A Return to Disc Side of Heaven! Top Storylines & How to Watch the Jonesboro Open
The Jonesboro Open returns the Disc Golf Pro Tour to a familiar stop with a deep history behind it. Played at the Disc Side of Heaven Disc Golf Course in Jonesboro, Arkansas, this year marks the tenth edition of the Play It Again Sports Jonesboro Open presented by Westside Discs. With Tournament Director Brad Pietz and his team once again at the helm, Jonesboro is ready to welcome the Tour back to “The Little Piece of Heaven” for another memorable weekend.
ℹ️ Click here to view the 2026 Jonesboro Open Disc Side of Heaven Caddie Book
Designed by Brad Pietz, the course brings together dramatic elevation changes reaching up to 60 feet, sprawling old-growth oaks, and water carries that force constant decision making across a series of risk-reward holes. Over the years, it has produced a long list of memorable champions, from Calvin Heimburg and Ricky Wysocki’s multiple victories to Paige Pierce’s dominant run and Kat Mertsch’s breakthrough first Tour win in her home state.
Here is how you can tune in and follow all the action this weekend…
WEATHER THIS WEEKEND
The 2026 Jonesboro Open in Jonesboro, Arkansas will feature a noticeable cooldown and windy conditions throughout the weekend. Friday will be the warmest day with highs in the mid to upper 80s, SSW winds up to 30 mph, and slightly elevated heat stress. Saturday brings cooler temperatures in the low to mid 70s with WSW winds up to 30 mph and scattered thunderstorms likely, which will be monitored for severe potential. Sunday continues the cooling trend with highs in the upper 60s to low 70s and north winds up to 20 mph. Winds will remain elevated all weekend, shifting from southerly to northerly by Sunday.
For any weather-related updates, delays, or safety information, check the DGPT Event Status Updates page.
JONESBORO OPEN: FPO LOOKAHEAD
- FPO1 Feature Card: Silva Saarinen, Holyn Handley, Kat Mertsch, & Heidi Laine
- FPO2 Feature Card: Catrina Allen, Henna Blomroos, Rebecca Cox, & Macie Velediaz
Here’s a look at the top FPO storylines headed into this weekend…
1️⃣ The Most Unpredictable Stop on Tour?
Jonesboro has built a rare dual identity on tour: it is both the most volatile FPO venue for winning margins and one of the most capable of producing runaway separation when a player gets hot. It has produced five victories by 8+ strokes (the most of any DGPT event), including Kristin Lätt’s 23-stroke runaway in 2025 (A-Tier), while also producing a playoff finish in 2023 that showed its ability to swing in the opposite direction. Disc Side of Heaven has also historically produced some of the highest FPO scoring ever recorded, with two top-10 all-time round ratings and six rounds rated 1034+. It has also hosted two of the four highest-rated FPO events in history (Pierce 2020 at 1024, Lätt 2025 at 1026), reinforcing a pattern where elite play can either separate completely or collapse into a late-round sprint depending on momentum.
2️⃣ Silva Saarinen’s Sustained Surge
Silva Saarinen arrives at Jonesboro as one of the most statistically dominant and historically consistent players in the FPO field, carrying both major-winning momentum and one of the longest active top-10 streaks on tour. Her 2026 season already includes a PDGA Champions Cup victory, adding to a résumé that now features multiple Major titles and a growing reputation for delivering in high-leverage rounds. She enters Jonesboro riding a 16-event consecutive top-10 streak in DGPT and Major events, one of the longest active runs in the sport, and she has already proven she can contend at Disc Side of Heaven with prior podium-level performances.
Combined with her 2025 breakout season that featured multiple wins and a high rate of podium finishes, Saarinen’s profile is that of a player who does not just contend when conditions are ideal, she sustains elite performance regardless of venue. At Jonesboro, that consistency meets a course that can reward separation instantly, making her one of the most dangerous players in the field if she finds early momentum.
