​Three days before Discraft's Portland Open presented by Bevel Brewing the crew slotted to film the FPO post-produced coverage of the event informed the DGPT that they would not be able to attend the event. After reaching out to media crews that would be on-site for the event, a decision was made to move a local independent film crew which was initially slotted to film MPO3 over to film FPO1 for days two and three of the event. We expect the FPO coverage from Portland to be edited and released before Ledgestone. 

We are waiting to hear back from the crew to determine if the coverage will be released on the DGPT YouTube page or theirs. As the coverage is edited and uploaded, we will keep you posted.

As is everyone, we are sad about this situation and are doing our best to fix everything within our power. The DGPT strives to provide MPO1 & 2 and FPO1 coverage of every event. While many of the post-production crews finalized at DGPT events for the rest of the season, we will be releasing an updated schedule in the next few weeks to ensure we provide this coverage at every stop. 

Oh dang. That was some stupid good disc golf. We started the final round of the 2019 Portland Open presented by Discraft and Bevel Craft Brewing with Simon Lizotte and James Conrad tied for first at 18 under par. By the time they had finished hole 12, Simon was in second and James was in a tied sixth. At that very moment, Eagle McMahon, from the chase card had birdied hole 15, making things look like Lizotte was chasing McMahon now. That is just a snapshot of how close things were because if the two crush boys battling wasn’t enough for you, let’s just throw in a charging Drew Gibson. Coming down the final stretch it was between the three of them. By the time the chase card finished their round, Eagle and Drew were tied for first and Simon was only two back with three to play. I’ll tell you this now but you have to promise to keep reading or at least go watch. Drew won, Eagle took second, Simon took third, and a bunch of other amazing guys were right behind them. Now, let’s climb the podium.
 
Simon Lizotte had the distinct honor of starting the round tied for first. But as we already mentioned by hole 12, he was already trailing. But when you know the shape of the window you have to hit, and you're Simon, you hit it. On the tee of 16, he had three holes left to play and every other card was done. He had two throws to make up for the tie. But birdie out and he wins. A strong drive followed by a less than ideal approach left him a just outside the circle putt for birdie on the elevated pin. Just before he could take his putt, Kevin Jones had to slam one home…and then get what must have been the worst splash out of the day – dead center pole, in the meat of the chains, on the ground. There's nothing like a nasty chain out to make you doubt your putt, but Simon squeaked it in anyways.
 
These last two holes deserve their own breakdown. Simon had the box on hole 17, but his drive left him short and left. The approach didn’t get him that much closer to a birdie either. Without that birdie, the best he could now do is tie Gibson and McMahon. His third toss was a keen sidearm roller that got him as close as it could, but birdie was all but out of the question. As Nate Doss called, it this last shot here might as well be the “shot of the tournament” for Lizotte. His par was an essential step on his way to his part in the playoff. His Sky God II more than delivered, leaving him an easy putt for par and one last chance at his part in the playoff. On to the tee of 18 for his last chance - birdie or third.
 
18 played the fifth easiest on the day so it was more than within his capabilities. Compared to yesterday, he made the correction. Keeping his drive far enough right rather than too far inside on the left. Alas, Simon problems, he had overshot the landing zone if you want that pure and clean straight look at the green. This time it was a real problem though. For his second shot, he chose the high hyzer on the right but landed it just off the left. It actually bounced off the Pro Tour wall to stay in bounds leaving him a lengthy putt for birdie. Nevermind birdie – make the putt. Playoff, miss it, third. 50’. Up. It was high enough. But only for a moment before it hit the Pro Tour tower below the elevated basket and he lost his chance at the playoffs. That’s the show we got to watch on live today, but that chase card had a few things to say.
 

Just go rewind the live coverage. If you really don’t have time, here’s the update on the 2019 inaugural edition of the Portland Open presented by Discraft and Bevel Craft Brewing. Paige Pierce just barely eked out a win over Catrina Allen, finishing the event at a total 10 under par to Catrina's 8. The two were only one apart on 18, and only a few inches on Catrina's upshot kept her from a better chance at keeping the pressure on. Just a handful back there was a battle for third at even to par, the result: A tie between Lisa Fajkus and Rebecca Cox. Let’s get into it.
 
Paige Pierce takes Catrina Allen by six throws on hole 11 alone.  There were only two birdies on that basket all weekend, and both belong to Pierce. Pierce didn’t really have a single hole that proved her nemesis like 11 did for Catrina though. Both times she birdied it she did so from the back reaches of circle 2 after playing a high route over the trees on her approach. Perhaps her most triumphant moment though was when she slew a dragon that had rebuked her all weekend. After two pars on hole 13, she finished it off by throwing 16’ past the basket…that was 440’ from the tee. Eagle 2! There were a good number of birdies on 13, but on this eagle, Pierce was alone again.
 
If it hadn’t already become clear as she started the back nine. Paige was hitting the gas. Then, on her approach to 15’s basket, her hyzer was way too high and drifted out of bounds. I’m sure Catrina was licking her chops at the prospect of gaining a throw on Pierce with her par, but Paige had something to say. Stepping up quickly she let loose an arrow of 70’ putt right into the chains. Three holes left to play with a two throw lead over Catrina could be giving Paige a sniff of safety but a lot could go wrong in these last three holes. All of which are playing over par on average. 16 brought birdies for them both, but 17 brought drama. Pierce had to putt first, leaving her approach shorter than Catrina. Taking a circle 2 putt from the fringe of the rough an airball was exactly what she didn’t need, leaving her about 25 feet for par, while Catrina was still waiting to take her birdie putt.
 
On that 18th hole, Catrina had the box, but Paige had the lead. Catrina's drive looked like t might leak left, but instead, it leaked back in bounds after tickling the left side rough. Paige would need to match it or better, she played it plenty wide and that kept it plenty safe. Catrina’s turn first at what would end up being the shot of the tournament. Her second shot was only a few inches too high and the leaves slowed her shot down just enough to leave her with a lengthy look from circle 2. Advantage Paige and Paige took advantage of the moment too. She went to the forehand for what felt like the first time in a while, scooting her approach just a bit closer than Catrina. 
 
There were 60' left in the event for Catrina Allen. If she wanted to tie, she would have to make it. Paige, only a bit closer claimed her well-earned lay-up for par and brought her to a third big victory in 2019. It started at Nick Hyde, she kept it going at Jonesboro, and after three second-place finishes in a row, Paige Pierce found her second DGPT win of the season. That should give a squeaker of a lead to Pierce for the season right now. They both have two wins and two second-place finishes, but Paige has a third-place finish while Catrina has a fourth. To anyone who thinks Paige is stumbling this year, the reality is Catrina is charging like she hasn't in years and Paige is just barely fending her off. That's exactly what we want to see!

Round two of Discraft's Portland Open presented by Bevel Brewing is in the books and with the perfect weather came near perfect scores. As the clouds broke and the sun emerged at the Blue Lake Disc Golf Course, the pros were ready to make moves after rough scoring conditions during day one.

From yesterday's feature card to the 8th card today Eagle McMahon carded one of the hot rounds today finishing at -12 par for the round. Eagle kept a clean card but struggled with his circle two putting, landing a lone circle two putt on hole 13 to grab the birdie. His 33% C2 rate for the day put him in 26th place for the tournament in circle two putting. His 100% C1x and scramble rates were what kept him in the hunt, and he will be looking to make moves within the top ten on the final day tomorrow. 

Moving up the leaderboard and staying well within the cash today was Northwest Pacific local Kyle Crabtree. Kyle had a 75% C2 putting rate today to help keep him in the hunt and throw double digits under par. Had he not two-putted on holes 10 and 11 he would have been two more throws under par and in the mix to potentially make it into a top ten finish on championship Sunday. Kyle did move up 35 spots today to finish T21. He has shown he has what it takes to make moves at Blue Lake and will be one you want to follow on Udisc tomorrow to see what moves he makes.

Also in double digits under par was James Conrad. Playing bogey-free golf, James did have three OB strokes that if he had back would put him squarely in the lead but instead he shares the lead with Simon Lizotte going into the final round. Uniquely enough, James only had one circle two putt all day, while he missed the putt, his C1 and scramble percentages helped to elevate him to his tie for first place. He could be hunting down his second Disc Golf Pro Tour victory tomorrow.

The story of the day however, came from card 11 which featured Kevin Jones. Kevin had started his previous three rounds (stretching back into Santa Cruz) with a bogey or worse on his opening two holes. When he carded two birdies back-to-back to start the round, you could tell it was going to be a great day. Kevin's first par was on hole twelve where he went OB on the drive and saved the par with a C2 putt from 60ft. After an errant drive on 17, Kevin was unable to scramble and ended up with his only bogey of the day. With sixteen birdies and a -15, course record-setting showing he moved up 35 spots into a tie for third place going into the final round. 

The lead card tomorrow will feature Simon Lizotte and James Conrad who are tied for the lead and Nate Sexton and Kevin Jones who are tied in third place. You will not want to miss the action on the final day as there are still several players with a chance at bringing home the inaugural Portland Open victory. The live coverage will start at 6 PM ET. Let your friends know and tune in to watch!

Yes. That is what we love to see. Drama at the top and all the way through the field. Paige Pierce stretched out a decent lead of four throws over Catrina Allen, but by the end of round two of Discraft’s Portland Open, the gap had closed to only two between the two. Pierce has the honors of leading the tournament as they head into round 3. A number of players further down the leaderboard made big leaps on moving day today though. Rebecca Cox jumped 2 places to finish the day in third and tied with Madison Walker at even to par. Walker jumped further than any other player today shooting the hot round of 4 under par, leap-frogging six places to, honestly, keep her within reach of the lead. That means we've got a lead card all within 5 of each other heading into the final round.
 
​Compared to her rival, Paige Pierce rode the rollercoaster today. By the end of the third hole, she was two over par, but she didn't fall any further after that. She finished the front nine two over par and proceed to clean another even 9 on the back. Something was definitely different about today than day one though. Throwing 5 worse than yesterday, most of her issues can be attributed to baskets 3 and 15 – or more precisely the out-of-bounds hazards on the way there. Pierce tripled the number of OB penalties she took today over yesterday. Not only that but her putting slumped as well, making 77% of her C1X putts day one, she only made 60% on day 2. But enough of the bad news, we can't talk about Paige Pierce today and not talk about her turkey on holes 9, 10, and 11. Gobble, Gobble! Hole 11 played the hardest on the day and more than an entire throw over par at +1.04.  Her birdie from the very edges of Circle 1 makes her the only person to birdie it all weekend. At the end of the day, despite being four behind the hot round she’s still in first and you just argue with those results.

