A couple things that Martin Borgmeier has in common with his beard: Borgmeier’s name is also “Beard,” and his beard is long and impressive, much like Borgmeier hits it long, and his 2018 season has been impressive.
The tour’s no. 1-ranked player added another notch to his 2018 belt after claiming the first-ever Russian Championship this past weekend, cushioning his lead in the fight for the 2018 LDET title. 2017 Champion Matt Nicolle and his fellow countryman Jordan Brooks finished 2nd and 3rd, respectively.
While Nicolle has remained competitive all season and is always a safe bet, it seemed nothing could have stopped Borgmeier in the final round. The Beard dropped three consecutive 400-yard bombs in the finals (417/402/405) besting Nicolle’s 365/405/389 and adding the Russia Championship trophy to his staunch 2018 resume.
Brooks defeated the tour’s no.2-ranked Robin Horvath, 406/422/390 to 419/401/385, for the last spot on the podium and a top-5 tour ranking going into the last half of the season.
The LDET makes it Russia debut June 2-3 at Peterhof Golf Club. (Photo courtesy LDET)
The first half of the 2018 LDET season has already been a blast, and it’s adding one more exclamation point before entering the home stretch. The tour makes its way to Russia for the Russia Championships June 2-3, at Peterhof Golf Club in St. Petersburg, bringing its energetic atmosphere and jaw dropping competitive long drives to the country for the first time in history.
Martin “The Beard” Borgmeier (GER) and his fellow countryman Robin “The Hungarian Hulk” Horvath will take the top two LDET rankings with them to the event while defending the Euro champion, no.3 ranked Matt Nicole (ENG), looks to close the gap between him and the top spot. As of this writing, un-ranked Inar Kuramshin is the only Russian vying for the championship in his home country (and at his home course).
For Peterhof Golf Club, the Russia championship is something of a birthday celebration. The par-71 course opened in June 2017 near the Peterhof and Konstantinovsky palaces as the only 18-hole course in the city. To mark the event, the 5911-meter course will host a pro-am contest on Saturday, challenging LDET players and amateurs with its water-laden layout, thick rough and wild grasses in friendly competition — an official LDET practice session follows.
(Photo courtesy LDET)
“It is a big honor for Peterhof Golf Club and the city of Saint Petersburg to host a stage of LDET in Russia,” Kuramshin, golf manager and coach at Peterhof, says. “All the [Peterhof] team as well as the golfers are very much looking forward to what is going to be a great golf weekend with a ProAm and the most exciting show in Golf.”
After Saturday’s festivities, Sunday’s not to be missed. Amateur qualifying rounds begin the build up to the main event, followed by the pro qualifier later that morning. After lunch comes the amateur semifinals and finals, and the always exciting Top16 round. From the quarters on, players will take their best of three sets in a matchplay elimination rounds until one player claims the inaugural Russia Championship trophy.
CGB will be updating this post with results and video of the event.
In other news, and speaking to the continuing growth of the tour, LDET has announced a new tour sponsor the week leading up to the Russian Championship. JetVIP, a Russia-based aviation broker, is adding to the winning spoils by offering the top 3 finishers a free charter flight, and a 200-Euro check to the champion in addition to its support for the tour. See more on the new partnership here.
Emil Rosberg’s dominant performance ensured the Sweden Championship stayed in his home country. (Photo courtesy LDET)
What was anticipated to be one of the best events of the Long Drivers European Tour season didn’t disappoint. The Sweden Championships saw the tour’s strongest field ever in Europe, according to tour CEO Xavier Eusebio, and the hometown crowd has something else to cheer about too.
Emil Rosberg of Gothenburg, Sweden, joined a number of familiar names in Saturday’s match plays at Täby Golf Klub, ultimately securing the title for his home country.
Robin “The Hungarian Hulk” Horvath looked to add another podium finish to his strong 2018 season against C.J. Hellstrom, but his 337.5/349.3 showing fell short of Hellstom’s 351.6/359.9 in the first match. Then, 2018 Belgium Champion Martin Borgmeier faced off against the U.K’s Bry Roberts, who started slow with a 318.9 before finishing 352.2/OB. The Beard Borgmeier’s 355.1/OB/339.3 cemented his meeting with Hellstrom in the semis.
