Photo courtesy Long Drivers European Tour
Long Drivers European Tour‘s second event of the season did not hold any punches in terms of excitement, and Martin Bormeier was the last man standing. It would’ve been easy to take Borgmeier’s chances for granted after the round of 16, with the matchplay bracket shaping up with names like Bryan Roberts and Vincent Palm, 2017 LDET champion Matt Nicolle, and Robin “The Hungarian Hulk” Horvath coming off his victory at the season opener in France.
The first quarterfinal match saw Jordan Brooks top Christo Kalender 358/354 to 346/320. Roberts (352/OB/352) knocked out Lee Gauthier (304/333/325) in the second match. The other semifinal round was crafted by a 342/354/350 to 346/352/330 win for Horvath over Palm, and Borgmeier’s 346/345/347 to 336/357/319 ousting of Nicolle.
Brooks then started the semifinals with a 332-yard blast, cushioning himself with another 329 yards and a final 368-yard closing statement. Bryan Roberts brought his big stick with 357- and 366-yard bombs, but an OB kept him from reaching the finals over Brooks.
With their would-be challenger set, Borgmeier and Horvath took to the teebox in a much anticipated matchup. In the end, the Hungarian Hulk’s 338/363/349 effort proved not enough to top the Beard’s 348/344/356 showing.
The Belgium Championships’ final round may very well go down as one of the best of the 2018 season — even though we’re only two events in. Brooks upped his game yet again with a 383-yard strike, his longest in the final round, giving Borgmeier an uphill fight in the first two sets. Then in the third set, after opening 375/371, the Beard launched a 380-yard bomb to clinch the championship over Brooks, who finished OB/363 in the end.
Horvath earned his second top-three finish of the season with a 320/361/363 win over Roberts (338/344/351) to claim the last spot on the podium and continue his early dominance of the 2018 LDET season.
Next on the LDET docket is the Sweden Championship at Täby Golf Klub May 4-5. The field of 40 long drivers is the largest field in the tour’s history, ensuring enough excitement to hold us over until the tour’s much-anticipated debut in Russia June 2-3.