​Catrina Allen, in comparison to Pierce, had quite a slow day. In the first 10 holes, she carded 9 pars and a single birdie. At first glance, you might think the struggle was Circle 1X at 25%. But she only took four putts at that range and missed three of them. Don't get me wrong, we expect better than that from Catrina, but when a sample size is that small in a single round you know the source of the problem is somewhere else. She even took less OB penalties than Pierce but still finished two behind her on the day and for the event thus far. The real thorn in her side (besides all the ones in the thick rough!) was the 4 throw swing on hole 11 between her and Pierce. You don't have to be a fanatic to know that seven got to her when she carded a bogey on 12 right after it. Finishing a round at 2 over par could have been disastrous had Pierce put together anything better than she did. Fortunately for Allen, she's still totally in the hunt only two back from our leader.
 
Madison Walker more than earned her spot on tomorrow’s lead card by shooting the hot round at 4 under par. Only walker, Pierce and Cox connected for birdies on a third of the course today. She found her trouble early on holes 1 and 4, the hit a clean streak for 14 holes in a row after that. The only player to play any longer portion of this course clean is the same person who’s tied with Walker for third, Rebecca Cox. Walker is definitely helping herself out by leading the field in Circle 2 makes at 3 out of 9. That’s three more throws she could be behind Cox.
 
Speaking of Rebecca Cox, she may not have jumped six spots to tie Walker for third but she is the player to have shot the longest clean streak of the entire field from hole 2 through hole 16, 15 total holes in a row. In that stretch, she also tied for most birdies on the day carding 6 out of 15. Holes 1 and 17 were the only blemishes, but sadly they were also double blemishes, or double-bogeys to be more precise. She's also second to Catrina Allen on parked shots for birdie on this monster course – an impressive feat on its own. Rebecca Cox may round at the lead card for tomorrow's lead round but that doesn't mean her position is safe. The entire chase card is closer to her than she is to the lead.
 
We’ve still got 18 baskets left to chain here at Discraft’s Portland Open and this final round will likely prove to be a great show. Pierce has the two throw lead over Allen, and Walker and Cox are only three behind her. After our leader shot 5 under the first day and then five worse the next day, there’s no reason that the same can’t happen again. Those chalk picks on Grip6 Pick6 might not have been the best play! Don’t miss any of this action tomorrow, I know I won’t because this is exactly why we watch. No matter how far under or over the pack may be, all I want to see is a battle and that’s what we’ll see tomorrow.
 

Article written by Staff Writer & Editor Zach Podhorzer.

This afternoon rain was the story of the game at Blue Lake Disc Golf Course for the MPO division at Discraft's Portland Open presented by Bevel Brewing. Rain was in the forecast all week and thankfully as the day progressed the chances of rain moved further back into the afternoon. Alas, the clouds could wait no longer, and about an hour before the live card began, rain started to fall from the sky. 

On the 10 AM Jomez Pro filmed card Michael Johansen, Nate Sexton, and Alex Russell all had solid rounds after missing most of the rain. Michael Johansen was able to retain the hot score of -9 for most of the afternoon. Sexton and Alex were close behind with -8 rounds. You can watch for the full round coverage on the Jomez Productions channel tomorrow afternoon.

After the 10 AM tee time, other hot rounds were carded by Simon Lizotte and James Proctor. There is one striking aspect of the scorecards of those who made it to the top of the leaderboard after day one, and that is their performance on the back nine of the course. Every player in the top five currently carded a birdie on 18. Additionally, each of these players also carded at least two other birdies on the back nine. While it is easy to score on the front nine of the course, in fact, most players are putting together impressive birdie strings on the front nine, it is difficult to stay below par on the back nine. However, for the players in the hunt here at the Portland Open, they were able to card the birdies which makes all the difference.

While having a close field (four players T5 and three players T2), there is one player who sits at the top of the leaderboard, shooting double digits under par. This player is currently 5th in DGPT standings but is a player who has not received much screen time leading up to this event. Discraft's own Adam Hammes is in the lead after day one carding an impressive -10. Adam started the day behind the gun, landing two bogeys to start. He would then proceed to birdie eight holes in a row to finish the front nine -7. He was one of seventeen players to card the birdie on seventeen, finishing the back nine with five birdies and no bogeys. Adam was helped to the top of the leaderboard by his 89% 1st in Fairway percentage. He is also sitting 3rd in C2 putts, hitting 75% of his putts from circle two on the day. Making shots where it counted in the rain was, and now he will have the opportunity to make a statement playing with a lead tomorrow during round two. 

You can tune in to watch lead card coverage of Discraft's Portland Open presented by Bevel Brewing tomorrow starting at 6 PM ET. With better weather in the forecast, it will be a broadcast that you will not want to miss. 

Discraft’s Portland Open round one is in the books and unsurprisingly the classic remains contemporary – Paige Pierce and Catrina Allen have already started to peel away from the rest of the pack but they can’t shake each other quite yet. These two contemporary legends are locked in a tie at 5 under par. Seriously, how many times has this actually happened? After them, you have to jump 5 throws back to see Lisa Fajkus and Paige Bjerkaas tied in third place even to par. There's a ton of birdies available out at Blue Lake but there are also still five baskets that have yet to be birdied. Hopefully, we'll get to see some of those on tomorrow's lead card live footage. But for now, let's get into today. 

Not only has Catrina Allen been on fire lately but her putt was absolutely on fire inside Circle 1 today, missing only 1 out of 11 putts inside the 10-meter ring. The first third of her day was the slowest, after a bogey 5 on hole 3, she carded her first of 7 total birdies today. After that, she started cruising on a steady stream of birdies and pars. Including a 49’ jumper on 15 to save par when she really needed it to stay neck-and-neck with Pierce who was just a few baskets ahead of her carving a path towards the hot score of the day. Step by step, Catrina's score crept lower and lower just as Pierce's did until she found stumbled on tee and fairway of 17. An early tree on her drive left her in less than ideal position. Her second throw wasn’t much better, finding yet another tree. There’s a reason that hole 17 played fourth hardest on the day. No big deal. Catrina closed out the day with her second Circle 2 putt of the day on the elevated 18th basket for a 38’ birdie to tie Pierce for first. Speaking of Paige Pierce…
 
Paige absolutely caught fire in the middle of the course. Starting on hole six, she carded 5 birdies in a row, including a 60’  birdie 4 on the 825’ par 5 hole 7. The only other player to streak that hot was Missy Gannon who’s currently tied for 14th. Pierce was clearly feeling it as she just kept that rolling for three more holes. Another bogey on hole 12 was worked off with a birdie on hole 15. Pierce wrapped up the day with 2 pars and final birdie on 18. Earning her half-ownership of the lead with Catrina Allen. We didn't get to see Pierce's round live but a quick look at her stats on UDiscLive will show a number of 1st place ribbons. It'll be great to see how she shreds Blue Lake tomorrow on the lead card. Especially since it will be yet again in a fierce battle with Catrina Allen.

Joining Paige and Catrina on tomorrow’s lead card and tied for third will be Lisa Fajkus and 2018 World Champion Paige Bjerkaas. Lisa played well from the tee and fairway but did not take full advantage on the green, making 60% of her Circle 1X putts compared to her season average of 64% and not collecting a single Circle 2 Putt. Capitalizing on the opportunities she had on baskets 4, 5, 17, and 18 amounts to the deficit she’ll face tomorrow when she tries to catch the leader. Bjerkaas fared better on the green at 78% in Circle 1X but she tested that twice as much as Fajkus taking a total 9 from Circle 1X to Fajkus’ 5. Fajkus did find one more birdie than Bjerkaas, but she also found one more bogey. They'll be a fantastic battle to watch on tomorrow's lead card and with any luck, they'll motivate each other enough to chase down Pierce and Allen.
 
The Chase card isn’t far back though. Rebecca Cox finished round one 2 over par but also carded four birdies. Hole 11 looks to be a good early bet for her nemesis this weekend with her double-bogey 6. But she's got hole 9 on lock, parking her upshot for a birdie 3 on the 515' par 4. Jessica Weese, at 3 over par, just couldn’t find enough birdies out there today, in part due to missing four putts inside Circle 1. She’s followed by Vanessa Van Dyken rode the roller coaster today, carding 5 birdies but suffering 8 bogey throws. Five of those were the result of OB penalties. Her day had started so hot though with a 60’ make to be the only player to birdied basket #1. Behind them in a tie for 9th is Madison Walker and Hailey King who both found 3 birdies but lost 7 back on bogeys or worse.
 
Blue Lake Disc Golf Course is working out just fine I’d say. We’ve got a bit of the standard separation we’ve been seeing lately, but that doesn’t mean the 9 players who are within 5 of third place aren’t going to do everything they can to make a move on our leaders. Don’t get me wrong, I also can’t wait to watch Paige and Catrina start Round 2 of Discraft’s Portland Open tied at 5 under. That’s a recipe for a legend if I’ve ever seen one. Make sure you don’t miss the action as things continue this afternoon for MPO and tomorrow at noon EST for Round 2. Or if you’ve got the weather get out there and play!

This article written by Staff Writer and Editor Zach Podhorzer.

​The year was 2014, for context consider these facts: 1. Ricky Wysocki played for Prodigy, 2. Paul McBeth played for Innova, and 3. "Royals" by Lorde was inescapable. 4. The PDGA World Championships were held in Portland, OR. After a grueling 6 rounds and semi-finals, McBeth and Wysocki were only _ apart. Now go watch it before you keep reading. It's a legendary battle that represents an era we are all but saying goodbye to.
 
Now that you've had a taste of what Blue Lake could offer the best of the best back then let's fast-forward to the present. It’s Friday night of Memorial Weekend in 2019 and tomorrow morning will start the 2019 inaugural edition of Discraft’s Portland Open. A quick look at the tournament details and you’ll notice things are already different than 5 years ago. First, we’re going to play three straight rounds on Blue Lake Disc Golf Course, and it is still monstrously long. Second, Paul McBeth will not be in attendance. Good thing we have one of the most competitive MPO fields in history to take his place and challenge Ricky. On top of those differences, so much has changed in disc golf, and the ceiling is even higher than it was before. For example, In 2014, Wysocki shot the hot round on Blue Lake at 11 under par. I’ll be curious to see where that would put him this weekend though.  So who are the biggest threats?

