Category: Players Meeting

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RESULTS – 🏆NIKLAS ANTTILA & OHN SCOGGINS

In the heart of TX, there’s no better pairing than cowboy hats and frisbees. We’re only 3 events into the season, and it’s shaping up to be the best yet.

The 1st Major’s in 48 hours, and there’s no time to catch your breath. In no particular order, here are the storylines you should remember or may have missed:

1 – They found a way to make a mostly great golf course.

For the Tour, the city of Austin is a perfect location to offer top disc golf. But last year, the obstacle to the match made in heaven was the course.

After an overhaul, Harvey Penick was notably better. For both divisions, the layouts were scorable with stroke swings found on every hole.

This created difficulty, separation, high ratings, and drama around every corner. Unfortunately, the drama was heightened by the poor weather.

Like last season, thunderstorms seem to follow the Tour. And with that unwanted guest, poor tee pad conditions are now a weekly conversation.

Without a standardized surface, players continue to complain and worry about injury. But outside of the things they can’t control, the Tour is doing what they can.

2 – The Tour forgot its green on Sunday.

Another week, another event ended in near darkness. Even with the luck of the Irish, the Tour struck out with thunderstorms, but all this could be changing next year.

During the press conference, Jeff Spring (DGPT CEO) hinted they’re in talks with the PDGA to allow pushed rounds by modifying the rule: “Under no circumstances should players be expected to return on a day following the last day of the regular scheduled rounds.”

This change sounds reasonable, but logistically, it’s a recipe for disaster. Whether it’s this option or more cuts, the weather will continue to be a storyline.

As for a positive change, Des Reading made her debut on live commentary. The 13x Major winner was met with high praise and requests to bring her back.

3 – Welcome to FPO 2024.

When you take a step back, it’s impossible to deny that this current era of FPO is the most competitive. And up even higher is Ohn Scoggins who laid a smackdown on the field.

Not only did she win by the biggest margin since 2021, but she also led in strokes gained tee to green, C2 putting, holes parked, and the highest FPO event rating in PDGA history.

At 42 years old, Scoggins is a fan-favorite inspiration. And now, she has half of the top 8 rated FPO events of all time.

It turns out the recipe for the highest ceiling is flex FH Destroyers and big putts.

4 – “I wanted to win so bad that normal life was difficult.”

The scriptwriters outdid themselves on Sunday.

• Started as a showdown between Discmania’s young stars
• Midday delay shortened MPO to 15 holes
• Kyle Klein attempted a never before 3rd card win
• Lead card pushed darkness
• Niklas Anttila missed a 20-footer with 2 to go, clutched a barely visible 46’ putt on 17, and played 18 perfectly
• His dramatic final putt prevented a glow-round playoff
• History was made for Finland

For 2 years, Anttila made it his one goal to become the 1st MPO Finn to win a DGPT. And with that immense pressure, he went through so many close calls to finally achieve it.

Anttila is him. He’s the Nordic Phenom.

It was one of the most significant days in European disc golf history. And his legendary journey is just starting.

“I’m

away from home like 6 months of the year, every year, and I sacrifice so much for this sport.” – Anttila (JomezPro)

5 – There were too many storylines.

It was a whirlwind weekend that eventually became a sprint. From broken records to sunset shootouts, there was action all over.

Here are some quick hitters:

• Kristin Tattar had a 1000 event rating to continue her consistent march toward 1000 rated
• With 4 months left of her pregnancy, Catrina Allen finished in the Top 10 for the 1st time since the 2023 European Open
• Calvin Heimburg is back and doesn’t need a FH
• Discmania’s three-headed dragon is scary: Anttila (23 years old), Klein (21), & Buhr (18)
• Joey “Buckets” Anderson is no fluke and should’ve been the 2023 Rookie of the Year
• Paul McBeth is showing signs of a return. At 22nd, he finally cashed and flexed some BH distance with a parked eagle on Hole 11

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RESULTS – 🏆GANNON BUHR & KRISTIN TATTAR

Before the event started, many weren’t optimistic about the “upgrades” to historic WACO. But after the final putt, I’d say it lived up to the hype and proved that “Everything’s bigger in TX.”

