Berkshire Becomes New World No. 1 in Open Division;
Meti Wins Third Tour Event in Four Starts This Season
(ROCHESTER, N.Y.) – World Long Drive celebrated its No. 1 ranked hitters in the world on Wednesday evening, as Phillis Meti (Auckland, New Zealand) continued to cement her position atop the Women’s Division, while the Open (men’s) Division produced its latest No. 1 ranked hitter in Kyle Berkshire (Orlando, Fla.), as each captured the inaugural ROC City Rumble at Home Team Sports Park in Rochester, N.Y.
For Meti, the victory marked her third time hoisting a trophy in four tour events this season, putting the three-time World Long Drive champion on track to attaining the most decorated season ever amongst the sport’s Women’s Division. The defending world champion utilized a 320-yard drive in the final to narrowly edge out Alexis Belton’s (Ruston, La.) 319-yard blast.
“I struggled hitting the grid earlier today,” Meti said. “To be able to [hit the grid] on seven balls out of eight, all over 300 yards in the final, that’s something positive that I’m going to take into the next event. It gives me better confidence to show that I can do it. It gives me reassurance that I’m on the right track.”
Entering Wednesday night, Berkshire was ranked No. 3 and had accumulated a remarkable streak of 10 consecutive tour events where he’d advanced to the televised portion of the competition, with the last time of not achieving that feat coming back in July of 2017. More importantly for the 22-year-old, it put an end to a long list of close calls in televised tour events, shaking the proverbial monkey off his back en route to becoming the sport’s new No. 1 ranked competitor in the Open Division. Berkshire needed only one ball in the final match, bettering Martin Borgmeier’s (Munich, Germany) 369-yard drive with a 380-yard ball that wound up being the longest drive of the night.
“It feels great,” Berkshire said. “I just locked in on what I was trying to do. I really only worried about what I could control, not what I couldn’t control. I don’t feel any added pressure because I never put pressure on myself in the first place to become No. 1. My job is to hit the ball as far as I can as often as possible. That’s what I’m worried about.”
World Long Drive’s summer stretch of the season will conclude next month with the Tennessee Big Shots benefiting Niswonger Children’s Hospital (Kingsport, Tenn., Aug. 10-12), which marks the final tour event of the year. Three weeks later, the season-culminating World Long Drive Championship (Aug. 30-Sept. 4) will be staged on the Texas/Oklahoma border at WinStar World Casino and Resort, with the coveted world championship title belts on the line for the Open, Women’s and Masters (age 45+) Divisions. The World Long Drive Championship will culminate live on back-to-back nights under the lights on GOLF Channel, Tuesday-Wednesday, Sept. 3-4 at 8:30 p.m. ET.
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