​After four events are concluded we have a good sense of who’s playing the best on the Pro Tour. A quick look at that list will yield plenty of names you’ve seen on plenty of signature discs, but you’ll also see a few names you’re not as familiar with as unless you’re a fanatic. It’s also worth noting that Paul McBeth is the only person in the top 10 for DGPT Points not attending, but if anyone can skip it I guess it’s the guy who has 50 points on the rest of the field. Made additionally interesting by the fact that Paul is the guy who won the last time the bulk of the touring field ran this track. But you don’t get to be a 4x World Champ by making bad decisions, so I’m just going to trust Paul on this one.
 
Moving on down the leaderboard, the name that stands out to me the most has to be Eagle McMahon who won a National Tour the last time he was in Oregon. The guy might even be thinking of this weekend as a great warm-up win before he goes on to defend that Beaver State Fling title in two weeks. He'll have to beat Ricky though, who since the Texas States has been on a bit of a tear of his own – earning 4 podium finishes in a row, including his win at our most recent DGPT event, the San Francisco Open. Eagle McMahon’s distance game will, no doubt, give him a competitive edge over Ricky, maybe a few Eagle eagles, you know? Would love to see that! But Ricky can balance that out on the generally wide open and relatively flat greens of Blue Lake DGC.
 
Speaking of lanky guys, just because he hasn’t been scoring his wins on the Pro Tour, we really can’t forget about Calvin Heimburg the current leader of the PDGA's National Tour. But only by a literal couple of points over Eagle. His season has had a few cold spells but overall he's scoring great on a lot of different courses. In particular, though he's playing well on open courses lined with OB (GBO, SFO, Master's). And the wind certainly hasn't been a problem for his cannon either. He's smooth as butter putting form also slams home a firm putt, which helps too. Currently, 8th in Pro Tour points a win, or at least a higher finish could catapult him into the upper echelons of disc golf glory – scoring big on more than one tour at a time.
 
There's a lot of guys who could turn it on for this weekend and beat the best, well technically, all but the very best - since papa Paul's away it's time for everyone to play. But seriously, we have seen so many winners. Paul McBeth and Catrina Allen are the only people to win twice on the Pro Tour this season. Off the Pro Tour, we're seeing a ton of new winners too. And if you look closely, you'll see a lot of names rotating on and off the leaderboard at every event. The only way to find out what happens is to watch it live starting tomorrow. Don't miss a minute! 

Article written by Staff Writer & Editor Zach Podhorzer.

Live Broadcasts on YouTube and more. With special thanks to Dynamic Discs, the Portland Open presented by Bevel Brewing and Discraft will be available on more live streaming platforms than any live broadcast in the history of disc golf.

The live broadcast will be available on YouTube as well as DiscGolfNetwork.tv, Roku, AppleTV, FireTV, and Chromecast. While the OTT outlets make it very easy to watch on the big screen, we are happy to work with Dynamic Discs to make the YouTube broadcast possible again as well.

So if you love watching live disc golf on YouTube, go buy a DD disc and feel confident about the purchase because its a DD disc. And if you want a different disc, their Buy Back Program has you covered.
​
Get ready to watch one of the most exciting events of the season! Blue Lake Park is gorgeous, challenging, and ready for game time. Are you? It's time to watch!

​Paige Pierce may still be the highest rated player in the Open Women division, but Catrina Allen is on an absolute tear. Her play at the last few events may even be enough to close the ratings gap between these two, but we'll just have to wait and see. That's interesting and all but how do you write a preview about a new event on the tour? Well, we'll take a look at the top players' seasons and take a trip back in time to the 2014 PDGA Worlds. There are currently 20 women signed up for the event and all of the names you'd expect to be there are on that list. And if you compare the 2019 Pro Tour Standings Top Ten to the Registration for the Portland Open you’ll see that everyone except Paige Bjerkaas will be in attendance.

​With four events in the books and six to go, Discraft’s Portland Open will round out the figurative front nine of our season. As it is on the course, taking a look at the scorecard halfway through is a helpful habit. It’ll come as no surprise to any well-informed fan that Catrina Allen and Paige Pierce are the current owners of the #1 and #2 spots respectively. What’s a little surprising to me is just how far ahead they are compared to the rest of the field. Paige Bjerkaas, currently in third should, ostensibly, have the best chance at catching the two experienced phenoms but she’s actually almost a full 100 points behind Catrina. That’s not an easy deficit to overcome, it’s like being down by 9 with 9 to go. Sure, it’s possible, but when you’re trailing by as many as you have left to play, it doesn’t matter how well you play, your competition is going to have to make some mistakes.
 
Catrina Allen and Paige Pierce didn’t make it to their legendary statuses without a few mistakes along the way. Sure Catrina stumbled behind Paige for a season or two. And yes, you could say Paige has struggled to find her stride in 2019. But it’s all relative and that’s what the leaderboard shows us. But 84.5 Tour Points behind Paige there is staunch competition for third. As of right now, Paige Bjerkaas, Rebecca Cox, Sarah Hokom, and Jessica Weese are all within 15 Tour Points of one another. Now that’s more like being separated by one on the last hole, this could totally happen. You can rest assured it will. Don't be surprised to see a rearrangement of those four after this next event. If only because she will be missing this one, while the other three will all be gaining so long as they finish the event, Bjerkaas will likely fall temporarily behind….to another close collection.
 
While the six players I’ve mentioned already have played all four events, the four player’s rounding out the top 10 (with the exception of Kona Star Panis) have only played three. Madison Walker, Vanessa Van Dyken, Kona Star Panis, and Callie McMorran are all within 20 of one another and a firm reminder to the battle for third ahead that the only thing separating them is one event. And that’s totally fine, a player’s Pro Tour standing at the end of the season doesn’t expect players to play all 10, and if they do they get to drop some of their worse showings, two to be precise. So while catching the likes of Allen and Pierce is unlikely without them slipping, that tangle for third will look a bit messier the closer we get to the end of the season.
 
But enough about the season already, what’s going to happen this weekend? Well, honestly, I don’t know. In fact, I have very little to go on except how their seasons are going. The last time we have any recorded rounds from a touring pro field at Blue Lake Disc Golf Course was the 2014 Worlds…where Catrina won by two over Pierce after six full rounds, semi-finals, and a finals. Dang, Worlds used to be so long! Not only did Catrina beat out a 40 player field for the title, but she also started it off with a hot round at, you guessed it, Blue Lake Disc Golf Course. Sadly, as is true of many herstorical FPO rounds, there is no footage of that round! And it’s the only round they played at Blue Lake, and it was on the short tees. This time around, they will play 13 holes from the Blue Lake longs, and 5 holes from the shorts. They’ll also play holes 7 & 14 (traditionally par 4s) as a par 5s. Despite all those changes, after you do the math, they will still be playing a monstrously long par 66 track three days in a row. Predictably, that will favor our season leaders, Allen and Pierce.

​But don’t count out the likes of Sarah Hokom though. We can’t overlook her 2013 US Women’s Disc Golf Championship win played here on Blue Lake. She bested Catrina by only two throws after four laps. But of course, as you might have guessed, there’s no easy to find footage of that either. Hokom won the 2019 Pro Tour Season and Tour Championship last year, so she’s all but due for her first win against the full touring field. What better place to do just that than the site of your first USWDGC victory?
 
It’s easy to get in the mentality that the only game worth following is the best game around. I encourage you to think out of that spectator box though. Allen and Pierce’s battle this weekend will be a brilliant display of fireworks, no doubt, but don’t let those bright lights blind you from the rest of the awesome golf being played. The FPO division is swelling, and while few have been able to hang out with the legends for long as of yet, that time is quickly coming to a close. I don’t know much about statistics, but my intuitive emotions based read on the FPO skill level bell curve says we’re going to see yesterday’s outliers become the new normal sooner than you might think. Who knows, it all could all start right here at Discraft’s Portland Open this weekend. Don’t miss a minute!

This article written by Staff Editor & Writer Zach Podhorzer.

Much like our FPO final round this morning, on the MPO side of the 2019 AblsoluteXtracts presents the San Francisco Open driven by Innova saw a generous cushion for our leader, and a leader that was no stranger to winning. Ricky Wysocki, started the day with five over second place and would stretch it out just one more to finish at a total 33 under par while Paul McBeth chased him down as best he could to 27 under par. Tied for third at 25 under par is Eagle McMahon and Calvin Heimburg. With two names from the chase card making the top three and two names from the lead card falling below the top five we had a lot of movement today. Let's get into as much of it as we can!

​When you’re averaging over 1070 rate golf like Ricky was this weekend, no wonder the first hole looked easy for him. Just outside of parked. The second hole was an understandable par. But his first “hiccup” was a missed circle 2 putt in the wide open green of hole 3. How dare he miss. We count on him for perfect putts! It’s okay though, he started the day with a healthy lead which let him card 5 pars in the first six holes. That was enough though, Rick then went 7 under in the next six holes. The bonus in there being an eagle on the 1188’ beast of a par 5, hole 10. After taking a quick break from crushing things on hole 13 and 14, Rick decided to wrap everything with three birdies and a customary winner’s par on 18, he took home the win by a total 6 throws over Paul McBeth in second. He had yet to pick up a big win against the entire top field so this has to feel fantastic. True to form he led the field in Parked, Circle 2 in Regulation, Scramble, and C1X putting. No wonder the guy won, he only got a single bogey (hole 15 in round 2) and he carded two eagles, hole 10 in round 3 and hole 9 in round 1. Congrats on the huge win Ricky.

While the rest of the lead card was concerned with trying to catch Ricky it turned out none of them would be the one who was the closest at the end of the round. Lurking in the eucalyptus and redwood groves Gleneagles is ripe territory for a McBeast. No doubt disappointed to not start the day on the lead card at an event he won last year, Paul made his presence known anyways. He was tied for second after he finished four holes.  But that was still five behind Ricky who had no intentions of making a mistake. 13 birdies and a single bogey and Paul’s final round tied Ricky’s course record from Round 2. Not too shabby but not nearly enough to catch Rick. Fortunately, they will get to battle again in just a week as their tours continue to the Master's Cup.
 
