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As the sun set over the Cochella Valley the women competing
for the International Women's Long Drive Championship arose with unprecedented excitement. Seven women from Sweden, Canada
and the United States brought their incredible talent of Long Drive to the Indio Municipal Golf Course to claim the top prize.
Round one ended with five women annihilating the grid and advancing to round two with the longest drive of the round coming
to a halt at a monstrous 322 yards by Swed Sandra Carlborg. The remaining four women advancing to round two were Leanne Quinn
(306)Helena Rodin (302), Lisa Vlooswyk (293) and Sheila Kelliher (285). Round 2 proved to be a little more challenging with
the wind howling from the left to the right and slightly into the face of the competitors with Carlborg (289), VLooswyk (273)
and Quinn (265) advancing to the final round. As the wind increased and the crowd cheered their ladies on Quinn fired a 254
yard drive to lead off the final round, shortly after Vlooswyk hammered a 275 yard drive to take control of the top spot with
one competitor remaining. As Carlborg prepared herself for her final six balls it was apparent that the event was a complete
success by the cheers coming from crowd and the competitors in the grandstands that had previously been eliminated. Carlborg
began her final round hitting her first four balls either outside the grid or just short of Vlooswyk's 275 yard drive, as
she hit her fifth ball the crowed roared with excitement, Scott McCormack (Golf Professional, Long Drive Competitor and our
Grid King) called back the yardage of 281 yards; the crowd erupted and Carlborg began to celebrate her victory. The crowd
pleaded for Carlborg to hit her final ball even though she had already claimed the top prize. She obliged and proceeded to
crush her sixth and final ball to the 290 yard mark.
The International Women's Long Drive Alliance, Inc.
would like to thank first and foremost our competitors Sandra Carlborg of Sweden, Shelia Kelliher of Studio City CA, Leanne
Quinn of Winterhaven FL, Helena Rhodin of Sweden, Michelle Sheptak of Canada, Lisa Vlooswyk of Canada and Shannon Wolter of
Temecula CA. Secondly, we would like to thank our sponsors, Jim Curtis from the City of Indio, Spotlight 29 Casino, Comfort
Suites, Krank Golf, Power Awards, Julia Burt Attorney at Law, Graman Shafts, Johnson Rental Services, Midnight Fantasy, Tops
N Barricades, Candyl Golf Group, Sign A Rama, and Visions of id. The support we have received over the last year has been
incredible and we could not have done it without the support of people and sponsors listed above. We would like to thank all those who volunteered your help was greatly appreciated.
We would also like to thank all of those that came to watch this exciting event and we hope to see more of them next year.
International Women's Long Drive Alliance, Inc
Press Office
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