Post Event Pulse: Top Five Moments from the Northwest Disc Golf Championship
1) Buhr Continues His DGPT+ Event Success
Gannon Buhr continued his dominance in the Pacific Northwest and at DGPT+ events, shooting -33 to secure the win. This marks Buhr’s second DGPT win of the season, his fifth straight DGPT+ victory, and his second time winning on these courses as he won the Portland Open and Beaver State Fling in 2024.
The win didn’t come without challenges for Gannon Buhr, who battled the field at Milo McIver with an impressive bogey-free -12 in Friday’s round 2 to take the lead going into the weekend.
Saturday, however, brought early struggles. Playing at Glendoveer, Buhr managed just -2 through the front nine. But he found his rhythm on the back, closing out the round at -7 and finishing the day tied with Anthony Barela at -27.
Championship Sunday turned into a sprint to the finish. Buhr held off Kyle Klein, who fired a -10 to leap into the mix and ultimately tie for second. Trailing through the first half of the final round, Buhr flipped the switch down the stretch, birdieing seven of the last nine holes—including clutch makes on 17 and 18—to edge out Barela and Klein by a single stroke.
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Gannon Buhr didn’t need crazy rounds over the weekend—his steady play and strong finish were more than enough. Buhr led the field in scoring at 54% birdies, was second in reaching C1 and C2 in regulation at 47% and 74% respectively, and gained 19.8 strokes tee to green over the course of the tournament.
2) Anthony Barela’s Exceptional Moving Day
Anthony Barela delivered a statement performance on moving day, shooting a -12 course record at Glendoveer East to jump up eight spots on the leaderboard into a tie for first. He was on fire from C2, raining in six step putt birdies and showing precision off the tee hitting 95% fairways. Even his lone bogey nearly turned into a highlight as he skipped off the cage for eagle before going out of bounds. Barela birdied 10 of the first 11 holes and went a perfect 7-for-7 from C1X on the day, capping off one of the most dominant rounds of the weekend.
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Unfortunately for Barela, his momentum from Saturday’s round three didn’t translate to Championship Sunday. Holding a two-stroke lead heading into the 18th hole, a short tee shot followed by a missed approach to the right side of the green led to a heartbreaking two-stroke swing—and ultimately, the loss.
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3) Veterans Post Strong Finishes
Disc golf’s seasoned pros came to play this week, with five players finishing inside the top 25. Team Captains led the charge—Paul Ulibarri had a scorching start to the tournament and ended in a tie for 14th at -21. Oregonian Nate Sexton finished tied for 10th, shooting -23 under par in his first DGPT Standard/Elite Series event of the season.
Ulibarri posted the hot round on day one, shooting -11 at Milo McIver to take a three-stroke lead. He followed that up with a solid -6 in round 2, staying in the mix and going into the weekend tied for third. Uli’s hot start didn’t quite carry over to Glendoveer. He shot -4 on Saturday’s round 3 and even par on Championship Sunday to end his tournament tied for 14th.
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Sexton, on the other hand, leaned on his trademark consistency. Sexton stayed consistent with rounds of -6 and -5 at Milo, placing him in a tie for 16th going into the final stretch.
Sexton went on to shoot -7 on Saturday and -5 on Sunday to climb six spots into the top ten. This marked Uli’s best DGPT finish since placing 7th at Krokhol Open last year, while Sexton notched his best tournament since back-to-back top 10 finishes at WACO, where he finished 10th and 9th.
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Other notable finishes came from Bradley Williams (-22, T12), Matt Bell (-18, 8th), and Dustin Keegan (-16, T22).
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4) Holyn Handley Bests the Field
Holyn Handley used a strong weekend at Glendoveer, shooting a remarkable -33 to rush past the competition and secure the win by seven strokes. This marks Handley’s third DGPT win of the season and her second victory in the past four events.
Handley’s bogey free, -10 performance on Saturday’s round 3 gave her a four shot lead over Paige Pierce heading into Championship Sunday. Handley kept up her momentum with an impressive -8 final round, highlighted by a birdie stretch from holes 10 through 15 to secure the win.
Handley led the field in birdie percentage at 54%, reaching both C1 in regulation (58%) and C2 in regulation (76%), and strokes gained from the tee to green at 24.25.
Handley’s victory adds to an outstanding season that includes three wins, six podiums, eight top-10s, and an average finishing finish of 2.5 across eight starts.
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5) Taylor Chocek Secures Her First DGPT Top Ten Finish
Former Oregon Track Athlete Taylor Chocek shined at her hometown tournament, shooting -15 to finish tied for seventh—her best finish at a DGPT event.
Chocek, known for her impressive distance off the tee, shot an impressive -6 carding eight birdies on Saturday’s round 3 at Glendoveer. Taylor followed this up with a -4 final round to move up two spots into a tie for seventh.
Chocek finished the tournament ranked in the top five in birdie percentage at 36%, placed in the top-10 for reaching C2 in regulation at 67%, and gained 12.29 strokes tee to green against the field.
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