Paul wasn’t the only person to score the hot round today, he was joined by two newer faces on the tour, Calvin Heimburg, and Adam Hammes. Both of them jumped 6 spots to finishing in 3rd and 5th respectively. It’s wild that both of them didn’t card a single bogey on a windy day at a course as tough as Gleneagles. Neither of them even when OB once today! Heimburg even led the field in birdies carding a total 33 birdies, It was really just a sloppy roller coaster ride in Round 2 that held him back from climbing higher. With those scores, Heimburg continues to remind us that he is a new staple at the top of the pack and Hammes gives us the first tastes of what he is capable of.
 
With some big rounds on the chase card and third card, we saw some big upsets for most of the lead card. Sure Ricky held on to his lead and picked up the wind, but of the three other gangle-monsters on the card only one clung on to a top 4 spot. Falling only a single spot from where he started the day to finish tied for third with Calvin Heimburg, Eagle McMahon just couldn't get the boosters going. His 8 under is tentatively 1051 rated final round is only 1 rating point over his rating of 1050. Even for one of the top three rated players in the world average just isn't good enough to win when other folks are shooting 30 rating points over theirs. It was a story of mediocrity in terms of Eagle’s standards as he performed well in every category but just not well enough.
 
Though Simon Lizotte and Anthony Barela struggled the most on the lead card, shooting only 5 under par, they both were the most entertaining to watch. Barela’s roller on hole 1 left him a legit eagle bid. He blew it past but took his time and smashed the lengthy putt for birdie. At the very start, his game looked like he might catch fire and give us a show. If Barela had a chance he was going to need that putt to keep working. Instead, he cooled off pretty much immediately, finishing the front nine at only one under and well behind our leader and eventual winner. In fact, scoring that slow on the front nine dropped Barela back a handful of spots he was never able to take back, finishing the event tied for sixth with Simon Lizotte, Avery Jenkins, and Kevin Jones, the latter two leaping quite a few spots to get there.
 
Simon couldn't decide to wear his hat forward or backward, but either way, it just seemed like he was either hitting lines perfectly or all but missing them completely. A few shaky putts didn't help either. Then the weirdest thing happened on hole 16. Hefting up a huge hyzer to play the crosswind into the island green, his drive bounced in bounds and took a slow meandering roll towards the OB wall…where it gently stopped, coming to rest almost perfectly vertical on the wall. Just below his disc, a thin string that his disc was somehow in between that string and the wall it was leaning on. They even discussed if the dome on his driver was big enough to be in bounds. But ultimately, the card had to make the call and they called it out. It was a bad break on top of a round that was only tough because it fell short of keeping the pressure on Rick. Despite all of that though, no one parked it more often than Simon, so there's that bud!
 
Wow, there was so much great play today there is no way that I can possibly convey it all to you in this article. As always I recommend checking out UDisc, watching the live coverage when you can, and watching the post-production as well. Between Nate and Val on the live commentary, the audio check-ins we get with players during the round, and so much more you can learn a ton about how to play the game better just by watching. But don't forget to get out there and play! No better way to improve than that. Make sure you stay tuned for our next event, the Portland Open in just two short weeks!
 

Article written by Staff Writer and Editor Zach Podhorzer.

If you were lucky enough to be at Gleneagles this morning for the AbosluteXtracts presents the 2019 San Francisco Open driven by Innova final round then you could pretty much find a tight battle on every card right from bottom to the top. Amidst the scramble one player strode ahead of the rest starting a couple of holes into round 2 – that player is, of course, Catrina Allen, your 2019 champion. Her 5 under par round today brought her to a total 18 under par and 5 lower than last year's winner Sarah Hokom. Trailing Allen by 9 was Paige Pierce at 9 under par. In third at 2 under par was Madison Walker and in a tie for fourth was Paige Bjerkaas and Sarah Hokom. Let’s get into it!
 
For Paige Pierce and Catrina Allen, the story got interesting on hole 10. Third time's a charm for Paige Pierce as she finally picks up the only eagle of the weekend bringing her to only two behind Catrina. They had started the day 5 apart, only one hole into the back 9 that gap was closed to two with eight to go. You'd think that a huge eagle would get her already slow round going but in this case, Pierce's putting performance was the problem. After canning a circle's edge putt for eagle, Pierce would two-putt away three birdie opportunities in a row. Her drive at 15's raised basket was high from the start, coasting just over the basket it was a beautiful shot. So beautiful it mesmerized our cameraman. He may have stopped her drive short of how far it could have been, but it still left her a long uphill putt at a raised pin. Four back, she had to run it. The height was good but the line was right…well, I mean wrong. Anyways, Catrina wasn’t going to birdie from her drives, so Paige’s come-back putt was a real confidence boost after a shaky time on the green. Alas, those missed opportunities did not go unpunished.
 
In this six-hole stretch of par 3s on the back 9, there is a priority on birdies and while Paige didn’t seem to get the memo, Catrina Allen did. She picked up 2 birdies in the first 4 and then stepped up to the tee on the island hole 16. Parked. Not much more to say about it because that’s when the tournament truly became hers. Pierce's string of pars was capped off with a double-bogey 5 on 16. That's a three throw swing, bringing the total gap to 7 with 2 to go. You don't collect all the accolades that Catrina has by choking that bad though. 17 was the easiest hole on the course today and 18 is the toughest. Even though she didn't need them to win Catrina carded another birdie and a par to finish with another hot round and the win. She also led the field in 5 out of 8 stats that UDisc tracks for us. Just look at this report card!

While Paige Pierce was trying to chase down Catrina Allen, there was another battle raging behind them. Paige Bjerkaas, Madison Walker, and Sarah Hokom started the day in that order, all within three throws of one another. That gap would never grow larger as each of them jostled their way through the day for third place. As it turned out, their fates were all decided on hole 18. How does it get better than that? Hokom birdied 17 to tie Bjerkaas who parred. Walker birdied, to pull away from them both by 1. Playing on the chase card, Hokom finished the 18th hole first with a drop-in par. Bjerkaas’s drive didn't get a full flight, holding a line too tight to the right and missing out on the fade. Madison Walker's drive, on the other hand, got a full flex in. a short lay-up in front of the ball golf green made for easy work of a second approach and drop-in par.
 
Madison’s weekend will be characterized in her memory and all of ours by some staggeringly good putts and some awesome saves. She was the best scrambler on the lead card through the event and the second best out of the whole field thanks in part to 12 total makes from the outside edges of Circle 1. She also tied Catrina Allen and Hannah McBeth for first place in OB rate at only .056%. I think Nate and Val put it best though. This might not have been a course that you would have picked Madison for your Grip6 Pick6 but she played phenomenally, setting her up perfectly for this swing through the Northwest.
 
A little further down the leaderboard, there was still some fantastic rounds going on too. Jessica Weese was the today's biggest mover, leap-frogging 3 players to finish in sixth. Elaine King retained her scramble royalty status, finishing at 68%. Charlotte Towle from San Diego may have had some trouble on the tee and fairway but her 79% C1X putting makes her the best putter of the weekend. From downtown though, Rebecca Cox won the Circle 2 Putting percentages but Paige Pierced actually canned more with a total of 5. And of course on this episode of Gleneagles Eagle Watch let's just daydream our way back to Paige Pierce's on the 965' hole 10. Dang, that was cool.
 
Alrighty then. That wraps up our FPO coverage of AbsoluteXtracts presents the 2019 San Francisco Open drive by Innova but don’t think we won’t be back soon. In just two short weeks the Disc Golf Pro Tour continues in Oregon for the Portland Open. You don’t want to miss this so make sure you subscribe and then get out there and play some disc golf already! Oh, but come back in a few hours for MPO. Thanks!
 
This article was written by Staff Writer & Editor Zach Podhorzer.

​The MPO division came out shooting hot looking to advance on a day where the wind was almost a non-factor for the midafternoon rounds. The wind would pick up late in the day which led to players laying up their putts and playing conservative on their drives. 

In possibly the story of the weekend, James Conrad carded back-to-back eagles on holes nine and ten and then followed it up with a two-putt bogey after going OB on the 8th easiest hole coming in at only 302ft. He would take another OB bogey on island hole 16 before finishing his round at -9 in a tie for 5th place.  

Chandler Fry was also able to move up the leaderboard carding a -9 on the day. He started the round slowly with a few pars but was able to avoid the OBs and carry a 100% scramble rate to move up 20 spots into a tie for 13th

Eagle McMahon also had a banner day carding an -10, no OBs, and a less than stellar 20% C2 putting rate. He was able to move up into a tie for second place with teammate Simon Lizotte and yesterday's leader Anthony Barela. He will be in prime position to make a push for the win on championship Sunday. 

Ricky Wysocki was the one who stole the show today. He started the day one off the lead in a tie for second place. On the front nine, he would only card two pars to finish -7 at the turn. Hole 10 things turned as Ricky went OB off the tee. It would take a few minutes to make a ruling though as he needed to tie two strings together to string between the OB stakes to tell. He would end up taking a par on the hole. Ricky's only other OB would be in the sand bunker on hole 15. Ricky finished the day -12 which helped him to move five throws ahead of the field.

Last year's champion Paul McBeth quietly held the course and is in position to have a longshot at a repeat tomorrow. He went -7 on the day which kept him solidly in 5th place on the chase card. He is seven throws away from first, but as we have seen with previous rounds, anything can happen when Paul McBeth is on a tear.  

Make plans to tune in and watch the final round action live starting at 6:30 PM ET tomorrow.

​In 2018, Sarah Hokom won the San Francisco Open with a total score of 13 under after three rounds. At the 2019 AbosluteXtracts presents the San Francisco Open driven by Innova Catrina is already there after just two rounds of play. Throwing a new course record, 10 under par 56. Nate Doss called it “the round of the 2019 season so far.” No surprise, not far behind Catrina is Paige Pierce at 8 under par, followed by yesterday’s leader, Paige Bjerkaas, at 2 under par. And rounding out the lead card again will be Madison Walker who’s even scored today will keep her at 1 under par. The lead card wasn’t the only shuffle for today though, as there were some big movers further down the leaderboard. Let’s get into it!