3️⃣ Champions Return, Challengers Rise
With a handful of notable players not making the trip to Arkansas, including Missy Gannon, Ohn Scoggins, and Paige Pierce, only two active players in the field have won at Jonesboro: Catrina Allen and Kat Mertsch, putting experience at Disc Side of Heaven in focus against current form. Allen, the 2021 champion, has opened 2026 with two top tens in four events, most recently finishing 12th at the PDGA Champions Cup. Mertsch, the 2023 winner, comes in off a 3rd place finish at the Queen City Classic despite a 20th place result at last week’s Major, and also brings a home-course connection as a Rose Bud, Arkansas native. With most of the field still searching for a win at this venue, the event remains wide open.
4️⃣ Handley’s Hold on the Field
Holyn Handley enters Jonesboro as one of the clear focal points of the FPO season so far, having established herself as the most consistent force on tour through the opening stretch. She leads the DGPT Powerball World Standings after the Champions Cup and has yet to finish outside the podium in 2026, including a victory at the Big Easy Open. Across four events this season, she has posted four podium finishes, continuing a trend that carried over from her 2025 campaign where she frequently found herself in contention at both Elite Series and Major-level events.
Historically, Jonesboro has also been a strong fit for her game, with a prior stretch of top-tier finishes at Disc Side of Heaven, including multiple top-five results and a steady presence near the top of the leaderboard. With the combination of elite form, early-season dominance, and a course that rewards controlled aggression, Handley arrives as both the benchmark for the field and the player everyone is tracking heading into the weekend.
5️⃣ The “Second Chance” Season Arc
Jessica Gurthie continues to lead the 2026 redemption arc after finally snapping her long win drought at the Queen City Classic, turning steady top-ten consistency into another DGPT victory. Catrina Allen also brings a proven Jonesboro résumé, including her 2021 win at Disc Side of Heaven, and enters with strong early-season form and multiple top tens already in 2026. Rebecca Cox fits the same mold as a steady riser, consistently cashing and occasionally pushing into the top tier, waiting for everything to click at a venue where experience often matters as much as raw scoring power.
That “second chances” storyline takes on a new dimension with Eveliina Salonen and Henna Blomroos entering the mix. Salonen arrives as a multi-time Major champion and one of the most dangerous big-event performers in the field, while Blomroos continues to stack Major podiums and remains one of the most consistent contenders without yet locking in a breakthrough Major win. Together, they turn this into more than a veteran resurgence story, it becomes a convergence of proven champions and near-breakthrough elite talent arriving at Jonesboro at a course known for producing both separation and career-defining swings.
JONESBORO OPEN: MPO LOOKAHEAD
- MPO1 Feature Card: Anthony Barela, Calvin Heimburg, Ben Callaway, & Matt Orum
- MPO2 Feature Card: Niklas Anttila, Aaron Gossage, Chris Dickerson, & Ricky Wysocki
Here’s a look at the top MPO storylines headed into this weekend…
1️⃣ Gannon Buhr’s 100th Start Comes Full Circle
Gannon Buhr enters Jonesboro for his 100th M/ES start, and the symmetry is hard to ignore: his first-ever MPO M/ES event was the 2020 Jonesboro Open, where he finished 39th and missed cash by a single stroke. Since that debut, he has built one of the most statistically complete résumés in the sport, including a 41.4% career podium rate in M/ES play (4th all-time behind Wysocki, McBeth, and Climo), 21 total M/ES wins, and 75 career top-10s. In 2026 specifically, he is the only MPO player to podium at every M/ES event played, with finishes of 2nd, 1st, 1st, and 2nd through the first four stops.
Jonesboro, however, remains one of the few unfinished chapters. In five prior starts, he has never reached the podium, with a best finish of 5th in 2022 and only two total top-10s at the event. That contrast, historic overall dominance versus a single persistent gap, sets up a rare milestone moment where the venue that launched his M/ES career now marks his 100th attempt at the level, and potentially one of the last “firsts” left on his résumé.
