STENSON WINS ABU DHABI
SHOOT-OUT WITH DRIVE
OF 710 YARDS AT AIRPORT

London Golf Show-sponsored Paul Slater lost out to Ryder Cup hero Henrik Stenson when the two went head-to-head in a long drive shoot-out in Abu Dhabi today.
Stenson set a new Asian long-drive record with a prodigious effort of 710 yards to beat world-record holder Slater when the two went up against each other, driving off the wing of an Etihad Airways 767 jet at Abu Dhabi International Airport, in an event to promote the Abu Dhabi golf championship.
They were joined by five amateurs who had won the right to compete in competitions in various golf magazines across the world.
Slater, from Warrington, could manage "only" 640 yards as the rain lashed down, making the wing very slippery underfoot.
Stenson’s new Asian best is still some way short of Slater’s world best of 884 yards, set last April at NMSI Wroughton, in Wiltshire.
Jay Tyson, the operations director for Slater’s sponsor, the London Golf Show, accompanied the world-record holder out to the Middle East.
He said: “Slates hit the ball well enough but everybody apart from Henrik seemed to go off to the left. Henrik’s ball went straight down the middle and stayed straight. I suppose it emphasises the subtle differences between the pros and the Tour pros.”
Slater returns to the UK later this week and will be demonstrating his long-driving skills – and offering some tips – at the London Golf Show at ExCeL from April 26-29.
+Just in case you are wondering how they are able to drive the ball so far ... the obvious explanation is that they are not driving on to grass but the tarmac runways down which a golf ball can bounce for miles, well, almost!