"Big Upsets at World Long Drive Championship
October 9, 2016
Thackerville, Okla. – The Open Division of the World Long Drive Championship kicked off this morning at WinStar World Casino & Resort. The day was packed with major upsets proving that anything can happen when the longest hitters in the world take center stage.
Early in the morning, 2007 World Long Drive Champion and long-time competitor, Mike Dobbyn, was knocked by Curtis Urniezius of Canada. Urniezius nailed drives of 363 yards in both sets. Dobbyn was only able to produce drives of 353 and 359 yards.
In Saturday’s afternoon wave, Dobbyn’s brother, Mitch Dobbyn upset one of the sport’s biggest names and past champion, Ryan Reisbeck. Mitch Dobbyn beat Reisbeck in consecutive sets, striking the ball 370 yards in set one and 368 yards in set 2. While Reisbeck could only come up with drives of 359 yards and 365 yards respectively.
Then in the late wave, 2015 World Long Drive runner-up, Jeremy Easterly was eliminated by Heath Johnson.
With clear skies and a subtle tail wind, conditions on Saturday were perfect for some monster drives. Glenn Wilson Jr. came in at 399 yards; Steve Monroe tied Wilson with 399 yards and also had a second bomber at 397. Tommy Hug, at 397 yards, and Joe Miller, at 396 yards, rounded out the top five long drives of the day.
“Today felt good, like everything clicked at the right time, being able to walk away with a win, and have one of the longest balls of the day against a stacked field is positive momentum for Monday’s round of 32,” said Wilson, Jr. after day one.
Tomorrow, the Open Division players get the day off and the top 41 players in the Masters Division will take center stage. Competition kicks off tomorrow at 8am CT / 9am ET and by the end of the day the field will be whittled down to 16."