2️⃣ Calvin Heimburg’s Jonesboro Lock
Calvin Heimburg has turned Jonesboro into one of the most predictable elite results on tour. Across the last five editions of the event as a DGPT Elite Series stop (2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024), he has finished either first or second every year, including three victories (2020, 2022, 2023) and two runner-ups (2021, 2024). No other player has matched that combination of consistency and peak outcome at this venue over that span.
He also enters 2026 with the longest active streak of consecutive seasons with at least one M/ES win (7 straight years from 2019–2025). At a course known for producing both runaway wins and sudden collapses, Heimburg has effectively removed volatility from the equation, Jonesboro has become one of the clearest “he’s in it until the end” stops on the calendar.
3️⃣ Niklas Anttila’s Next Challenge
Niklas Anttila arrives at Jonesboro as a first-time Major champion after winning the 2026 PDGA Champions Cup, becoming the first Finnish MPO player, and first non-American MPO player, to win a Major in the United States. He has also extended a three-year M/ES win streak (2024–2026), one of the longest active streaks in MPO. But Jonesboro presents an immediate contrast. Through three career starts at Disc Side of Heaven, Anttila has averaged finishes outside the top 50 with no top-10s, making it one of the few venues where his elite European-to-global transition has not yet translated. The timing is notable: he arrives as a newly crowned Major winner, but the course has historically been one of his clearest statistical struggles on U.S. soil.
4️⃣ Wysocki’s Proven Ground
Ricky Wysocki returns to Jonesboro as a three-time champion (2017, 2018, 2021) and one of the most successful players in the event’s history, with a 5.67 average finish across six starts. He has historically thrived at Disc Side of Heaven, combining elite scoring ability with proven course success in both winning and podium-level finishes. His 2026 season has already included a win and a runner-up finish, making him one of only two players in the field with multiple podiums this year. However, the broader context remains unchanged: his last Major victory came in 2017, despite consistent contention at the highest level since then. Jonesboro has often been one of his most reliable venues, but also one of the clearest reminders of how long it has been since his last Major breakthrough.
5️⃣ The Jonesboro Reset Button
Anthony Barela and Benjamin Callaway both represent recent Jonesboro breakthrough moments, and both arrive with different versions of momentum. Barela, the 2024 Jonesboro champion, has already shown signs of returning form in 2026 with a recent 3rd-place finish at the Champions Cup after an uneven start to the season. Callaway, winner of the 2025 Jonesboro Open (A-Tier), returns to the site of one of his first high-level breakthroughs after also earning his first DGPT Elite victory at Krokhol last season.
Jonesboro has repeatedly acted as a reset point for players capable of spiking elite form regardless of broader season trends. Past winners have shown the ability to re-enter contention at Disc Side of Heaven even after inconsistent stretches, reinforcing the idea that this course rewards timing as much as consistency.
All the action starts on Friday, April 17th! Tune in to the Disc Golf Network and catch post-pro coverage from JomezPro all weekend.
HOW TO WATCH THE JONESBORO OPEN:
Play it Again Sports Jonesboro Open presented by Westside Discs | PDGA Event Page
Official scores, tee times, PDGA Live scoring, and round ratings can be found on the official event page on PDGA.com.
DISC GOLF NETWORK BROADCAST TIMES
Live daily broadcasts from Friday 4/17 – Sunday 4/19
- FPO Coverage begins with Tournament Central at 9:15 am CDT / 10:15 am EDT / 5:15 pm EEST (Finland)
- MPO Coverage begins with Tournament Central at 3:15 pm CDT / 4:15 pm EDT / 11:15 pm EEST (Finland)
WATCH THE FIRST HOUR FREE ON YOUTUBE THIS YEAR!
As recently announced, thanks to our new partnership with Powerball, fans can watch even more disc golf for free this season! The first hour of every round will stream free on YouTube, and full Round 1 coverage is still available at no cost on Disc Golf Network. Fans can simply create a free account at www.discgolfnetwork.com and select DGN Free from the list of available options to enjoy complete round one coverage without having to enter payment information.