In no particular order, here are the storylines you should remember or may have missed:

1 – Yin and yang courses: The BEast & Laco

With the BEast mostly unchanged, all eyes were on Lake Waco. Being immediately judged as a ball golf course, its reviews were mixed and the tee pads drew criticism.

While the drop-offs posed an injury risk (it got Uli), the course showed promise and hopes to improve in design and teeing surface. Regardless, the pair of courses plus TX winds still made for a wacky event.

Contrasting styles of golf thrived on either course, and it showed on the leaderboard. Even without the typical finish, there was still drama at the end but with more spectators surrounding the green.

2 – New season, same delays.

It wouldn’t be a Tour event without a few weather delays. Just days before Daylight Savings, Friday’s storms forced MPO to push play into dusk.

Those on the Lead Card were unlucky and had to wake up early to finish 3 holes on Saturday. But they weren’t the only ones penalized over the event.

Just when you thought everyone was aware of the new 5-minute check-in rule, we got reminded one more time. Back at Chess.com, it was KJ USA who got hit with the heavy 2-stroke penalty.

This time it was Ricky Wysocki who was “30 seconds” late and got called out by a cardmate on Friday. While I doubt we’ll see this again, being late to a job happens to the best of us.

3 – Is Kristin Tattar the most sure thing right now?

“There’s nothing to fix if nothing’s broken… So I just keep doing what I’m doing and see where it gets me.” – Tattar (DGN)

Picking up where she left off, Tattar made a statement to the field as she became the back-to-back champ. Her jetlagged, slow start turned into a decided finish with 18 holes still left.

The signs of a leveled-up field went missing. Scoggins made uncharacteristic mistakes while playing “boring golf.” Ella Hansen suffered from early releases. And Hailey King continued to have an aggravated knee.

But even without them pushing her, there’s still a looming goal. Tattar’s getting close to catching the 1000-rated unicorn, and guess what, today is Ratings Update day.

So did she hit 1000? No, but she’s at 999 again. Based on u/KyleSilva’s calculations, if she averages 1001 for the rest of the TX Swing, then she should hit 1000.

4 – A cut above the rest.

Opposite to FPO, it was a rollercoaster Sunday for the men. The few pushing for the win traded mistakes, lucky breaks, and the lead several times.

While it looked to be a battle between Prodigy’s previous figurehead and current, Anttila challenged them with the hot round from Chase. Between them, it was impossible to pick who to root for.

Anttila’s been so close to his 1st DGPT win. Humphries is a fan-favorite underdog and was hit with the heartbreaking news that his uncle passed pre-round. And Buhr’s an 18-year-old phenom.

But in the end, Buhr’s winning experience came through despite the excessive time warning and brutal spit-out. He’s now won as a Discmaniac, and his stats were ice-cold in all the good ways.

5 – Wacky WACO for fan favorites, missed cash, and DNFs.

No matter the changes to this “Plus” event, it was still WACO. All 3 members of BigSexyBarri gave us flashbacks to their good days. Big names missed cash. And players were dropping like flies with DNFs.

With the MPO cutline at the top 45 and FPO at 24, there were many surprising names not playing on Sunday. Here’s a few…

• MPO: Paul McBeth, Simon Lizotte, Isaac Robinson
• FPO: Jenn Allen, Cat Allen, Sarah Hokom

Before the event started, Calvin Heimburg dropped due to his elbow tendinitis and was the 1st domino to fall. After him, 7 more players DNF’d for various reasons including injury, illness, and recovery.

We’ve got a long season ahead of us. And with this being the 2nd event, broken cash streaks and injury DNFs will only continue.

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TOUR STORYLINES – Chess.com Invitational

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RESULTS – 🏆ANTHONY BARELA & EVELIINA SALONEN

The 1st event is in the books. Whether it was the fan-favorite course, the wholesome winners, or the season finally starting, this weekend got many up in their feels.

How can you not be romantic about disc golf?

