The three-day competition welcomed over 60 participants from an array of countries across the Asia region, including Japan, Korea, Thailand, China, Malaysia, New Zealand and Australia.
Competitors were divided into three separate groups: Open Division (18 years of age and older for men and women), Women’s Division and Master Division (45 years of age and above) with a total prize pool of US$35,000 (B1.3 million) on offer across the groups.
The rules are simple: the winner is the person who completes the longest drive. A “Qualified Drive” must be a minimum of 280 yards for the Open Division, 260 yards for the Masters Division and 240 yards for the Women’s Division.
In the final round played on Sunday (Sept 18), Steffan Scutti of Australia won the Open Division, Phillis Meti of New Zealand won the Women’s Division and Akihiro Hotta from Japan won the Master Division. All were awarded their trophy and winners’ cheque by Thammawat Wongcharoenyot, president of the Phuket Sports Association.
The tournament was originally planned to take place in China but the zero-COVID-19 policy implemented by the Chinese government meant it had to switch and Phuket was chosen due to its accessibility and standing as a major regional tourism and sports activity hub.
Asia Long Drive Championship was founded in October 2021 by Asia Long Drive Association (ALDA), which is the governing body of Long Drive sports in Asia.
The first competition was supported by Long Drive Japan, Korea Long Drive Association, New Zealand Long Drive and Long Drive China and is continuing to grow with Phuket just the latest of venues of the tour.
As an initiative of actively competing Asian Long Drive professionals, the Asia Long Drive Championship aims to promote the game of the long drive sport in Asia and is open to players across the region. For eligibility and more information visit: https://www.asialongdrive.com/about/