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PDF versionPLAIN CITY — Imagine approaching a tee box surrounded by hundreds of the longest hitters in the golf world, all ready to explode when any competitor unleases a drive staight and true.
Welcome to the world of long drive competitions.
Imagine controlling your adrenaline, your heart rate, your focus as you go up against the defending world champion.
Welcome to Jerimie Montgomery’s world.
Montgomery, the 1994 Utah State Amateur champion, joined the ranks of the long drive elite this past weekend, finishing second at the RE/MAX World
Long Drive Championship at Mesquite Sports and Event Complex in Mesquite, Nev.
Montgomery, a consumer loan officer who lives in Plain City, was defeated by the defending champion, Canadian sensation Jamie Sadlowski, who topped the former Weber High School and Utah State University golfer 384 yards to 351 in the final match.
His runner-up finish netted a $70,000 check.
“I’m disappointed at not winning, but at the same time, I got over the hump and made the final eight. I’m ecstatic to make it that far,” Montgomery said.
“This ranks right at the top (accomplishments), golfing-wise.”
Montgomery played at Utah State from 1990 to 1995, and tried his hand at professional golf for several years before work and family obligations took a higher priority.
With encouragement of fellow golfers, including Kurt Moore, a talented long driver himself, Montgomery started to work on his long drives.
“I had lifted weights in college for golf, and others had told me I could hit it far enough to compete,” he said.
After qualifying for the competition in 2006, the 5-foot-11, 200-pound Montgomery ended up ninth in 2007 and 2008.
The top eight make the televised final.
“It was kind of learning process,” Montgomery said.
During last week’s qualifying rounds, Montgomery busted a 411-yard drive, among the longest all week.
In Friday’s final match-play rounds, Montgomery recorded a 381-yard drive to topple top seed Mick Yelovich in the semifinals.
In the final, Montgomery got a 351-yard drive in play, but went OB on his final three drives.
“I wish I could have made Jamie really earn it,” Montgomery said. “The final was the only time all week that the nerves got to me. But the atmosphere at Mesquite is great.
“I love competing, and of course, it’s appealing to be the best in the world at something,” Montgomery said. “More than 14,000 try to qualify for this event, and to make the final 144 is an accomplishment. To be second in the world is a big deal to me.”
As the sport grows, Montgomery is grateful his wife Rebecca and three children have supported him as he “pursues this crazy game.
“I’ve been kicked out of every driving range within 30 miles of my house,” Montgomery said. “The folks at the Ogde Golf and Country Club have been great to help me, and Eric (Bumstead) at Eagle Lake Golf Course in Roy has helped me work out a place to work on my game there.
Long drive fans can watch the final eight competitors battle for the big purse on Dec. 20, when the show will air a 90-minute highlights package on ESPN. ESPN2 will replay the show on Christmas day.
“In golf, if you miss the fairway, you still have a chance to make par,” Montgomery said. “In a long drive competition, the pressure is to put it in play. You’ve got to swing as hard as you can.”
Sadlowski, 21, earned a $150,000 payday. He shared center stage with Long Drivers of America (LDA) Hall of Fame member Bobby Wilson, who bagged a pair of world rings in both the senior (ages 45-older) and super senior (53-older) divisions.
The tournament marked the 15th anniversary championship in Nevada. The event was staged in Las Vegas in 1995-96, then moved to its home in Mesquite in 1997.
