Countdown to American Century Championship: Attempt to set Women’s Long Drive at Elevation record

The establishment of a world record of a Women’s Longest Drive at Elevation will be made during next week's American Century Championship celebrity golf tournament in South Lake Tahoe.

Champion long ball artists Heather LeMaster and Blair O’Neal will be making the attempt prior to the 27th annual tournament on July 19 at Edgewood Tahoe.

The long drive competition will be measured, supervised and conducted under the direction of American Century Championship tournament director Michael Milthorpe. Guinness World Book of Records has no current category for long drives at an elevation above 6,000 feet. Therefore, the longest drive of the competition will be submitted for consideration with evidence of authenticity.

The concept was presented to the tournament by LeMaster, the 2013 Women’s World Long Drive champion. LeMaster, an accomplished college golfer at California State University, Sacramento, is a native of Sacramento, and is familiar with the elevation at Lake Tahoe (6,200 feet) where drives travel farther in the thinner air. After winning in 2013, LeMaster finished second in the Women’s World Long Drive competition in both 2014 and 2015 and is playing in the American Century Championship celebrity tournament for the first time this year. LeMaster’s winning drive in the World Long Drive competition in 2013 at Mesquite, NV., was 306 yards.

O’Neal is also playing for the first time as part of the largest contingent of women players in the history of the tournament. A Sports Illustrated model, Golf Channel host and former LPGA Symetra Tour player, she is a two time NCAA long drive champion from her years with the women’s golf team at Arizona State University. The other three women in the field are two-time Olympic Gold Medalist Abby Wambach and NHL on NBC host Kathryn Tappen, both first timers, Golf Channel Morning Drive host Lisa Cornwell returns for 2016. O’Neal’s longest drive in winning her NCAA titles was 295 yards.

The 54-hole American Century Championship is televised nationally on NBC and NBCSN, featuring a celebrity field of 90-plus stars competing for the $600,000 in prize money. Other prominent names expected at Lake Tahoe are Charles Barkley, Aaron Rodgers, Justin Timberlake, Andre Iguodala, Steve Young, Emmitt Smith, Carson Palmer, Alex Smith, Steve Spurrier, Marvin Lewis, Roger Clemens, Jerry Rice, Ray Romano, Larry the Cable Guy, Billy Bush and Alfonso Ribiero.
In addition to high-stakes competition, the tournament will raise money for the Stowers Institute for Medical Research, a non-profit, basic biomedical research organization dedicated to improving human health by studying the fundamental processes of life. Regional Lake Tahoe non-profits also benefit from the tournament, which has raised over $4 million for charity.