You have a new ReMax LD Champion

[RookieBlue7]

For those that haven't seen it, the 2010 ReMAX Longdrive Champion hasn't been crowned. It's not kingpin Jaime Sadlowski that won it either. He wasn't even in the finals. The good news? There was still a great story.

 

Domenic Mazza, a 16 year old from Concord, California started longdrive competition in August. He qualified, made the championship in Mesquite, TX, and failed in the finals to make his first bid at the title. The kid is an athlete, being a dominant left handed pitcher on his high school team, and sporting a 2 handicap. He also made the decision, prior to the championship, to not accept any sponsor money nor any money earned from the championship so that he could keep his amateur status. Strong decision from a 16 year old. He hit shot after shot on the grid, topping 400 yards in the opening round with a 404 yard blast. It really was exciting to watch. (You can view it on ESPN 3 online in a re-airing). Great show put on by the 5'9" 160 lb. kid from the West Coast.

 

That said, in the end, the day belonged to Joe Miller. He came up 4 yards short of the championship record in the finals, and hit his winning blast 414 yards. He also advanced to the finals by defeating the king of the LD swing in the round of 4, Jaime Sadlowski. His first 2 drives in the finals, where he elected to go second, missed the grid. The kid had put 2 of his first 3 on the grid, and with the pressure mounting, Joe hit a bomb down the hotter right side of the grid and got a fortuitous bounce. It bounded out to 414 yards and the pressure was on. Mazza couldn't get one in the grid or out past Miller, and a new champion was born.

 

Great event to watch, IMO.

 

The finals included 2 Krank Golf driver, Miller's being 3.5 degrees.

 

Mazza now has an exemption into next year's event, and as the kid grows into his body, he should mature in this competition nicely. He held up under the pressure just fine too, hitting ball after ball in the grid. In the end, he came up just short. It'll be interesting to see if we can get any freakish match-ups in the next year of Mazza -vs- Sadlowski. I wanted to see that final, but Miller just delivered. Anyway, sorry I wrote this so long. Go to ESPN 3 and watch it for yourself.

[Dave]

Sadlowski made the finals. He made it to the the last 4 guys standing, just not through to the last 2.

Not a bad effort for a 16 year in his first attempt.

[RookieBlue7]

Sadlowski made it to the semis. Joe versus Dominic in the finals. Watch it free on ESPN 3 and you can see it.

[jamo]

I watched it on ESPN3 this morning. Pretty cool stuff. That huge drive that Joe unleashed in the finals was crazy. I didn't think anyone would hit it that far once it got colder and the wind picked up.

[Justin66]

Good on him for wanting to keep his amateur status. To me, that sounds like a high dose of maturity.