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Horton will compete in long drive competition

By Lew Gilliland
The Times-Journal

Published October 23, 2009

Ryan Horton has always been long off the tee.

A former member of the Plainview High School golf team, Horton is used to out-driving his opponents.

He’ll try to put that ability to good use, and pad his bank account, next week at the RE/Max World Long Drive Championship in Mesquite, Nev.

“I was hitting it 300 [yards] when I was in eighth grade,” he said. “I’ve always been known for that.

“I’ve always hit it farther than everybody I’ve played around here. A lot of people have said why don’t you [enter the long drive competition], and so I finally decided to give it a shot and see how it goes.”

So far, it’s gone well.

Horton, 24, competed in a local qualifier at Browns Summit, N.C., in August and took second in the open division. About 100 individuals participated, and the top six advanced.

Each competitor hit six balls. Horton said his best drive was 373 yards despite hitting against a 15 mile-per-hour wind.

Horton stayed over for regionals the next day and finished fifth, good enough for a trip to the finals.

About 200 people competed in the regional, and six advanced.

Horton had a first-round bye because of his local win and won three other rounds with drives of 398, 400 and 402. A 402 would drive every par-4 from the white tees at Terrapin Hills.

He drove 381 in the regional finals despite working with a driver he didn’t realize was cracked until it was examined by a friend after the Rainsville resident returned home.

Horton said he wasn’t nervous in the local competition because contestants could hit their ball again if they didn’t like their drive.

“I wasn’t that nervous [at the regional] either until I got to the finals,” he said. “I knew they were taking six of the final 12 people, so I got real nervous.”

In Nevada, the field of 144 will be divided into three groups, with each competing Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday prior to the finals on Friday. First prize is $150,000.

Horton’s group will compete Wednesday. He said he was excited and nervous.

“It’s going to be a life-changing event if all goes well there,” he said.

Horton said he traveled to North Carolina for the local and regional competitions based on logistics.

“The closest local I had here was like three hours away in Mississippi,” he said. “If I qualified in it, I would’ve had to go to Florida, which was a 10- or 11-hour drive. North Carolina was about a nine-hour drive, and I could do both [competitions] back-to-back.”

Horton didn’t play college golf but continued to play competitively after high school, entering numerous tournaments.

He graduated from Jacksonville State in 2008 with a degree in finance and is currently in the insurance business.

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