February 13, 2009--Former RE/MAX world champions Carl Wolter and Clayton Burger headline a group of eleven long drivers awarded special exemptions to the 2009 RE/MAX World Long Drive Championship Finals by Long Drivers of America (LDA). Art Sellinger (pictured), who grew up in nearby Las Vegas, is the founder of the LDA.  The finals hit the world of Mesquite golf, home of six Mesquite golf courses, October 25-30.

Mesquite is a small gaming and golf mecca that offers entertainment, dining, hotels and resorts, and plenty of tantalizing golf. Some of the golf courses in Mesquite are the award-winning Wolf Creek Golf Club and the CasaBlanca Golf Club. Wolter, from Lehighton, Pennsylvania, claimed long drive's most prestigious title in 2002; Burger, from Houston, Texas, was the 2003 winner. The following are the exemptions for all divisions in the premier event in power golf:

Open Division: Carl Wolter, Lehighton, PA; Clayton Burger, Houston, TX; Eric Lastowka, Hanover, MA; Adriaan Van Rensburg, Pretoria, South Africa; Mike Purvine, Oklahoma City, OK. Senior Division (45+): Stew Kirkland, Centralia, IL; Vince Ciurluini, Los Angeles, CA. Super Senior (53+): Mark Rodrigues, Newark, CA; Patrick Dempsey, Sunland, CA; John Kikes, Danville, CA; Rick Barry, Colorado Springs, CO.

Long drivers will be competing for a total purse of $550,000 in 2009. The event will take place from October 25th - 30th at Mesquite Regional Park in Mesquite, Nevada. The open division champion will earn $250,000 for the win.