We Have Lift Off

The Long Drive World Series made an immediate impact as a 500-strong crowd cheered Tim Burke to victory at Jumeirah Golf Estates.

- Kent Gray

TIM BURKE predicts an exciting future for the Long Drive World Series after upstaging reigning world champion Joe Miller to win the inaugural tournament in Dubai.

The 30-year-old American overpowered world No.6 and Thursday qualifier Ryan Reisbeck 335 yards to 329.5 in the final and also produced the longest hit of the event at 341 yards in his first round elimination of countryman Ryan Steenberg.

Miller, undefeated in 19 straight tournaments heading into Dubai, finished outside the prizes after being outmuscled 331-316 yards by 19-year-old Swede Emil Rosberg in the playoff for third after earlier being toppled 336-316 yards by Reisbeck in the semifinals.

A gusty 25mph headwind at Jumeirah Golf Estates kept the distances in check - Burke’s competition best is a 469 yard bomb and Miller’s a 474 yarder - but not the champion’s enthusiasm for the new series.

“Oh, it’s huge…I mean this has the potential to take the sport to a new level, more worldwide, so I’m super, super excited,” Burke said. “It was a great win in my first time competing since I lost my world championship belt last year. So yeah, it’s good. I’m back in 2017 with vengeance, I guess.”

So could the LDWS, earmarked to visit London, Asia and the US this year and return to Dubai and possibly Abu Dhabi in 2018, usurp the existing World Long Drive Association and its established world championship?

“Who knows,” said Burke who won WLDA world titles in 2013 and 2015. “But there’s a ton of people here [the crowd was estimated at 500], I mean I’ve never seen so many people come to a long drive tournament so yeah, it’ll be huge. It’s great to see what’s going on and it will be cool to travel to different places around the world as well.”