It’s a return to the Canyons for Championship Sunday. 4th of July brought out the festive red, white, and blue for the competitors hungry for the crown and title of Clash Champion in Dellwood’s inaugural DGPT silver Series Event. The race to the finish number one was tight in both MPO and FPO, and it was anybody’s game to steal a few strokes and move up.
In the FPO division, Kristin Tattar consistently held the number one spot all weekend, despite her low C1X putting in rounds 1 and 2. However in the final round, Tattar finished with a 100% C1X putting rate. In a battle for the top all weekend, Tattar started off with a pair of bogey 5’s, as Sarah Gilpin moved closer to the top, counting on her 86% C1X putting to try and cut the gap.
Holly Finley was hot on their heels from the chase card and she was 90% C1X putting for the weekend. Gilpin and Finley had a back and forth battle for the 2nd place, and it came down to hole 18. Finley finished her round at -2, +3 on the weekend. That placed Gilpin and Finley in a tie for 2nd going into the final hole. Gilpin stepped up to the tee and laced the 342 foot par with with the capacity crowd watching. She lands on the uphill slope in C2, converting the birdie on the final hole, and grabbing solo 2nd place for the weekend by one stroke over Holly Finley. Kristin Tattar finishes as your Clash at the Canyon’s FPO champion besting the field by 3 strokes.
Kristin Tattar wins her first DGPT event of the season as she managed to hold onto the lead she generated in rounds 1 and 2.
FPO Final Round Notes
- Kristin Tattar led in strokes gained Tee to Green at 20.16
- Holly Finley and Sarah Gilpin led in strokes gained putting. 10.28 and 9.08 respectively.
- Sarah Gilpin led the field in scramble rate of 57%; she now has 2 top finishes in Silver Series events this year.
- Christine Jennings had the least OB strokes on the weekend, with 1.
- Kristin Tattar had only birdie for hole 16, the most difficult on the course, playing at a 4.86 AVG.
Over in the MPO Division, a dramatic storyline gave the sold out crowd a weekend to remember. On the lead card, Chandler Fry and Terry Rothlisberger were battling for the top, with Rothlisberger shooting a bogey free -10 round. Fry started off as the day’s leader, but dropped down to third place with a -6, carding 3 bogeys on the day. Connor O’Reilly starting on lead card, dropped down to 9th place with a -6, going OB 3 times this round.
The fireworks were starting up on the chase card with Dan Schlitter and Gannon Buhr. Buhr has shot consistent all weekend, and he ended the round with 8 straight birdies. Local fan favorite, Dan Schlitter came out of round 1 with -12 and round 2 with a -5, so he had room for improvement in this final round. Schlitter, was applying pressure to Rothlisberger all round, with Dan’s only bogey coming in on the 500 ft hole 2.
On hole 17, Schlitter had the lead by 1 and had a chance to put it out of reach for Rothlisberger but Dan missed to the left inside circle 1. Schlitter, still leads by one. Rotherlisberger’s drive lands in circle 2, and he must convert the birdie for a chance at the title. Terry smashes the 49 foot putt and we are tied at -27 going into the final hole.
Just moments later Dan Schlitter walked up to hole 18, threw his drive into C1 and carded his birdie 2 for solo first place at -28. Now heading into the final hole, Terry Rothlisberger must convert on the 2nd easiest hole on the course and get the birdie to force a playoff. Rothlisberger, hits his drive right off the front barricade, giving him a 10 foot putt to force the playoff. Both players are all tied up at -28.
The playoff layout will be starting at hole 1, a 600 foot shot with OB water at the bottom of the hill, and the need to get the drive through all the guardian trees. The capacity crowd was watching their local pro, Dan Schlitter takes the box first. He crushes a laser backhand down the fairway and all the way to the bottom of the hill, staying clean and avoiding the OB creek.
Terry Rothlisberger, is now up with his shot and lines up a backhand. He hyzers out a bit, and lands closer to the top of the hill with a lot of trees to contend with. Rothlisberger takes his 2nd shot lands near the bottom, and still we have advantage Schlitter.
Dan has a relatively open up and down to play for par and his upshot lands just outside the gravel near the basket. Rothlisberger’s 3rd shot is one he must make to force another hole, but it’s well guarded by trees and still quite a bit of distance. He catches some branches on a tree, and it looks like Schlitter will be taking home the crown. Schlitter, lays up his 10 foot putt, and taps in for the win.
A highly emotional win for Dan Schlitter, and his first Disc Golf Pro Tour victory. The fan favorite takes home the crown, and we close out the event with the sold out crowd, chanting his name. Good Schlitter indeed.
“This is my biggest win to date and it’s not even close, this is monumental. Schlitter is going to be a household name after this win.” -Dan Schlitter, Clash of the Canyons Champion
Dan Schlitter wins the DGPT Clash at the Canyons in the 1 hole playoff.
MPO Final Round Notes
- Chandler Fry led the MPO with a 59% birdie rate, and a 100% C1X putting rate
- Dan Schlitter led the field in Circle 1 in Regulation at 60%.
- Dan Schlitter gained the most strokes from Tee to Green with 15.67
The Disc Golf Pro Tour picks up in Des Moines, Iowa for the Des Moines Challenge, presented by Discraft on July 9th – 11th. Find out more information here, or tune in to the Disc Golf Network to watch the return to an Elite Series event.
