2010 Military Long Drive Championship preliminaries to be held at various bases

By Tim Hipps
FMWRC Public Affairs

	Photo by Tim Hipps/FMWRC PAO U.S. Coast Guard Ensign Ryan Hixson wins his third consecutive Military Long Drive Championship with a 335-yard drive on his final shot Oct. 28, 2009, at Mesquite, Nev.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. — It’s time for military golf’s big hitters to head to the driving range and prepare for local qualifiers in the 2010 Military Long Drive Championship presented by 7UP.

Long-driving ability with a touch of accuracy will be tested on or near 21 military installations during first-round competitions that will begin July 15 and run through Aug. 22.
The full schedule of dates and times will be available soon at ArmyMWRGolf.com.

The Army Family and Morale, Welfare and Recreation-backed competition is open to active-duty U.S. military and Family members 18 and older, including National Guard, Reserve and retirees from all services.

Following a second round of competition, nine regional winners will advance to Mesquite, Nev., to challenge three-time Military Long Drive champion Ensign Ryan Hixson of the U.S. Coast Guard.

Hixson has won all three editions of the Military Long Drive Championship with blasts of 343, 389 and 367 yards in the final rounds.

The finals of the Military Long Drive Championship will be waged Nov. 3 on the same grid as the 2010 RE/MAX World Long Drive Championship powered by Dick’s Sporting Goods – in a desert oasis resort town where the best in the business of tape-measure tee shots congregate annually to crown their champions.

The Military Long Drive champ will earn $10,000 and an exemption into the 2011 RE/MAX World Long Drive Championship, which will result in another paid all-expenses trip to Mesquite.

First-round competitions will be hosted by Aberdeen Proving Ground, Md.; Fort Lee and Fort Belvoir, Va.; Schofield Barracks, Hawaii; Fort Benning, Ga; Fort Bragg,; Fort Campbell, Ky.; Fort Jackson, S.C.; Fort Carson, Colo.; Fort Leonard Wood, Mo.; Fort Lewis, Wash.; Forts Bliss and Hood in Texas; Fort Huachuca, Ariz.; Fort Sill, Okla.; Naval Air Station North Island, Calif.; Nellis Air Force Base, Nev.; Camp Zama, Japan; Wiesbaden, Germany; Yongsan, Korea; and a location to be determined in Iraq.

Information will be forthcoming about the competition at Fort Bragg.

Competitors are welcome to travel to several qualifiers.

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