Match three came courtesy of Finland’s own Aleksi Kivini and Saku Korhonen. Korhonen (OB/270/348.8) qualified for the semifinals easily after Kivini failed to land one in the grid. and in the matchplay finale Rosberg met defending tour champion Matt Nicolle. Rosenberg dropped a pair of 357-yard bombs (357.9/357.1), besting Nicolle’s 335.2/356.6 and punching his ticket to the semifinals to face Korhonen.
Borgmeier began the semis in a bit of a shaky spot, landing OB in his first two sets against Hellstrom, but his 358.5/349.8 finish proved too much for Hellstrom’s 348.8/OB/357/325.5 to overcome. Rosberg and Korhonen dropped a pair of 338.9- yard bombs in their first semifinal set. But Rosberg raised the bar with 344.7 blast which was more than enough to best Korhonen’s OB finish.
And thus the stage was set for another superb LDET event: The home country hero Rosberg versus Belgium Champion, “The Beard” Borgmeier.
Rosberg came out swinging with a 353.9-yard bomb in the first set, just safe from Borgmeier’s 350.6 effort. Rosberg backed his first set up with a 350.5-yard blast of his own, and after 344.2-yard finish from Borgmeier, ensured the Sweden Championship stays in its home country.
Hellstrom secured the final podium position against Korhonen 296.7/343.8/353 to 357.8/323/341 for his first top-three finish of the season. And Borgmeier has something else to celebrate on top his second-place finish — with the first third of the 2018 season in the books, The Beard’s now the no.1 ranked LDET player.
With still so much more to come, including one of the most-anticipated events of the year, the Russia Championships at PeterHof Golf Club, next on the the schedule, this season continues to exceed all expectations. We’ll be previewing the tour’s debut in Russia and updating the LDET player rankings prior to the June 2nd-3rd event.
Maurice Allen is planning a return the LDET this season.
The 2018 Long Drivers European Tour promised to be one of the best yet, and it’s proving to be just that. Maurice Allen, 2-time LDET champion, is eying a return to the tour, adding to the riveting storylines at start of the season.
Allen, a 36-year-old American from Pine Hills, Florida, needs little introduction — his resume does all the talking:
7-time Wold Long Drive Finalist (2011-2017)
#1 ranked Long Drive Competitor in the World (2017)
World Long Drive Tour Champion (2017)
Guinness World Record for fastest golf ball speed (211 mph; 3-wood)
(And that’s only part of it.)
On top of preparing for his return to the LDET, Allen keeps plenty busy as one of the game’s most recognizable names. He was among 17 other personalities competing in the first season of the Golf Channel’s Shotmakers television show filmed at Top Golf in Las Vegas, Nevada. In the show, Allen, with teammate Tania Tare, a pro golfer and Instagram-famous trick shot artist from New Zealand, compete against 8 other two-person teams in a precision shotmaking contest. (Spoiler alert: Team Sharks make an early exit in the third round of the competition.)
Off the set, Allen’s in constant preparation for long drive events, competing in the Wold Long Drive, Long Drive World Series, IGANZ, and Japanese events in addition to the LDET.
“I work extremely hard because there is TONS of great talent bursting on the scene every year along with previous hitters always improving,” Allen says of his preparations for the 2018 LDET season.” I’m hoping to compete at a high level and continue to grow the sport of long Drive worldwide.”
A born athlete, Allen was introduced to the game at an early age, though pursued success in other sports before committing to competitive golf in 2010. Athletic prowess aside, he’s also well-known for his energizing personality on the tee box — especially his signature Ric Flair routine.
“It was just a simple dare from my training partner Micheal tucker. I never thought it was gonna turn into what it did, but honored and humbled.” Allen tells CGB. “It comes from the countless hours of training that I put in daily. I work very hard in training so I can have a ton of fun on the tee.”
Allen says that level of intensity stays the same during competition no matter where he’s hitting. “I look forward to every opportunity to compete and put on a great show for the crowds.”
Accolades and antics aside, Allen says he’s actually a very “chill” person and he’s bringing a true veteran mentality into his LDET season while remaining humble. He notes there are “TONS” of great players coming into the scene every year, while others continue to get better, keeping him accountable to maintain his training schedule.
“Europe is full of dangerous hitters,” Allen says, “People across the pond haven’t heard of but they wont be a secret for long.”
