Top 5 Moments From the 2026 Green Mountain Championship

By Nick Quargnenti
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Smugglers’ Notch once again delivered a memorable weekend at one of the most scenic stops on the Disc Golf Pro Tour. The 2026 Discraft Green Mountain Championship presented by Discmania added another chapter to an event filled with playoff victories, comeback finishes, and new champions, with Brewster Ridge and Fox Run providing the perfect backdrop for another week of elite competition. From the first tee to the final putt, Green Mountain lived up to its reputation as one of the sport’s most storied events. 

Here are some of our top moments from the 2026 Green Mountain Championship…

1) Ohn Scoggins Finally Conquers GMC

Ohn Scoggins has finally checked the Green Mountain Championship off her list. After three previous appearances at GMC that all ended with podium finishes, Scoggins returned in 2026 and claimed her first victory at the event. The win is her fourth of the season and 10th career Tour event victory, moving her past Elaine King and into 11th place on the all-time FPO Tour wins list.

Scoggins entered the final round with a three-stroke lead, but the advantage quickly became much less comfortable as the back nine unfolded. A few uncharacteristic C1 putting misses opened the door for Missy Gannon, who steadily closed the gap. By Hole 17, Gannon had taken the lead by one stroke with just two holes remaining. She carried that advantage into Hole 18, but Scoggins answered with a birdie while Gannon settled for par after missing her C1 putt, forcing a playoff.

The playoff carried extra weight after last year’s GMC finale, when Scoggins, Gannon, and Paige Pierce battled in a playoff that ultimately ended with Pierce taking the title. This time, it came down to Scoggins and Gannon, with the players repeating Hole 18 until a winner was determined.

They needed only one repeat. Both players put their drives in similar positions before throwing second shots around the corner toward the basket. Scoggins’ second shot came within a foot of the out-of-bounds line, but left her with a clear look at the basket. Gannon’s third shot sailed a little long, leaving her with an outside-the-circle putt, while Scoggins placed hers at the edge of C1. Gannon could not convert, and Scoggins stepped up and drained her putt to secure the victory.

The win also gives Scoggins back-to-back Tour victories after her win at the LWS Open at Idlewild. Her putting was a major factor throughout the week, as she led the FPO field in birdie percentage at 42%, C1 putting at 95% on 62-for-65, C2 putting at 43% on 9-for-21, and strokes gained putting at 13.21. Scoggins has also led the entire FPO field in C2 putting throughout the 2026 season, and that strength once again showed up when the tournament was on the line.

With the victory, Scoggins has officially secured the No. 1 spot in the FPO DGPT Powerball World Standings and the best starting-stroke advantage for the season-ending Powerball Cup. She now heads to Maple Hill for the MVP Open, where she has competed five times without a finish outside the top 10 and has collected two podiums.

2) Raven Newsom Becomes a Tour Champion

After 93 Tour events, Raven Newsom is finally a Tour champion. Newsom made his Tour debut at the 2018 Ledgestone Open and entered the Green Mountain Championship with seven career top-10 finishes and one podium. That lone podium came earlier this season at the Queen City Classic, where he finished second behind Gannon Buhr. At GMC, Newsom once again found himself battling the world’s No. 1 player, but this time, the result was different as Newsom claimed his first Tour victory at Smugglers’ Notch.

Newsom entered Championship Sunday three strokes behind Albert Tamm, but he quickly erased the deficit with the hot round of the weekend at Fox Run Meadows. His -12 final round earned a 1084 rating, the second-highest rated round of his career behind his 1092-rated opening round at the 2025 Turku Open. The round gave Newsom the score he needed to complete the comeback and secure the biggest victory of his career.

The win also came during a season that has been difficult to predict for Newsom. Before GMC, he had three top-10 finishes across 16 Tour events in 2026 and had missed cash four times. His second-place finish at Queen City was both his best result of the season and the best of his career before this weekend. GMC showed what Newsom can do when he finds his rhythm, as he produced the highest-rated event of his career with a 1068 rating. His previous best was a 1061 at the 2026 Queen City Classic, while his career Tour event rating average sits at 1017 according to StatMando.

Newsom led the field in birdie percentage at 61% and strokes gained tee-to-green at 19.45, numbers that reflect just how far above his usual level he played throughout the weekend. His performance also moved him up 10 spots in the DGPT Powerball World Standings to 13th.

The celebration on Hole 18 added an even more personal moment to an already special day. Newsom’s wife, Sarah, had driven all the way from Maine to surprise him on the 18th green after his victory. After years of chasing his first Tour win, Newsom finally had his wife there to share the moment with him.

The victory guarantees Newsom an automatic spot in the Powerball Cup, although his final position in the standings will still matter. That placement determines his starting-stroke advantage at the season finale, where the Tour’s largest purse in history will be on the line. After waiting 93 Tour events for his first win, Newsom now has one more major opportunity ahead of him to cap off a breakthrough season.

3) Missy Gannon: Another Runner-Up Finish

Missy Gannon came within one putt of her first victory of the 2026 season at the Green Mountain Championship. Entering Championship Sunday four strokes behind Ohn Scoggins, Gannon put together the second-best round of the day at -3 to erase the deficit and force a playoff. With the tournament seemingly in her hands on Hole 18, Gannon had a ~15-foot putt for the win, but the putt hit the band high and sent the two players to a playoff instead.

Gannon still had an opportunity to finish the job in the playoff, but her approach onto the green sailed a little farther than she wanted, leaving her with a difficult putt to extend the battle. Scoggins had a shorter look and converted it, ending Gannon’s run just one hole later. The result was especially tough considering Gannon has led the entire FPO field in C1 putting throughout the 2026 season, making the missed 15-footer on Hole 18 an unusual moment for one of the division’s most reliable putters.