​If there is one word to describe Catrina Allen today it is confidence. She strode across Gleneagles confident in her abilities and her game plan. She even laid up for par on 13 while holding a snack. She might have been sneaking in a snack, but she was absolutely feasting on birdies. She found her putt and kept her great play from the tees and fairways going too. As the front nine was getting bloody with bogeys and worse for the rest of the lead card Catrina was on the steady train. Although Pierce jumped out to an early lead as Bjerkaas struggled, Allen simply stepped into first, capitalizing on when Pierce made her first mistake on hole six. By the end of the front nine, Catrina was 5 under par and peeling away from the pack. In the new zeitgeist of island holes in the final stretch, Allen shirked trouble and carded yet another birdie – 8 down with 2 to play. 17 may be the easiest hole of the day but hole 18 is the second hardest. Catrina played 17 textbook and stepped up the last tee of the day with the box (which by the way she held for most of the day). Lace the drive, park the upshot, tap in the birdie. That's how you play one of the hardest holes of the day I guess...well it is when you just shot a course record to leap clear of the pack with one round left. Congrats Catrina, that was an incredible show!
 
Matching her start in Round 1, Paige Pierce was 3 under through the first 5 holes. And then she had to tango with hole 6 again. In round 1 she had to stomach a double bogey. In round 2 she sadly had a second serving of the same. After Pierce’s second risky shot over OB on hole 6 didn’t pay off she collected herself, finished the hole, and played out a solid round. Honestly, Paige Pierce really only had one bad hole. Sure there were some missed putts and an errant toss here or there, but on the hole, she played great. If it weren’t for Catrina Allen’s 10 under round, she’d be winning. She may be five back from Catrina but at this point, she's the only one with a chance of catching our leader. If herstory is any indication, Pierce can definitely turn on the boosters and try to chase Allen down…that is if Catrina ever slows down.
 
Paige Bjerkaas started the day on top of the box, but by hole 2 she was at the back. She would hang out there until Paige Pierce’s double bogey on six earned her those honors. But it wouldn’t be long before she was back there again.  After a 5 over front nine with only pars and bogeys, she did turn things around on the back. Carding three birdies and six pars, Bjerkaas cleaned up some of her mess, finishing the round at 2 over par. She clung to a spot on the lead card with an overall 2 under par for the event. Just check out her scorecard from UDisc:

​Madison Walker must have liked yesterday's roller coaster rides because she jumped right back in line this morning. Her lowest low (or highest high depending on how you feel about roller coasters I guess…) had to be the triple-bogey 7 on hole 6. But her highest highs have to be the pair of 60' makes – one for birdie on hole 9 and another on the island 16 to save par after an OB drive – oooo, or he forehand smash on 15 with the dagger-like putt for birdie from circle's edge! Despite the rough spots she had some highlight plays. If she can just clean those bad decisions and miscues up she could give Bjerkaas a run for the last spot on the podium.
 
Besides the fact that Catrina Allen has a monopoly on all the throwing stats, there are a few people still sneaking into our stats leaderboards. The only person hitting more fairways than Catrina is last year's champ, Sarah Hokom who jumped 2 spots to a tie for fifth at 2 over par with Erika Stinchcomb (who leaped four spots today with a 3 under round). Elaine King is the current Scramble Queen. Cleaning up her errors 70% of the time as earned her solo 8th and a spot on the chase card tomorrow. Despite her rocky scores at the beginning of the round, Paige Bjerkaas is currently the best putter at the event, making 80% of her C1X putting. Raining down putts from further though is Rebecca Cox who’s 33% rate from Circle 2 helped her jump 3 spots to solo 7th. Sadly, even with less wind and scoring conditions being ideal (see Catrina Allen…) we didn’t see any aces, eagles or throw-ins today but plenty of holes gave up birdies pars and more from downtown.
 
Make sure you don’t miss the final round of the 2019 AbsoluteXtracts presents the San Francisco driven by Innova tomorrow at Noon EST. Things could get a little bit wet tomorrow with some chance of rain but I doubt that will get too many people cold with the fire these players are throwing up and down this mountain dream of a course. Until then, get out and enjoy the weather before you tune back in for the MPO live at 6:30 EST.
 
This article was written by Staff Writer & Editor Zach Podhorzer.
 

​Dang, I just love seeing the hot round trickle lower and lower over the course of the day. With 133 players a lot of different folks get to hold the top spot throughout the day. But with feature cards and touring pros in the mix, the best rounds often come towards the end of the day.  That's exactly what happened here at the 2019 San Francisco Open presented by AbsoluteXtracts and driven by Innova. Plenty of rounds had plenty of potential but at the end of the day, four folks get a spot on the lead card, no more, no less. After a very long round one we are being rewarded with a lead car where Ricky Wysocki is the small arm. I guess Gleneagles favors the bombers. In Sole possession of first place is Anthony Barela at 11 under par. In a three-way tie for second is Simon Lizotte, Ricky Wysocki, and Calvin Heimburg. This is gonna be good.

Anthony Barela was the first player to arrive in the clubhouse double digits under par, but he wouldn’t be the last. True to form, Barela made his money from the tee and the fairway and followed up with a solid performance on the green. Oh and the kid cashed 13 birdies, he just had to clean up two bogeys. One from a missed par putt on 8 and the other from an OB penalty on 16. The only stat that Barela is leading in is birdies, but hey sometimes that’s the only thing that matters. Nice shooting, Barela!
 
How many eagles do you think Simon got today? Wrong. Trick question, the answer was actually zero. Weird, right? Okay so you know he shot a 10 under, how many OB penalties do you think he took? If we were playing the Price is Right you’re probably right because he carded that 10 down with four OB penalties. That was at least double the amount of OB shots than any player in the top 10 carded, and the guy it’s only double of was Paul McBeth. I know, weird again. The answer to all of this lies oddly enough on the green. Having never parked a single shot, Simon was perfect inside Circle 1 and hit 3 out of 5 Circle 2 Putts. When the spin putt is on, the spin putt is on. Not even 20 MPH plus winds can break that frozen rope. Speaking of good putting, ever heard of Ricky Wysocki?
 
There are a couple of reasons Ricky Wysocki isn't like the rest of tomorrow's card. 1. He's really short. 2. He doesn't throw very far. 3. He's a World Champ. 4. He eagled today. 5. He didn't card a bogey or worse all day. It's a weird list but you gotta give it to me, it’s pretty much true…Ricky also earned himself two 100% merit badges, one of course for those Scramble Jesus skills and then another for never missing inside Circle 1. His eagle on the downhill 747’ beast of a par 4 was from pin high and only just outside Circle 1. And of course, if you only watched the reaction cam you might think his round was garbage. But if there is anything I’ve learned from watching way too much disc golf, it’s that if Ricky Wysocki is disappointed, more likely than not it was a fantastic shot. Thanks for always dreaming for more Rick.
 
Calvin Heimburg never missed a fairway today…ever. 100% Fairway hits. Just go look at UDisc if you don't believe me! He also leads the pack in Circle 1 & Circle 2 In Regulation. If only he could have parked a few more shots he would have led the field in every throwing stat UDisc tracks. It was a single OB penalty that led to a double bogey for the Heimborg on hole 6. Otherwise Young Vinny never even parred twice in a row until the last two holes. For a guy who already has a big win under his belt for the year, tomorrow’s pressure shouldn’t be too much to handle.
 
Eagle McMahon may not have made tomorrow's lead card but I think he deserves a new stat. Perseverance. After a double OB triple-bogey 7 on hole 7, McMahon birdied ___ of the remaining 11 Holes. Talk about bouncing back! I think it's safe to say after winning the National Tour last year, Eagle has his tour legs now and they are strong. Nice rebound, Eagle!
 
On the note of Honorable Mentions, not that he needs more of our adoration, but Paul McBeth’s putting was trick shot quality entertainment. Hole 1? Circle 2 downhill, soft and pure. Dead center. Hole 2? From inside a couple of Christmas trees up and out to a raised basket? Count it! Hole 13? From a knee? Cashed. And a solid flashing of the rings to leap out of the bunker to a drop-in birdie on 18, the third hardest hole on the day. As Nate Doss called it, "a quiet 8 under par". The defending champion is certainly not out of the hunt. Don't be surprised if we see a chase card assassin on our hands for moving day.
 
Now, in a brief segment I'd like to call "Gleneagle Eagle Watch and More," I have a few shout outs to dispense with in chronological order. First, right out the gate, Anthony Pereyra got to start his day with a 260' throw in for eagle 2 on hole 1. Now that's what I call a hot start. You already know about Ricky's eagle 2 on hole 9. Playing from the same card as Rick, Seppo Paju eagled the very next hole with a 3 on hole 10 and o did Jeremy Koling and AJ Carey. Not too shabby a showing if you ask me. Who knows, maybe the wind calms down tomorrow and we see a few more eagles and if we’re lucky an ace. Don’t miss your chance to see it live as our coverage of the 2019 San Francisco Open presented by AbsoluteXtracts and driven by Innova continues tomorrow.
 
This article was written by Staff Writer & Editor Zach Podhorzer.

We are just one round into the 2019 San Francisco Open presented by AbsoluteXtracts and driven by Innova and we really couldn’t ask for a better start. I mean really what more do you want? Of the four players on today’s feature card,­­ two of them (none other than Paige Pierce and Catrina Allen) will get another day in the limelight on tomorrow's lead card. But neither of these top-rated players are the current leader. Those honors belong to another Paige, 2018 World Champ Paige Bjerkaas of course! Bjerkaas finished the round 4 under par, one ahead of Pierce and Allen who are tied at 3 under par. Joining them on tomorrow's lead card will be Madison Walker only three off the lead at 4 under par. Considering the fact that every player on tomorrow's lead card except one, carded at least 3 bogeys or worse today, I'd say there's plenty of holes left for us to see the lead change hands quite a few times. Though I imagine Bjerkaas, the only player in the event to card only one bogey on the day intends to keep that all but completely clean play coming.  It doesn't get much better than a lead card separated by only 3 after one day. Let's get into it!

​You don’t have to know too much about UDisc color codes to know that Paige Bjerkaas had a pretty unique experience on the course. Hole 1? Birdie 3 from 49'. Hole 3? Professional valet caliber parking for a 347' birdie 2. Hole 5? Wrap up a 1033' par 5 with a 27' tester for the birdie 4. It was only the Paige's that started that hot (Pierce hit 2,3, and 5 though). Contrary to what science might tell us, fire out West apparently can be extinguished by wind (I mean this completely figuratively! Please follow fire safety guidelines!). As the wind picked up through the center cut of the course Bjerkaas' pace slowed to only embers for ten pars in a row before two birdies and her first bogey. I mean what a bummer to play 17 fantastic holes only to bogey the last one with an OB penalty! Life's hard, Paige, but I bet the reigning World Champ is still feeling a-okay about her spot at the top of the leaderboard with 36 more holes to play and making 86% of her Circle 1 Putts in today’s wind.
 