LIVE SCORES AND STATS
Live scores and stats will also be available on both the DGPT website and on PDGA Live all weekend.
WATCH THE PROS IN PERSON!
Welcome to the 2026 Jonesboro Open, a DGPT event at the Disc Side of Heaven Disc Golf Course in Jonesboro, Arkansas. The DGPT and JBO team are excited to invite spectators to the Disc Side of Heaven to watch the top disc golfers in the world compete for a title!
🗓️ Click here to view the full Jonesboro Open event schedule!
Find tickets and details at tickets.dgpt.com or click below to explore options like General Admission Passes, Fairway VIP Passes, Silver VIP Passes, Gold VIP Passes, and more.
DGPT BETTING & DAILY FANTASY GUIDE: GAMING OPPORTUNITIES THIS WEEK
Your picks are waiting! Disc golf fans now have the opportunity to engage in various gaming opportunities, including Daily Fantasy Sports (DFS) and regulated sports wagering. Check out NXTbet’s event analysis for the top bets and picks ahead of the weekend.
Click the button below to see winner odds, expert picks, finishing positions, and more for the 2026 Jonesboro Open!
WHERE TO BET ON DGPT
Fans can visit nxtbets.com/playdgpt to view available gaming opportunities in their location and learn more about how to play DFS & Legal Sports Betting on DGPT events. Regulatory approval at the state level is required to offer gaming in each jurisdiction, and additional states will be added as approvals are secured.
In addition to exploring currently available opportunities, fans can read more about how to wager on the Disc Golf Pro Tour in NXTbets.com’s ultimate how-to guide. This educational resource provides information on how to research and choose a gaming platform or sportsbook, overviews the different kinds of wagering options available, explains how odds work in disc golf, and offers strategies for successful wagering.
Remember: The Disc Golf Pro Tour has strict rules governing who can and cannot bet on professional disc golf. Tour and tournament staff, volunteers, rules officials, and players are explicitly prohibited from participating in wagering. These rules help maintain the integrity of the game and ensure a safe, regulated betting environment for both fans and players. Additionally, the DGPT partners closely with IC360, a leading sports betting integrity and compliance organization that continuously monitors and analyzes betting activity across multiple platforms to detect potential abuse. To learn more about the DGPT’s gambling policy and safeguards, read the official announcement and visit dgpt.com/rules for the full policy.
DFS: Must be 18+ (19+ in AL, NE; 19+ in CO for some games; 21+ in AZ, MA, and VA) and present in a state where Underdog Fantasy operates. Terms apply. Concerned with your play? Call 1-800-MY-RESET or 1-800-GAMBLER or visit www.ncpgambling.org. NY: Call the 24/7 HOPEline at 1-877-8-HOPENY or Text HOPENY (467369).
Sportsbetting: 21+ Please refer to Affiliated Operators’ T&C. Void where prohibited. Gambling problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER
LIVE COVERAGE
Disc Golf Network | Subscribe
The Disc Golf Network (DGN) is the home of live disc golf. The DGN is a subscription streaming and on-demand platform built by the Disc Golf Pro Tour. Covering the world’s best players competing in the sport’s most elite tournaments. For more information on Disc Golf Network offerings, check out this article → Check out the Disc Golf Pro Tour’s 2026 live media plan.
👉 What are the subscription tiers offered by the Disc Golf Network?
👉 Active PDGA members receive a discount on their monthly DGN subscription
👉 How to upgrade or downgrade your Disc Golf Network subscription
POST-PRODUCTION COVERAGE
JomezPro | Subscribe
JomezPro will continue providing free next-day lead card coverage with chase card inclusions for the FPO and MPO divisions at all DGPT (U.S.) and PDGA Pro Major events. At the European Open and the USDGC, post-pro coverage will first be available to DGN Pro subscribers (next-day) before being made available to DGN Standard subscribers and YouTube subscribers later.
