Contact: MSU Athletic Media Relations
Photo by: Courtesy of hailstate.com
Starkville, Miss.--In front of a worldwide audience on the Golf Channel, former Mississippi State baseball player Jeff Flagg captured the 2014 RE/MAX World Drive Championship Tuesday night [Nov. 4] at the Las Vegas Paiute Golf Resort. The Pelham, Alabama, native was awarded with a championship belt and a $250,000 check.
"I never played golf really serious; baseball was always No. 1," Flagg told the Associated Press. "I was always athletic enough to play when I was young and got the chance. I just don't think the mindset changes. When baseball got done, it was one of those things where I had to find something to keep my competitive juices going."
Competing against seven other finalists, the 29-year-old former Diamond Dawg drove it 365 yards to defeat Jeff Crittenden in the finals by a mere 13 inches. The margin of victory was the shortest in the history of the RE/MAX World Drive Championship competition.
"If there is anything I learned from baseball, it is that you can't get too high or too low until it's a done deal," Flagg said.
Flagg played at Dudy Noble Field from 2006-08, before being drafted in the 27th round of the 2008 MLB Draft by the New York Mets. Flagg's college teammate, Connor Powers (2007-10), was also a finalist in the event.
The RE/MAX World Long Drive Championship identifies the longest golfer on earth and offers sports fans a chance to witness players who generate mammoth swing speeds of 150 mph and ball speeds of 220 mph. In comparison, the highest average swing speed on the PGA TOUR last season was 124 mph generated by Bubba Watson. His fastest swing of the year was 127 mph. The golf equipment used in Long Drive competition conforms to regulations for all golfers set forth by the United States Golf Association.
"It's been a heck of a run the last two and a half years," Flagg said.
Flagg has learned from instructor Tony Luczak, director of golf at the MSU Golf Course. MSU's Institute of Golf is his home course for instruction and swing training.