Mesquite to host professional long drive event in June

By BRIAN HURLBURT SPECIAL TO THE REVIEW-JOURNAL

7 years ago

Tim Burke celebrates during the semifinals of the RE/MAX Long Drive World Championship at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2013. Burke won the championship, defeating Joe Miller in the final round. (Chase Stevens/Las Vegas Review-Journal)

Two-time world champion Tim Burke, who won his first title at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, is excited about the return of long drive to Mesquite. (Cy Cyr/Golf Channel)

Long distance drive golf champion Tim Burke throws out the ceremonial fist pitch during a baseball game against the Baltimore Orioles and Tampa Bay Rays Friday, Sept. 5, 2014 in St. Petersburg, Fla. (Steve Nesius/AP)

Tim Burke drives the ball in the semifinals of the RE/MAX Long Drive World Championship at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2013. Burke won the championship, defeating Miller. (Chase Stevens/Las Vegas Review-Journal)

Tim Burke drives the ball while competing against Joe Miller in the final round of the RE/MAX Long Drive World Championship at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2013. Burke won the championship, defeating Miller. (Chase Stevens/Las Vegas Review-Journal)

Professional long drive is returning to Mesquite this year with the “Clash in the Canyon.”

The event, scheduled for June 3-6 at the Mesquite Regional Sports Complex, will be televised live by The Golf Channel. Mesquite is widely regarded as the unofficial home of professional long drive.

The new tournament is the first of three long drive events scheduled to air live and in prime time on the Golf Channel this year, the first time multiple events are to air on live TV in the same year. The women’s division also will air live on the Golf Channel for the first time.

The annual RE/MAX World Long Drive Championship was in Mesquite from 1997 to 2012. From 2008 to 2012, the finals were at the regional sports complex, a facility built to serve as the event’s official home. The finals moved to Las Vegas Motor Speedway in 2013 and now are at WinStar Resort in Oklahoma.

The new Mesquite competition is one of eight qualifying events before the $270,000 finals in September. The Mesquite prize purse for the open division will be $50,000, and the women’s purse is $15,000. A masters division featuring 16 legends also will have a $15,000 purse.

“Mesquite is a location that for many years has maintained a deep connection to long drive, so it’s fitting that the creation of this new event in partnership with Golf Mesquite Nevada will return the sport to such a familiar place in its history,” Golf Channel senior vice president of programming Phil Piazza said.

Two-time world champion Tim Burke, a former University of Miami pitcher from Orlando, Florida, plans to be in the field of 32 in Mesquite.

“The gorgeous grid in the canyon glowing under the lights is the first thing that comes to mind when I think about hitting in Mesquite again,” Burke said. “It’s the best grid we hit on, and live shows like this are going to help elevate the sport to the next level. Going back to Mesquite also reminds me of coming in second by a few yards in 2012. I feel like I should have three world titles right now.”

The Golf Channel purchased the rights to the world long drive championship from Las Vegas Golf Hall of Fame member Art Sellinger last year.

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The golf notebook appears Thursdays. Freelance writer Brian Hurlburt is a two-time author who has covered golf in Las Vegas for more than two decades. He can be reached at bhurlburt5@gmail.com.