerHart – 280
Sean Geelan – 277
Mike Ross – 275
Dony Heisler
John Westberg – 265
Brad Prothero – 229
The numbers posted were the longest drives that came to rest in the grid. As usual, we saw some bombs that ended up out of bounds. The prevailing North / Northwest wind and a grid that was slightly up hill made long numbers impossible Saturday. Jake Redlinger was longest with a drive of 307 in his first set and 334 in his second set. Rob St. Sauver had the second longest drive of the event when he went 317 with a low-stinger / wind-beater strategy that worked beautifully. Brett Steinwagner was third longest of the day with a drive of 307 in his first set and 303 in his second set. Drew Sikkema (295), Joel Anderson (294), Patrick O’Connor (291), Nick Dawdy (290), Chuck Rios (285), and Michael Hauge (285) were impressive as they all managed to figure out how to deal with the wind that seemed to increase as the event progressed. Curt Rice in the Senior Male division was consistently in the grid and mastered a 284 yard bomb in his second set. All these hitters are capable of bigger numbers in more favorable wind conditions. We predicted that 325 might be the longest earlier in the day. Obviously, Jake Redlinger took that as a challenge. Young Dru MUshumanski traveled 13 hours from Manitoba, Canada to compete in the Youth 12 and Under Male division and managed a drive of 204. Dru had been much longer in practice….we know he has more in the tank for the World Championship. Ten year old Kendall Curran stole the show in the Youth 12 and Under Female division.
We are extremely pleased with the turnout of competitors and spectators for this inaugural Des Moines ALD event. The venue at Willow Creek golf course played host to professional long drive events in years past. With 500 yards of potential grid space this place will hold any long driver we’ve seen. The support from the team at EK Golf and the preparation provided by Willow Creek Golf Club made this an awesome event. We’re hoping to reach an agreement with a tournament director in the Des Moines area to conduct a series of events in the 2018 / 2019 season that begins September 1st. Stay tuned for an update on that subject. We definitely want to cultivate the long drive interest in the Des Moines area.