Turning one Paige to the next, if only so I can use that transition, Pierce skipped the smooth par train that Bjerkaas opted for instead choosing to ride a roller coaster. I guess that makes sense with all the hills though, right? Anyways, after a similarly hot start to Bjerkaas, Pierce stepped on to the tee pad of the courses longest hole – hole 5 as previously mentioned is a monster of 1033'. Bang. Bang. Two full flex crushes and Pierce was long of the basket putting from circle 2 into a headwind. Remember though, if you're gonna run a putt at least get it above the cage. Above the cage was Paige, but just a bit too much. No worries. She cashed the birdie putt quickly and moved on to hole 6. Ouch! Double bogey! Well, that's fine, how about a birdie on 7? Okay back on track. Ah! A bogey on 9…all cleaned up with a birdie on 10. After a few more pars and a trickle of birdies, Paige finished with more birdies than other player and she canned 4 of 11 Circle 2 Putts today.  Dang. Now to clean up those bogeys tomorrow. 

If you’re playing doubles and your putt is on today, you want Catrina Allen as your partner. No one in the field generated more birdie opportunities than Catrina. Leading the pack in Parked and Circle 1 In Regulation, the only player to best her in Circle 2 In Regulation was our leader, Paige Bjerkaas. Catrina's roller coaster was a good deal less turbulent than Pierce's. A couple of birdies and pars, then bogey; another couple birdies and a par; two bogeys sprinkled on a par; finish with some birdies; turn in the card and start looking forward to tomorrow. Catrina Allen has been playing great lately so it's no surprise to see her right behind the lead. She is more than capable of turning her chase into a lead within the first couple holes tomorrow…if the putt can stay online. 70% today is 7% better than her season average of 63%. That's saving her about 1 throw per round on average. All she needs to catch Bjerkaas.
 
Madison Walker didn't take a single OB penalty the entire round. Making her one of only two players to never go out of bounds today – the other being Hannah McBeth who finished 2 over par, tied for 7th.  There are certainly courses with harder to avoid OB lines than these but when literally 91% of the field goes OB at least once it’s safe to say it’s a part of the challenge Gleneagles provides. Despite those difficult over the hills and across valley shots, Madison played things smooth in the fairway but found some struggles on the green. A three-putt for double bogey on 8 was the first deep cut, and then the three-putt birdogey on 13 was just salt in the wound. It wouldn't hurt for Madison to land some Circle 2 Putts either. But despite those troubles, she's putting right on track with her season average of 60% in Circle 1X. Hopefully, some practice on the putting green tonight can get her ready to chase down the rest of our lead card.
 
Of course, there was a tremendous amount of great play today from folks besides the four we got into here, I encourage you to familiarize yourself with live scoring on UDisc if you haven’t yet because there are just so many stories in those numbers. For right now we’re still on eagle or ace watch, but today’s longest throw in award goes to Erika Stinchcomb, currently in 9th, for her 81’ birdie make on hole 4. Nice shot! On the topic of nice shots, let’s hear it for Kona Star Panis who was 95% on fairway hits today, she’s in 5th place now. And lastly, a round of applause for Zoe Andyke making 88% of her Circle 1 Putt’s today she’s showing that her West Coast roots are paying off, she’s currently tied for tenth. Don’t miss any of the action as the 2019 San Francisco Open presented by AbsoluteXtracts and driven by Innova heads into moving day.
 
This article was written by Staff Editor & Writer Zach Podhorzer.

The Disc Golf Network has expanded to Fire TV, also known as Fire Stick. This means that the AbsoluteXtracts presents the San Francisco Open driven by Innova at Gleneagles DGC will have more live broadcast outlets than any disc golf event in history. The catch? You can only watch on one at a time!

So get ready to get convenient. Women go live at Noon Eastern and the Open division goes live at 6:30 PM Eastern everyday May 10-12.

Watch!

Below is a short video on how to find the Disc Golf Network on Fire TV.

​It’s May, It’s Spring, the leaves are out and the grass is green, especially over in California as we have just over 24 hours until the first players will tee off at the AbsoluteXtracts presents the San Francisco Open driven by Innova Champion Discs at the stunning and beastly Gleneagles Disc Golf Course. In 2018 Paul McBeth walked away with one of his first major victories of the season, this year he’s looking to just add it to the list and keep this drive going. The guy is legit on fire lately. I tried to catch up with him for a Mind of the Champion spotlight interview but he’s just too hot to get close to. I did have the chance to sit down with Sarah Hokom though and I highly recommend checking that interview out here! Paul may have picked up the W here last year but there were a lot of players in the pack prospecting for a win too. Let’s get into it.

​Now that we are pretty confident the top three guys to beat in MPO are who they are, looking back at the 2018 SFO scores doesn’t look at all surprising. But remember last year when Eagle, who we knew was stupid good at throwing frisbees, went to train in the Alps and came back to the US and all but locked in the National Tour points series halfway through the season?  We were all wondering if he could keep it up straight through 2018. At the same time, the early season narrative regarding Paul McBeth was something along the lines of “what’s wrong with Paul?” Well if there’s anyone who’s motivated by stiff competition, it’s Paul McBeth. In fact, if you look at their seasons side-by-side (see chart below), you can see that right around SFO was the turning point. Up till Nick Hyde, Paul had yet to beat Eagle. After that Eagle would only best Paul two more times at any of the elite level events…because McBeth pretty much hit the win switch. Honestly, if we really wanna take the metaphor too far, it was likely McMahon who hit the switch, likely unaware he would wake the McBeast!

​While we’re on the topic of McBeast…SPOILER ALERT…Paul McBeth won the 2018 San Francisco Open. But much like his recent win in Emporia at the 2019 GBO, he didn't lead any statistic except in this case he led in birdies. Oh, and he also wasn't covered in poison ivy. Honestly Paul, on behalf of all of us in the disc golf community, thanks for beating all the best of us while you’re in less than perfect health. It’s a real confidence booster…anyways, as I was saying, sometimes all that matters is who birdies the most. It’s not how you got there at the end of the day it’s just the fact that you made it. 

In the final round, at the tee on 1, we were squared up for a classic Battle – Paul vs Ricky, version uncountable (actually, if anyone knows how many times those two have had a battle for first I’d love to know!). Re-watching it, there is something about Paul’s smile after he cashes that 74’ putt for eagle on hole 9 that just says, “thank you very much, I’ll take this win and I’m here to stay.” With that eagle 2, Paul carded a 4 under par front nine to Ricky’s 3 under (He also added his name to the list of only three players who got an Eagle that weekend on that hole –Jeff Faes, who hit a 201’ throw in and Drew Gibson, who was five feet away from a 747’ ace, sorry you only got a drop-in Drew…). Back to the battle though, one throw separated them with nine holes to go, and Eagle McMahon was applying a generous serving of pressure from the chase card. Despite everyone’s best efforts though, McBeth strode across the Gleneagles back nine to his fourth Pro Tour Victory.

​Ricky Wysocki four-putted hole 15 in the final round. Yes, even god’s bleed on occasion too. I know, hard to believe, go watch it if you don’t believe me! You don’t want a single hole to define your performance at any event, but it was that hole that ended up being the mistake he didn't get to recover from. Ricky is certainly never one to lay up and I can't remember the last time he missed a long run and didn't hit the comeback. Well, it happened here. His birdie run at the stump mounted raised basket into a gnarly headwind created a full depth Circle 1 putt right back up at it. Another miss and then a truly uncharacteristic third miss left Ricky with a dreaded birdouble-bogey. Ouch. He would actually claw back that two throw swing with Paul’s OB on the very next hole, but he needed more go in his chase than that. He finished three behind McBeth and a lay-up on 16 would have secured him sole possession of second if all else goes the same. But we can’t rewrite history and Ricky can’t settle for anything but first, anything else is simply losing. But hey, he did set the course record on round two with a 9 under par 53. Nice shooting Rick!

Eagle McMahon is pretty much the reason that McBeth didn't lead any stats. By the time all three rounds were turned in there was no one who threw the disc better than Eagle did that weekend. He led the pack in Fairways and both Circle 1 and Circle 2 In Regulation. But there was something about the greens that just weren't playing in his favor, making only 66% of his Circle 1X Putts and only Parking 3 baskets for birdie throughout the entire event – 2 on the first day and 1 on the last. You’d think on a big course like Gleneagles that Eagle would lead the pack in Parked percentages but there were 37 players who did better and the top valet on the day was none other than big-armed tour staple, Garret Gurthie. It’s hard to say what else held Eagle back from catching Paul other than his C1X putting, missing 13 of 37 Circle 1X putts is just downright uncharacteristic. But if you’re thinking, Eagle’s putting well right now, I’ll pick him for my fantasy pick – don’t – he’s skipping this one to rest up in his home state of Colorado before heading back out on tour. See you soon Eagle!

​Gleneagles requires a well-rounded game. This isn't your run of the mill smasher's display (though go watch The Challenge at Goat Hill if you're looking for that) and it's also not your classic wicked windy and wooded track, but somehow kind of both. Whoever can bring both precision and power will stand a good chance at cashing. But if you're not making birdie on at least 40% of the holes you can say goodbye to the podium and if you're looking for that top 10 list, you'll need to birdie more than 30% of the time. There is something to be said for the value of power through when the top 10 in 2018 includes Eagle McMahon, Simon Lizotte, Drew Gibson, and Garrett Gurthie (all of whom are known to throw a mile). Then again there's something to be said for the value of precision with a couple strong forehand dominant metaphorical lawn dart pros like Ricky Wysocki and Gregg Barsby and Jeremy Koling alongside some of the most accurate backhand players like Paul McBeth(who yes does have a great forehand as well) and Josh Anthon. Basically what I'm trying to say is this – if you were hoping for a helpful prediction all I can tell you is it's hard saying not knowing – but hey, putting your money on Paul is never a bad bet these days. 

The AbsoluteXtracts presents the 2019 San Francisco Open driven by Innova Champion Discs kicks off tomorrow and you won’t want to miss any of the action. Check out our live schedule below and until then get out there and play some golf!

Article Written by Staff Writer & Editor Zach Podhorzer. All photo credit to Alyssa Van Lanen. Apologies to player sponsors, it's literally impossible to find a photo from last years event with your brand on your players when they switched this year!

