Tim Burke is your new King of the Hill, Master-Blaster, King Kong, Longest of the Long, Biggest of the Big-Hitters.
Tim Burke, a 6-5, 230-pound physical specimen is your 2015 National Long Drive champion.
He won the belt and $150,000 first prize Wednesday night with an eye-opening performance as the 16 remaining blasters assembled at WinStar World Resort in Oklahoma to crown this year’s champion.
Burke, a favorite going in, won it all with drives that measured 401, 402 and a final blast of 394 yards that the other finalist, Jason Easterly, couldn’t match. Easterly, very much the underdog, was a 10th seed coming in and got into the final two when he beat two-time champion Jamie Sadlowski of Canada.
With a 15-mile-per-hour crosswind blowing, Sadlowski couldn’t keep a ball in play in his matchup with Easterly.
Against Burke, Easterly went first and landed one at 386 yards to put the pressure on Burke.
But with an average club head speed of a mind-numbing 144 miles per hour, all Burke had to do was catch one solid in the 2 minute, 45 second time allotment.
He did.
Average club head speed on the PGA Tour is 113 miles per hour.
Burke, who lives in Orlando and plays out of the Ritz-Carlton Golf Club, is a familiar face in this event. He finished runnerup in 2012, won it all in 2013 and again Wednesday night.
“It means everything,” he said as he put the champions belt around his waist. “I got a better golf swing and learned to handle the pressure better. I hit is pretty good,” he said of his winning blow.
Burke, who pitched for the University of Miami in his college days, has now reached the status where he can spent his all his time displaying his unique power. In a game where there are some funky looking swings, he has a really good golf swing and his powerful lower body helps generate that insane power.
He looks every bit the role of the world’s longest driver.
