Bryson DeChambeau misses out on Long Drive World Championship title by 20 yards as his massive 406-yard bomb almost causes an upset before he is pipped by German Martin Borgmeier in the final two
Bryson DeChambeau came within 20 yards of clinching the 2022 PLDA World Championship in Mesquite, Nevada on Saturday.
The LIV Golf star had to settle for second out of a 128-player field which included some of the globe’s most powerful long drive specialists.
Above them all was Martin Borgmeier, who took home the championship belt and purse with an astonishing 426-yard drive.
Bryson DeChambeau came within 20 yards of clinching the 2022 PLDA World Championship
Borgmeier beat out DeChambeau, along with previous two-time champion, Kyle Berkshire, who finished in ninth place.
DeChambeau found the grid with three of his six allotted drives and topped out at 406 yards, almost causing an upset.
However, Borgmeier pounded his third ball 415 yards and followed that up with a 426-yarder that proved to be the winner.
‘There is one very, very important thing, and all of you guys know,’ Borgmeier said after his win.
‘I would not be here, none of us would be here with the improvements in technology, if one guy wouldn’t have come in a year ago to make the sport what it is right now. And I think he’s on a very good track to come back. And that guy is Bryson DeChambeau.’
Martin Borgmeier (C), with Tiger Woods (L) & Bryson DeChambeau (R) recently in the Bahamas
Borgmeier added: ‘He also came in second! What is going on! That guy is a professional golfer and he’s putting up these ball speed numbers … he lights it up in the final, hitting 400 plus! No one has ever done that before! People don’t realize how crazy that is!’
DeChambeau not only missed out on the bragging right but also a $50,000 prize. However, it is doubtful that will have bothered him too much after he ditched the PGA Tour this year to join rebel circuit LIV Golf for a mega-money deal.
DeChambeau entered the event for the first time last to much greater fanfare as he came in off the back of the US’s blowout win over Team Europe at Whistling Straits, where he hit a 417-yard bomb on the par-five fifth.
Bryson DeChambeau wowed the crowds in Nevada with a stunning display last year
The golf superstar attracted huge crowds which provided a party-like atmosphere at the event
The American almost matched that drive at the PLDA World Championships the following week as he smashed 416 yards to earn a seventh-place finish.
Eddie Fernandes took out the Senior World Championship with a drive of 411 yards.
Borgmeier has become a must-follow for fans of rangy, powerful drives and plies his trade on long drive circuits across the globe.
The 28-year-old won the European Tour Rankings in his 2008 rookie season. In the following year, he entered the World Long Drive Tour where he first cracked into the top-10.
According to the Pro Long Drive website, Borgmeier is currently ranked 13th in the 2022 PLD World Rankings.
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