If you told me that Sarah Hokom beat Paige Pierce and Catrina Allen by 8 throws on a 9000’ plus track coupled with some of the most intense elevation changes on the tour my first response would be “I wanna watch that!" Well good news, if you missed it last year thanks to the powers of the internet you can go watch it right now on the Disc Golf Pro Tour and The Disc Golf Guy's youtube pages. Don’t worry the article will still be here for you to read when you get back. If then you told me that was the first time the event was held and I'd get to see it again I'd start working on a time machine to get there faster. The 2019 San Francisco Open presented by Innova Champion Discs is right around the corner and perfectly framed by the contentious 2019 season to be yet another battle. But really go watch last year's it's so good!

Now that you’ve seen it for your own eyes, or for those of you who don’t have the time to watch or re-watch a whole tournament right now let’s break it down in a nice neat TLDR recap:
 
Round 1: Hokom leaped out to an early lead making Circle 1 In Regulation half the time and hitting 78% of her Circle 1X Putts added up to a 3 under hot round. Pierce and Allen weren’t far off though, netting themselves 6% less Circle 1 looks at birdies and capitalizing on even less. Solid start for Hokom but certainly no run away lead – not with these two chasing.
Round 2: Hokom flipped the unrelenting domination switch and played the only entirely clean round of the week with her first under par hole of the day being a 347’ Ace on hole 3. Now that’s how you peel – two hot rounds in a row and Hokom’s lead increased to 6.
Round 3: It was everyone else’s chance to say something about it. While Catrina was the loudest with her hot round for the final day at 5 under par, Hokom’s 3 under was more than good enough to fend her off and take home the win.

Gosh it's always nice to watch a beautiful skip ace like that stick. ​The top three rated players in the world may have taken the podium again, but don’t count out the rest of the field. While Sarah was playing her own game of crush the competition, Pierce and Allen were distracting each other and Weese strolled right up behind them and finished only one off of being a part of the tie for second. At the end of the event, she actually led the field in Fairways and Circle 1 in Regulation and took second on Scramble, but it's pretty hard to win when you're making less than 60% of your C1X putts. Weese’s putting stats haven't moved much this season compared to last season but if she can just make a couple more a day and avoid the OB we have a good chance of seeing a four-way battle or more for first this year.

What more can I really say about Pierce's and Allen's chances this weekend? They're both building a lot of momentum right now and they're coming off a heated battle at this year's Glass Blown Open. Not only do they need to keep their eyes on Sarah, each other and Weese, but they also need to watch out for the growing pack of players hungry for the spotlight – Rebecca Cox, Madison Walker, Paige Bjerkaas, to name a few.

​And lastly, but certainly, not the least we have last year's champion Sarah Hokom. I caught up with her a week or two ago to talk about the event in her first Mind of a Champion spotlight interview. She definitely doesn't hold back her thoughts on the game right now and also provides some awesome advice that I know I'm already building into my game. Sarah definitely played a well-rounded game in 2018 because she only won two of the eight primary stats we track – Birdies and Circle 2 In Regulation – yet she not only won but won by more than double the number of throws under par that anyone else scored. That is honestly pretty hard to do! But as the old adage I just made up recently goes, sometimes the only thing you have to do to win is birdie. In Sarah's case, 37% of the time seemed like the right amount. 

You do not want to miss the action this weekend as things kick off Friday at 11 AM EST on DGPT.tv. Until then get out there and make the most of the weather, it’s finally tournament season pretty much everywhere!

This article written by Staff Writer & Editor Zach Podhorzer. All photo credit to Alyssa Van Lanen.

In 2018, Sarah Hokom became the first winner of the inaugural San Francisco Open. As we prepare for the 2019 San Francisco Open presented by Innova Champion Discs, I was lucky enough to catch up with her to hear her take on the start to her 2019 season, how she's preparing to defend her title this weekend, advice for up and coming players, and even some tough talk about tee pads and rules in disc golf. I hope you enjoy our chat as much as I did. For context, Sarah won the 2018 edition by eight throws over Paige Pierce and Catrina Allen who tied for second. Suffice to say she crushed it, oh and she made Sportscenter with her ace on hole 3. It was a great weekend for her and one that seemed to propel her into a dominant spot on the leader board for the rest of the season. You can get a great summary of last year's event in. For now, let's get to the chat!

​Zach Podhorzer (ZP):  First, thank you so much for taking the time to sit down and talk to day. I really appreciate it and am sure your fans will too. Since this is the first time we’ve gotten to talk this season, fill me in on how your 2019 has been going. How’s the new bag feel?
 
Sarah Hokom (SH): I think it's been going pretty good – a little bit of a slow start. I did get a couple of wins in Texas which was encouraging. I would say the first half of the season doesn't really suit my strengths. So this is kind of normal. I'm trying to not get down on myself for not finishing higher. A couple of factors would be the courses are long and windy, which is not really my strength, but in addition to that we've seen the inclusion of a whole bunch of new ladies on the road and they're really playing great. The field is way deeper so where mediocre play in the past may have gotten me a top-five finish, that's just not the case anymore. In fact, there's always that thought now in my mind "I could miss out on the cash, even." Which didn't happen in the past very often. I'm thankful that I've played well enough to get in the top 10 at every event and I've got a couple of wins against some really good players. I'm looking forward to playing more of the wooded courses and the technical lines I prefer though.
 
Percentage wise I could probably put the new bag in there a little bit - just when it comes to learning my lines. Playing with all new plastic it just takes time to get to know the discs. I'm excited because I know I'm going to just keep getting better with the plastic I'm throwing. I'm getting more and more confident with everything I'm throwing already. So maybe this year's performance so far is a tiny percentage due to the new bag, but I think it's really more that the first half of the season doesn't really suit my game and the field is way deeper. We got a lot of great ladies out there!
 
(ZP): I hear ya. That makes sense. Speaking of your new bag, Last time I was chatting with Paige Pierce she told me you had just filled the spot in your bag that the Jokeri had filled with the new MVP Entropy. How are you liking that?
 
(SH): Yes. Yes. I actually took three discs out of my bag and replaced them with the entropy. I had a little bit of a flippier putter, a stable mid, and a really overstable mid and I replaced all of three of those with the Entropy. It's been awesome to simplify things a a bit and get that disc in my bag that I know I really trust the line on. It immediately did exactly what I was expecting. 

​(ZP): Comparing your 2018 Season stats to your 2019 season stats thus far, you’re trailing yourself in 6 categories – everything but scramble and C1X putting. The biggest performance gaps may be two of the most important ones though – C1 and C2 in regulation are both down about 10%. What’s keeping you from making those opportunities this year?
 
(SH): That's a good question. Actually, I'm not really sure. I assume inconsistency off the tee, you know? I’ve had a few injuries already this year but I really think it’s just me getting to know the lines on my discs.
 
(ZP): When I spoke with Ricky about how his new bag is going he was talking about how it felt like he was seeing all of these tournaments he’s played for years in a whole new way with his new discs. Has that also been the case for you or has it been more of a direct translation from one disc to another?
 
(SH): To a degree I would say that is the case, I have three different distance driver molds in my bag now whereas before when I was with Legacy I just used one, in a bunch of different plastics. I actually really like the fact that I'm able to throw a bunch of different lines now. In particular, I'm able to throw a similar angle with different molds rather than manipulating the angle of one mold. So I think that's part of it. I'm getting to know all those different lines and I do even have some lines available to me that I didn't have at all before. But that also brings in more decision making and at first consistency issues. In particular, at Vegas and the Memorial, I didn't have much practice in the wind yet, and also at WACO. I'd really only played a couple of rounds in the wind before we had that major wind in Vegas and I had to completely adjust my game plan. I think that’s had something to do with why I’m not reaching Circle 1 and 2 as much now. What’s weird though is at GBO, my best round was the round in the wind. How did I shoot my best round on the windiest day?
 
(ZP): At last year’s inaugural SFO you crushed the competition, winning over Catrina Allen and Paige Pierce who tied for second 8 throws behind you. You were the only player to finish a round under 60 (with a little help from a sweet Sportscenter highlighted ACE!!) and the only player to finish any round with a 100% scramble (round 2) bogey-free round. Looking forward to the event what are you psyched for?
 
(SH): I’m excited to get out there and see the course with my new lines. The course seems like it’s open and big and long, which people might not think is my strength, but because of the elevation change, it ends up being very technical. I’m really excited to get out there and see what I can do on that course. A lot of it comes down to keeping it in bounds and giving yourself those opportunities. And the tee pads at SFO are a far cry from what we've played so far here. Outside of WACO, I haven't had access to very many birdies. Even though we had women's tees. They've basically been designing the women's tees for a 400' power shot rather than what the average female throws, which are more like 330' or 340' power shots. So SFO is one where they designed the course appropriately for the ladies in my opinion. I have access to a lot of birdies out there while so far this season has been more about mitigating bogeys. So, combine that with some technicality and I think I have a chance here. 

​(ZP): As I mentioned earlier, the SFO was a real turning point for you. It was the first time you beat Paige Pierce in 2018 and after that, your worst finish was a fourth place at your next event – the Beaver State Fling. You would go on to finish the year with a podium finish at every event, including four wins. Do you think that the 2019 SFO could be where you get the momentum going this season?
 
(SH): Yea. I mean, it has a lot to do with the course design. A lot of people like to say “oh, everyone has to play the same hole. Everyone’s playing the same thing” but people’s games are different so when the tee pads are designed in a way that gives me opportunities to score then certainly that is way better! At GBO I could only get six birdies out of the 18 there.
 
(ZP): so there were 12 holes you were just playing for par?
 
(SH): Yea, and several of those even the par felt like a birdie. A lot of times a par on a hole that’s just a little bit out of reach you’re like “okay, this is an easy little up shot and then I’m gonna tap out my putt” but there were at least three holes where getting even par was hard. You had to throw two really good shots and make a putt just to get a par.
 
(ZP): What’s your practice routine on a monster course like this? I’ve heard it’s quite the hike just to walk the course and I can hardly remember a flat spot on all the coverage.
 
(SH): Definitely trying to play one round a day - multiple shots though. One round each day in the morning and the final day before the tournament just throwing a few of the holes. Just a couple of the ones that I need an extra shot on or I wanna try something different. So not playing the whole course the day before. And actually, I'll probably have my caddy out there pulling my cart during my practice rounds. I remember last year my knee really started acting up by the end of the week. Just blew up like a grapefruit just from walking up and down those hills. And it's already blown up this year so I'll have to make sure to keep off of it and get my Disc Golf Strong recovery in!

