ALEXANDRIA, Va. (Army News Service, Sept. 18, 2007) - The field is set for the finals of the 2007 Military Long Drive Championship presented by Cadbury Schweppes. One Air Force, one Coast Guard and three Army golfers will compete for $10,000 and bragging rights as the U.S. military's longest driver.

The winners from each of five zones earned an all-expenses paid trip to compete Oct. 25 in the military division of the RE/MAX World Long Drive Championship at the Palms Golf Club Driving Range in Mesquite, Nev.

Zone 1 winner 1st Lt. Jeremy Williams of the Utah Army National Guard had the longest qualifying drive of 404 yards at the lofty altitude of Fort Carson, Colo.'s Cheyenne Shadows Golf Course, elevation 5,840 feet.

First Lt. Williams, 31, a field artillery officer from Beaver, Utah, has been playing golf for 20 years and has a 2 handicap. In 2005, he deployed to Ar Ramadi, Iraq, where aimlessly driving five balls into the desert was the extent of his golf game. Two years later, he's headed for America's biggest stage for big hitters.

Sgt. 1st Class John Merritt II won Zone 5 with the second-longest qualifying drive of 386 yards at The Courses on Fort Meade, Md.

A 19-year Army veteran from Savannah, Ga., the 38-year-old has been golfing since he was 10. Stationed at the Human Resources Command in Alexandria, Va., he discovered the Military Long Drive Championship from an advertisement inside The Turret, Fort Knox, Ky.'s newspaper. Sgt. 1st Class Merritt frequently plays at Fort Belvoir (Va.) Golf Club, an Army Family and Morale, Welfare and Recreation Command facility.

Air Force Staff Sgt. Carl Taylor won Zone 3 with a 384-yard blast at Piney Valley Golf Course on Fort Leonard Wood, Mo. Staff Sgt. Taylor, 41, of Troy, Ill., took up long driving when his knees stopped supporting his softball habit.

"Now I get to hit the ball and don't have to run anymore," quipped Staff Sgt. Taylor, who added that his golf handicap is "my irons."

Staff Sgt. Taylor was forced into a new ride during this long-drive quest. While driving to a local RE/MAX World Long Drive Championship qualifier June 9 in Mayfield, Ky., his car suffered a blown engine in Paducah, Ky., about 25 miles shy of his destination.

Knowing they were headed along the same route from Decatur, Ill., Staff Sgt. Taylor called long-drive buddies Sam Turner and Charlie Thomas and asked for a ride.

"If they hadn't been there, I'd have been up a creek without a paddle," Taylor said.

Or worse yet: On the side of the road without a range to drive golf balls.

Eventually, the three big hitters squeezed into Mr. Turner's truck and made it to South Highland Country Club, where Staff Sgt. Taylor won the open division with a drive of 326 yards and Mr. Turner won the super seniors category at 293 yards.

Sgt. Bryan King prevailed in Zone 2 with a drive of 381 yards at The Courses at Clear Creek on Fort Hood, Texas. Stationed in Wurzburg, Germany, Sgt. King actually lives in Mesquite - Texas, that is, not Nevada.

Coast Guard Airman Ryan Hixson won Zone 4 with a 346-yard drive at Fort Stewart, Ga.'s Taylor Creek Golf Course. Airman Hixson, 25, of Cincinnati, is stationed at Coast Guard Air Station Savannah, Ga., and plays at Hunter Golf Course, another Army Family and MWR Command facility.

"I've always been able to hit the ball long," Airman Hixson said. "I heard about this competition and decided to try my luck."

Airman Hixson is just one among thousands of big hitters who have taken their best shot at reaching the World Long Drive Championship.

Next month, he'll be one of five to drive for the Military Long Drive crown.

(Tim Hipps writes for Family and Morale, Welfare, Recreation Command Public Affairs.)