Allen’s return to the top ranks of the LDET is no guarantee either, With the likes of Robin “The Hungarian Hulk” Horvath, who started the season with two top-three finishes, and a wealth of young talent in the field every event, the tour is seeing one of its most competitive seasons to date. That young talent fuels not only the excitement we’ve seen in the early goings of the 2018 season but serves as another indication of the on going growth of the game as a whole — something veterans like Allen can recognize.
“Golf is growing on the long Drive side with tours popping up all over the world,” Allen says. “This sport will be huge in the next 3-5 years.”
Allen’s debut was perviously set to be at the Sweden Championship at Täby Golf Klub May 4th-5th. 2018 LDET event winners Horvath and Martin “Beard” Borgmeier, and 2017 Tour Champion Matt Nicole are are surely ready and waiting to challenge the former champion, but the LDET announced on social media that Allen has withdrawn from the event due to injury.
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.
Robin Horvath’s (GER) 399-yard bomb earned him the 2018 France Championships, and the no.1 ranking on the LDET. (Photo courtesy LDET).
The 2018 Long Drivers European Tour season opener showed France what it’s been missing. Hotel Golf Château de Chaillly played host to the tour for the first event in the country since 2014. And though there was a local name in the running heading into the final rounds, it was Robin Horvath of Germany claiming the first victory of the season.
Sunday began with a quarterfinal lineup that could not disappoint. Frenchman Maxime Bourzicot took on the top-seeded Bryan Roberts (WAL) while reigning LDET Champion Matt Nicolle (ENG) faced Martin Borgmeier (GER). Second-seeded Dewald Lubbe (SAF) versus Aleksi Kivini (FIN), and an all-German showdown between “The Hungarian Hulk,” Robin Horvath from Stuttgart, and Timo Petrasch, the “German Bomber” from Munich, filled the other side of the bracket.
Roberts (356/OB/372) bested Bourzicot (348/367/362) to earn a trip to the semifinals against Matt Nicolle (361/356), who ousted Borgmeier (357/OB). On the other side, Kivini fell to Lubbe 351/351/355 to 363/348/347, setting up a face-off against the winner of the the Horvath/Petrasch matchup. Horvath ousted Petrasch, 365/346/375 to 333/372/348, to continue his march to the finals.
The exciting championship match was shaped by Matt Nicolle’s 385/373 to 376/OB victory over Roberts, and Horvath topping Lubbe by the slimmest of margins, OB/375/371 to 375/372/OB.
In the final round, Horvath started strong with a 388-yard blast in the first set, a little too close to Nicolle’s 381-yard effort for comfort. But Horvath secured the France Championship with the longest ball of the day, a 399-yard bomb, over Nicolle’s 372-yard finisher, and vaulted into the no.1 spot in the LDET. (Lubbe took the 3rd place position on the podium after a 386/367 to 335/360 win over Roberts.)
(From to left to right) Matt Nicolle (ENG) 2nd-place, Robin Horvath (GER) 1st-place, Dewald Lubbe (SAF) 3rd-place. (Photo courtesy LDET)
“I’m speechless right now. Can’t believe it!” Hovarth posted on his Instagram page after the event. (He has, as of this writing, yet to comment further, so I’m guessing the emotion has yet to wear off, and understandably so.)
“Congratulations to @hungarian_hulk for pipping me in the final, impressive stuff going deep with a 399!” reads an April 8 post on Nicolle’s Instagram page. ” I will be back fighting harder than ever to regain that top stop!” he continues. Nicolle is now ranked no.2 on tour.
Hovarth is set to continue his hot start at Steenhoven Golf Club in Belgium later this month for the Belgium Championship, April 20th-21st. And he’s surely looking forward to competing in his own country later this year at the Germany Championship at Müncherner Golf Club in Munich, hometown of “The German Bomber” Timo Petrasch. Here’s to hoping for exciting rematch between the two that July weekend.
The 2018 LDET season is expected to one of the best yet, and the players came ready to live up to the hype. The bar has been set high for the remainder of the season but with an exciting mix of some of the best and up-and-coming players in Long Drive, new, marquee events and, of course, the long ball, it’s safe to say the best is yet to come.
A couple things that Martin Borgmeier has in common with his beard: Borgmeier’s name is also “Beard,” and his beard is long and impressive, much like Borgmeier hits it long, and his 2018 season has been impressive.