Even with the runner-up finish, Gannon continues to put together one of the most consistent seasons of her career. Across 17 Tour events, she has finished outside the top six only once, an eighth-place finish at the PDGA Champions Cup. She also still holds the longest active cash streak at 98 events. GMC also marked her second consecutive runner-up finish after taking second at the PDGA Pro World Championships. The only thing missing from that stretch is a victory, and Gannon will have one more opportunity at Maple Hill.

Her consistency was again on display throughout the weekend. Gannon led the field in fairways hit at 80%, scrambling at 83%, and reaching C2 in regulation at 68%, while also recording the fewest bogeys in the field with just five despite the challenging courses and abundance of out-of-bounds.

Gannon has also won at least one Tour event every season since 2021, including four wins in 2025 and six in 2024. The MVP Open will be her final opportunity to keep that streak alive, and she will return to Maple Hill as the defending champion after winning the event in both 2024 and 2025.

Gannon should enter the Powerball Cup from fourth place in the DGPT Powerball World Standings, giving her a strong starting position heading into the season finale. Before then, though, she has one more event and one more chance to turn another outstanding performance into a first-place finish.

4) Tamm Leads a Strong Group of MPO Performances

Albert Tamm earned his first podium of 2026 at GMC, finishing third for the second Tour podium of his career. His first came all the way back at the 2019 European Open, also a third-place finish. Tamm entered Championship Sunday with a three-stroke lead after firing the hot round of the weekend at Fox Run Meadows, a -14 that came just two strokes shy of Gannon Buhr’s course record of -16 from 2024. A slower final round allowed Raven Newsom to make the comeback, but Tamm still put together one of the most complete performances of the weekend. He was one of just two players to card three or fewer bogeys, along with Newsom, and led the field in scrambling at 79%.

The result also had major implications for Tamm’s position in the DGPT Powerball World Standings. He jumped 12 spots to 28th, which is currently the final qualifying position for the Powerball Cup. With one event remaining, Tamm now finds himself directly on the cut line heading into Maple Hill.

Gavin Babcock continued what has been a quietly strong 2026 campaign with a tie for fourth. Babcock has five career Tour podiums, with three of those coming this season alone, although he is still searching for his first Tour victory. His latest result moved him up three spots to ninth in the DGPT Powerball World Standings. Babcock also had the best C1 putting percentage in the field at 99%, going 68-for-69.

All eyes were also on 6x World Champion Paul McBeth, who returned to Tour competition after a lengthy absence this season. McBeth opened GMC with the hot round at Brewster Ridge, firing a -12 that he shared with Calvin Heimburg, but he cooled off over the final three rounds and finished tied for 12th. The result still moved him up 11 spots to 55th in the DGPT Powerball World Standings. With one event remaining, McBeth needs a top-four finish at the MVP Open to qualify for the Powerball Cup. His current position is largely a product of the time he has spent away from competition this season, which has limited his opportunities to collect Tour points.

Several other players also put themselves in good position heading into Maple Hill. Niklas Anttila finished sixth, Ezra Robinson took seventh, and Matty Orum tied for fourth for his best result of the past two seasons. Cole Redalen finished tied for ninth and now heads to Maple Hill as the defending MVP Open champion. Silas Schultz also tied for ninth as he continues to build on his World Championship victory, while Calvin Heimburg matched McBeth’s opening-round -12 at Brewster Ridge and finished tied for ninth.

With the MVP Open next on the schedule, these results set up several storylines to watch, from the battle around the Powerball Cup cut line to defending champions and players looking to finish the season with one more standout performance.

5) More Standout FPO Performances at GMC

Catrina Allen continued a strong second half of the season at GMC, earning her fourth Tour event podium of 2026 with a tie for third. After going without a Tour podium in 2025, Allen has now finished in the top six at each of her last six events, including four podiums and a victory at the DGPT Doubles Championship. She led the GMC field in strokes gained from tee-to-green at 26.08 and posted the hot round of the weekend at Fox Run Meadows with a -7. Allen remains seventh in the DGPT Powerball World Standings.

Eveliina Salonen also finished tied for third after entering GMC with consecutive victories at Ledgestone and the PDGA Pro World Championships. Salonen set the tone immediately, opening at Brewster Ridge with a -10, the hot round of the weekend, and remained on the lead card throughout the event. She led the field in parked percentage at 11% and in reaching C1 in regulation at 44%. The result moved Salonen up one spot to fifth in the DGPT Powerball World Standings as she continues to pursue the strongest possible starting-stroke advantage at the Powerball Cup.

Holyn Handley remained in contention through the final round, adding another top-10 finish to a season that includes two Tour victories. While her results have slowed during the back half of the season, Handley has still finished outside the top 10 only once in 18 Tour events. That combination of wins and consistency keeps her third in the DGPT Powerball World Standings.

Anneli Tõugjas-Männiste posted her best finish of the 2026 season with a sixth-place finish. Henna Blomroos, who earned her first Tour victory at Jonesboro earlier this season, finished eighth, while Jessica Gurthie, the Queen City Classic champion, followed in ninth. Paige Pierce rounded out the top 10 with a tie for 10th alongside Emily Weatherman, Matilda Ringbom, and Sintija Klezberga. Pierce entered GMC as the defending champion and earned her fourth top-10 finish of the season, moving three spots to 16th in the DGPT Powerball World Standings and creating additional separation from the FPO top-18 cut line.

Rebecca Don also continued her run of strong finishes, following her third-place result at Worlds with another commendable performance at GMC. Silva Saarinen, meanwhile, finished tied for 17th, her lowest result of the season.

Editor’s Note: Tour events include DGPT Elite Series, DGPT+, DGPT Playoff, and PDGA Pro Major events.

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