And Then There Were Eight: '15 World Long Drive Finals

Cubs fans may want to have their remote ready since the World Long Drive finals made for intense viewing last night in whittling the field down to eight.

The combination of shot clock, the testosterone-fueled emotion and the athleticism on display made for fun competition, as did seeing five drives eclipse 390 yards. It looks like they've finally found a format that suits television and maintains the ultimate goal: to see great athletes do incredible things with a golf ball. Jason Crook with all the details from night one in Oklahama.

Morning Drive had a good discussion on what made the new format work and preview the eight who will vie for the $150,000 first place prize:

The quarterfinals matchups:

(4) Jason Eslinger (Forney, Texas) vs. (2) Will Hogue (Collierville, Tenn.)
(1) Tim Burke (Orlando, Fla.) vs. (7) Justin Young (Mount Airy, N.C.)
(8) Jeff Gavin (Hamilton, ON, Canada) vs. (10) Jeremy Easterly (Ponte Vedra, Fla.)
(1) Jamie Sadlowski (St. Paul, AB, Canada) vs. (2) Jeff Crittenden (Greensboro, N.C.)
 
To recap: players have 2 minutes, 45 seconds to hit their drives in each round. The player who is trailing in the match will have an opportunity to hit a bonus ball past their opponent’s to try and advance to the next round. Longest drive wins. The fun starts at 9 pm ET.