Tour Storylines – US Women’s Disc Golf Championships
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RESULTS – 🏆MISSY GANNON
The 1st Major is in the books and so is the Tour’s 2-week stint in Austin, TX. With all its offerings, this frisbee hub is slowly turning into an iconic Tour stop.
In no particular order, here are the storylines you should remember or may have missed:
1 – “Baby Maple Hill in the making” – Brian Earhart
This venue is a disc golfer’s dream. Besides the championship course, it has the Austin Beerworks Brewery, restaurant, pro shop, putting course, kids play area, and plenty of parking.
It’s a complete package, and similarities were drawn between it and Maple Hill. As for the Scramble Sprinkle Valley course, it’s considered the hardest in the area.
It’s one of those tracks where if you’re dialed, then every hole can be birdied. But if you’re lacking confidence, then bogeys come easy and often.
On paper, that sounds like the perfect modern-day FPO course. But when paired with high stakes, winds, and backups, the 4+ hour rounds got to the competitors.
“It’s a tough event to watch. It’s emotional. It’s stressful. A lot of the girls out there were in tears. I saw more tears than I’ve ever seen.” – Bradley Williams (caddied for Lykke Lorentzen)
But it wouldn’t have the capital M if the most deserving didn’t persevere to win. Mint Discs and Austin Beerworks deserve Major props for their hard work to get this property ready in less than half a year.
The potential will come through as the Texas-sized mulch becomes green grass. And with time, Sprinkle Valley deserves to become a regular Tour stop.
2 – Big Money Missy → Major Money Missy
While it feels like she’s been here before, this was actually Missy Gannon’s 1st Major win. Since 2021, she’s found success at big 4-round events: Throw Pink, 2x Ledgestone, & 2x DGPT Champ.
When it comes down to it, Gannon knows how to win when the stakes and money are at their highest. And this time around, it took a 1004 event rating to bring home the $12k.
As for 2nd place, the opportunities were there for Eveliina Salonen to grab her 2nd Major (1st at 2018 Konopiště). But her confidence was gone with the wind, and we didn’t get the battle we were expecting.
“I’m just so disappointed in how I played today. I tried to fight, but it wasn’t enough. And I don’t know how I played so bad today.” – Salonen (post-final round)
After 4 challenging days, Salonen wasn’t the only competitor feeling the mental fatigue. Ali Smith was frustrated with her own short-range lapses.
3 – Who outlasted or fell behind during this marathon stretch?
With only 3 days between events, players had to either push through or succumb to this stretch of high competition. Those who succeeded:
3rd/ Valerie Mandujano found her best finish since her Idlewild win in Aug 2023.
5th/ If you follow Heidi Laine’s socials, then you know she’s been working hard in the off-season. She’ll soon be a lead card mainstay, especially during the Europe Swing.
14th/ This was Sai Ananda’s 1st event of the season. She’s taking a small step back from full-time touring, but expect her to be a contender at every West Coast stop.
And those who underperformed by fans’ standards:
6th/ Kristin Tattar struggled to find her normal flow state. Her inability to dominate the field made fans question what was going on.
Besides battling back/neck pain for the past two events, Tattar revealed that she woke up with swollen ankles and a fever on Sunday. She has 5 more weekends of events before a planned break.
Now that a repeat Grand Slam is out of the question, Tattar should be able to play more freely. But can she perform her best during this exhaustive stretch?
From ant bites (@kristin.tattar)
4 – 21 Major winners were crowned across the record field of 346 women.
In FP40, Stephanie Vincent successfully battled against defending back-to-back champ Jen Allen. They played the same course as FPO and her winning score of +13 would’ve put her in 26th.
Vincent’s an Austin local who co-founded the Wildflower Tour last year. This women-only tour is responsible for introducing and culminating hundreds of women to Texas’s scene.
In FP50, Juliana Korver bested Des Reading by 15 strokes to win her 3rd USWDGC and 12th overall PDGA Major title. Last year the results were flipped, and these two will continue to battle for years to come.
FPO Wins (@DGPT)