In no particular order, here are the storylines you should remember or may have missed:

1 – “Olympus has the magic.” – Nate Perkins

Minus All-Stars’ 50 hours of straight rain, this location perfectly contrasted the former Vegas opener. Olympus has teeth and character.

At every turn, it was vast, magical, and seemingly fun to play. It still needs some breaking in, but the design is exactly what many have been hoping for.

• 2 division layouts with both wooded and bomber shots that played closer to par (no double-digit rounds)
• Unique terrain: Classic FL low ceilings mixed with demanding landing zones
• No filler holes with a nail-biter finishing stretch

And this is only a glimpse into the future of the Tour. Championship courses designed/owned by pros will continue to trend upward.

Cale Leiviska’s Preserve Championship is in its 4th year, and Nikko Locastro’s developing his own Houston property. There might even be a 3rd McBeth-designed stop coming soon at Dylan Cease’s other private course – Cactus Rock.

2 – It’s a bug, not a feature.

DGN 2.0 and PDGA Live’s bumpy rollout continued with some highs and lows.

• The MPO commentary trio (Ian, Philo, & Climo) had zero dead air but was well-received
• The video quality was mostly great, PiP on the app worked, and the chess GOAT got some air time
• The premium ad-free version of the broadcast wasn’t actually ad-free
• The PDGA Live scorekeeping and stats were still “rudimentary”. Pros and fans alike missed UDisc’s extra features

Adding fuel to the flames, the entire PDGA app went down for just over an hour on Saturday. Not only were the event’s scores not updating, but every ongoing tournament was down.

Overall, the broadcast and live scores were just fine. Including the Pro Tour, we’re all adjusting to the changes, so fingers crossed these issues continue to be bugs, not features.

3 – Is this FPO’s new normal?

With Kristin Tattar busy at Estonia’s Presidential Reception, it felt like anyone’s game. The storyline revolved around the homies’ battle (Hansen & Handley), but Salonen’s masterful throws and a buttoned-up putter changed things.

Surprising herself, she unlocked a new ceiling and walked it in on Hole 18. Salonen’s unofficial event rating of 1012 becomes the 3rd highest in DGPT FPO history only behind Paige Pierce.

But even as she blew past the field, her closest competitors topped out too…

It feels like we’re set up for even more unique winners than last year. The homies, the Finnish Friends, Big Money Missy, and others might give Tattar a run for her money.

4 – Getting the gorilla off his back.

It was “monkey off your back” weekend on the DGPT, and just hours after Salonen broke her 4-year drought, it was AB’s turn. But before he could hoist the chess board, he had to battle his fellow Arizonan bud – Wysocki.

And boy, did they give us a show. Ballooning his lead to 6 strokes at one point, AB’s confidence was at an all-time high. But Wysocki doesn’t settle for 2nd.

The gap closed, and European Open flashbacks were referenced. But through off-season mental and putting prep, AB’s a different man now.

He clutched up to win his 1st career Major/Elite. He’s a champion now, and the field should be scared cause he’s got the full package.

“It’s just unbelievable. I’ve been waiting my whole life for this, and all the losses are worth it now. This feeling’s amazing.” – Barela (DGPT)

5 – Expectations were tempered.

It’s way too early to draw any real conclusions, but let’s see who beat or lowered expectations.

Those who impressed:

• Gannon Buhr – It was hard to tell he was bagging new discs
• Gavin Rathbun – After becoming sponsor-less, he made the last-minute decision to compete. It paid off with a T6th finish and a couple of grand
• Paige Pierce – Coming in with zero expectations, she finished top 10 in a promising start

Those who didn’t knock all the rust off:

• Paul McBeth – Let’s be real, it wasn’t realistic thinking he could continue his winning ways here. But having to scroll down to 52nd place doesn’t instill lots of confidence in his recovery
• Calvin Heimburg – 2023’s “Final Boss” is dealing with a tweaked elbow that likely led him to miss the top 5 since June

Even as the cream at the top is slowly changing, there’s plenty of time for pros to get up to speed. There’s a long season ahead.

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