The Long Drivers European Tour Germany Championship was sure to be one of the must-see events of the season, with top-tier bombers like Martin The Beard Borgmeier, Vincent Palm, Timo Petrasch, and The Hungarian Hulk, Robin Horvath, all hailing from the great country. Borgmeier brought the tour’s #1 ranking with him to Munich’s Münchener Golf Club, which set the stage for an anticipated showdown with Horvath, a close second heading into the weekend.
Horvath made it clear early he was there to compete launching a 395-yard bomb in the qualifiers to secure his spot in the top 16 Sunday afternoon. The first taste of the The Beard vs Hulk matchup came in the first round of the top 16. 6th-ranked Tanguy Marionex (Belgium) and #16 Tyler Dangerfield (England) joined the duo, and marked a 340-yard blast and one OB, respectively. Horvath reached 374 yards and Borgmeier notched 350 in the first round.
The second round of the top 16 brought the foursome together again, with strong showings from Marionex and Dangerfield (368 and 353, respectively). But Horvath was on a mission, going 377 yards to Borgmeier’s OB, and ending our hopes for the marquee matchup in the finals.
For The Hulk to claim his home country title, though, there was a lot more ground to cover, and a lot more balls to hit. Horvath qualified for the semis after defeating #14-ranked Steve Vandebos (Belgium) 375/382 to 355/356. The second match brought #4 Dewald Lubbe (S. Africa) face to face with #12 Chris Latta (Scotland), and ended with Lubbe punching his ticket to semis as well (375/389 to OB/368). Horvath’s fellow German, Timo Petrasch was ousted from the quarters by Paul Woodcock 376/OB/OB to OB/357/348, and Jordan Brooks topped Marionex 382/390 to 362/360 for his spot in the semis.
In the first semifinal, Horvath continued his march with a 365/OB/375 showing, topping Lubbe’s 345/362/366 and ensuring his spot in the final. Jordan Brooks dominated the second semifinal, ousting Woodcock 352/360 to 342/345. Lubbe and Woodcock went to battle for the third place position, with Lubbe’s 361/OB/368 besting Woodcock’s 357/359/360, and the stage was set for the big final.
With the title in sight, the Hulk came out swinging and dropped a 394-yard bomb. Brooks followed with 374- and 387-yard blasts, but Horvath’s 391-yard finisher secured the title in his home country. Not only that, Horvath overtook Borgmeier’s multi-week reign at the top of the LDET rankings. The Hulk now has a slim 200 point lead over The Beard Borgmeier, which means we can anticipate more matchups between the top two German bombers in the foreseeable future.
Next up, the players head to Italy’s Terre Dei Consoli Golf Club for the Italy Championship, the last regular season event before the marquee event of the season, the Nations Cup, and the Masters LDET Cup season finale. Follow LDET online and on social media to keep up with all the action.