(ZP): Alright, important question, what are you gonna throw to ace hole 3 again this year?
 
(SH): I’m gonna throw a Photon on that one. Yea. I think I got that same line. My beat in photon, my Neutron Photon. 

(ZP): Since we’re talking about distance, I’d love to hear your thoughts on adapting holes at the elite level. In 2018 there were eight modified holes at Gleneagles. I'd love to hear your thoughts on the topic as a player who isn't known for her distance like Paige and Catrina but still, you're able to not only score, but win, against them. In my chats with Paige, she is obviously very anti-short tees. She has told me you two disagree on this at times so I'd love to hear your side of things! You've already told me there's a difference in how well certain events do it – somewhere it's not helpful and not even creative, and then some courses – like Gleneagles you said – really get it right. Where’s your stance on the direction the women’s game should be going with the tee pads.
 
(SH): In general I really appreciated, even at the GBO,  that people took the time to think about what would be better for the ladies - what could make this course play better for the distance ladies throw. However, I’ve really been noticing some things about how that is done lately. If we assume that the course design of a gold level course is based on the men’s game, with that assumption in mind, the course designers are not designing par 3s where only the top distance throwers can get to the green. You don’t see 600’ par 3s, the reason behind it being, “oh well, Simon can get there.” If they designed courses like that for the men, and most of them couldn’t get there they would complain and be upset about it. They’d all be saying “This is not fair. I can’t get to any of these holes but these four people can”. But on the flip-side, on the women’s division, they do design the courses and the tee pads for the Simon of our division.

I couldn't get to any of the par 3s except for the one island hole at GBO. All of them were over 400' or if they weren't they were uphill. I came to this one hole in practice and it read 315, par 3, and it was a sidearm line, I was like "SWEET!" I could barely get within 100' of the basket. I was 70 or 80 short every time. So it really just played like a 400' hyzer. So I think that that's the part the course designers are missing. They’re designing the courses for a 400’ power shot when that’s the elite distance of our division. That’s not what the average touring woman throws. If you ask the touring women what their power shot is, it's 330-350 it's not 400 feet. So we're being put in a position where the courses are being designed for the elite distance throwers in our division and leaving the rest of the players behind.

When I say this isn't fair, people tell me, "Oh well Paige can get there." And I think, "yea, she can". And Paige and Jen Allen and Cat should be rewarded for their distance but what people don't realize is they're being rewarded for their distance even on short holes. They’re rewarded for their distance on every par 5 and every par 4. They get to smash it as far up the fairway as they can and have a way easier approach. And on the par 3’s they’re able to throw a way slower disc, even a mid, whereas the less powerful throwers are having to throw a much more technically difficult shot to cover the same distance. I think that's something that the disc gold community and some of the designers are missing.

I think it's actually really hurting the women's division right now. I think it's really discouraging, especially for up and coming pros who are playing courses that aren't suiting the average distance that they throw. I really don't think par 3s should be out of the range to most of the players. I'm not saying I should be able to get every birdie but the average female in our division should be able to get to most of the holes. If you look at the stats, and I know I'm biased, but that's why I ask people to look at the stats. Look at the stats from GBO. Look at the stats from Texas State Championships – I won that tournament and I got one birdie the whole weekend. That is not the kind of golf that will grow the sport for the women. It was boring. As was the golf at GBO for me. It was boring.

I'm throwing the same shot over and over again then throwing a little upshot and tapping in a putt. I'm not even putting most of the time. If you look at GBO there were 10 holes that basically no one got. 5 of those literally no one birdied. 5 only one person did. More than half the course and no one is getting birdies? That's not right. Thankfully it still allows scoring separation because there's OB everywhere and if you miss a shot you're gonna pay for that. But we see a huge discrepancy between 2nd and 3rd place, we're talking 15 strokes! And I know Jen Allen was that third place and we'd expect her to be up there with Paige and Cat, but honestly she doesn't get to practice, she's flying in and out. We know the distance is there but she just doesn't get the same chance to dial in her game. It's not rocket science to see that the course is distance heavy when you have all of the distance throwers at the top. And it happens all the time, the whole first half of the season has been like that.
 
 
(ZP): Right. If that’s the only thing we’re testing on the course then why aren’t we just having distance competitions?
 
(SH): exactly.

(ZP): Since it came up a little bit in that last question, what advice would you give to any up and coming players who want to take their game to the next level?

(SH): Absolutely. I have a good handful of pieces of advice.
1. Practice, rather than play scored rounds, correcting errant shots.
2. Set your bag up with less molds and multiples of the same disc to practice with. 
3. Take video of yourself and analyze your form. Then, work on your weaknesses.
4. Commit to specific routines before each type of shot.
5. Play big events to gain experience with pressure, to gauge your progress and learn how to play difficult tracks.
6. Read Bob Rotella to begin developing your mental strategy​.

(ZP): Alright before we get to predictions, anything else you wanted to cover in our time here?
 
(SH): Actually, I did really want to touch on the rules situation at GBO. It's been a bit of an issue over the years with a couple of players in my opinion kind of bullying people for calls. Inside the group we're all just a little more friendly with each other in my opinion. On the course, it's a little weird and I think women tend to take it a little more personal, not only when you get calls made on you but in general our interactions are more personal in our gender. It's a real problem that these calls are coming down to people fighting for the benefit and we're not getting an appropriate actual call made. For example, the call with Cat this weekend  [on hole 16 at GBO] was exactly the amount of strokes she won by. And the fact that when Paige called her on the courtesy violation, Cat fired back with a courtesy violation for over-celebrating. Is that even a thing? Can you call that on someone for over celebrating when they can a huge death-putt in the wind? Is that something you can even do? As far as I'm concerned that is not okay. It's not okay to bully people out of calls, it's not okay to start making calls on them because they made calls on you. I'm not perfect either. I mean, I let a foot fault go this weekend. I watched a girl step on her disc and I didn't call her. Overall we need to find a way, and I don't have an answer, other than we have to stop taking things so personally and we have to start making calls. 
 
(ZP): I think you've identified a really good point here. As we become a bigger and bigger sport it’s only going to become more of a problem. I know I’ve seen something and not called it because I think “this isn’t a big deal”. Or even if someone calls it, no one else will say they saw it and second it.
 
(SH): Even when I saw it this last weekend the words wouldn’t even come of out my mouth, I couldn’t even say “foot fault!” And when I have called it in the past, all of a sudden everyone’s calling foot faults. Now all of a sudden everyone is watching my feet like a hawk and it’s a pretty subjective call. Is it where they plant versus where they pivot to? There’s a lot of ambiguity there. It gets more important and clearer if they're reaching behind a tree or something versus if they're in the middle of a fairway and taking a run up and then they're a centimeter away from where they should be  - that's an ambiguous call that I don't have a solution for. But what I do know is that it's not working.
 
(ZP): Totally, somehow we're supposed to know where their foot was the second they let go of the disc. That's impossible.
 
(SH): Yup. And the jump putt rule needs to be fixed as well. The way that the rule is defined is unenforceable. You’re supposed to watch a person's hand and their foot? You can’t even tell on video without slowing it down and freezing it. So we’re asking people to look at two places and one time and make a determination. In reality, our sport is backwards on how the rule is defined. In every other sport you can take off from behind the line and as long as your foot was behind the line when you left the ground it's legal. Doesn't matter if you land in front of it, it doesn't matter at what point you hit the volleyball, it doesn't matter at what point you hit the tennis ball, doesn't matter at what point the jump shot leaves your hand, it matters that you took off from behind the line. Physiologically it’s completely absurd that you’re going to jump at the same time you’re letting go of the disc. Physiologically they are going to come one-millisecond after each other. You’re gonna jump and the energy’s gonna come up from your feet through the rest of your body and out your hand. When it comes to athletes in any other sports that's how it works. But our sport for whatever reason is not worded in the same way. I'm an advocate that we switch it to what all the other sports in the entire world and what our bodies suggest that we should do.
 
(ZP): I love this. These are the conversations I wish we were having more of. People just think that's the rule so that's the rule. But no, the PDGA changes the rules plenty. Thanks for bringing that up, it's great to talk about. Alright, before we wrap up got any predictions for us?
 
(SH): Gosh, I don’t really have predictions at the moment. There are so many people that could play well this weekend. McBeth, Paige, and Cat are all streaking really well right now. I don’t think these courses will be particularly difficult for any of them. It’s not that it’s not difficult, but it doesn’t play against their game. And they’re playing well right now.
 
(ZP): Got it. those are some solid picks right now for sure. Before we wrap up, how can everyone find you online?

(SH): I have my standard Instagram and Facebook and I also just started a Patreon. Through that I'm trying to provide some behinds the scene footage for what’s been happening for the media team at the Pro Tour. My goal has been to show people who these people are behind the camera. The loyalty is already so established with the other media teams and people just don’t know who these folks are. So I’m just trying to help them understand that these are really good people, they’re working really, really hard, and they’re getting better.
 
The part that is kind of frustrating is that the public is almost going tribal on disc golf media. What I don't understand is that it's a free service. They're not paying anything for this. I would totally understand people being upset if they bought a product and it was sub-par. You should get your money back in that case. When we're talking about the Pro Tour, most of the public didn't invest any money into that but people are coming out and saying you're taking the sport back ten years. That's not true. I was here ten years ago, it's way better now! And yes it hasn't gone as well as we wanted it to and every tournament they've had to readjust and do a whole new thing. Growing pain after growing pain.On top of that it doesn't help that the public has been so critical. The name calling and saying "I'm not watching it" I don’t get it. The women didn’t even get any real coverage until the pro tour came along. So I just want people to understand who it is that they are talking about.

(ZP):  Alright, Sarah, thanks so much for taking the time to talk today. I really loved getting to hear all your thoughts. Best of luck this weekend!
​
(SH): It was great to talk, and thanks for all the work you're doing. I really appreciate it!

You don't want to miss any of the coverage we have planned for this week so make sure to stay tuned to our Watch page, check back for a new S.F.O. article every day this week, and make sure you subscribe to Sarah Hokom all over the internet and chip in on her Patreon! Keep disc golf alive and thriving by supporting the people that make it all happen. Until the rounds start up on Friday though, Spring has finally arrived in New England so I'm gonna get off this keyboard and go play some disc golf! see you on the course!

Article written by Staff Writer & Editor Zach Podhorzer. All photo credit to Alyssa Van Lanen, the great disc golf photographer we've ever known.