Post Event Pulse: Top Moments from the Preserve Championship
Gannon Buhr holds his trophy after finishing a 1088 rated tournament. Photo: Kevin Huver / DGPT.
Gannon Buhr’s Course Record -16 Round Two & Dominant Win
Gannon Buhr Shredded the Black Bear Course at the Preserve Championship all weekend to claim his second DGPT win in as many starts. Buhr posted the course record* on moving day, shooting -16, (50) 1099 rated golf. Gannon birdied 89% (16/18) of the holes on Saturday and ended his round with the eagle on 18. All aspects of his game were clicking and his putter didn’t touch the ground. He was 16/16 from C1, 11/11 from C1X and cashed both of his C2 attempts.
Preserve Hot Rounds By Year
| Year | Round | Player | Score | Rating |
| 2025 | 2 | Gannon Buhr | 50 | 1099 |
| 2024 | 1 | Ben Callaway
Cole Redalen Kyle Klein |
52 | 1084 |
| 2023 | 1 | Ricky Wysocki | 52 | 1081 |
| 2022 | 1 | Kyle Klein
Garrett Gurthie |
53 | 1073 |
| 3 | Adam Hammes | 53 | 1081 | |
| 2021 | 1 | Ricky Wysocki | 50 | 1089 |
| 2020 | 2 | Calvin Heimburg | 47 | 1089 |
Course records are unique to the specifics of the layout, which can vary from year to year, or even round to round at each tournament.
Gannon’s course record added to his -11 opening day in tough conditions to give him a five-shot lead going into Sunday. Buhr backed up his course record day and posted a -15 round three to shoot -42 and win the tournament by 11 strokes. Buhr made history in his win, posting the highest event rating of all time at 1088. This is Buhr’s second straight victory after winning the Northwest Disc Golf Championship two weeks ago. In his nine elite series/major starts, Buhr has three wins and has only missed the top five once this year.
After this weekend, Gannon Buhr’s performance should be at the top of the dictionary under the definition of dominant. The last time a player won a DGPT event in MPO by more than 10 strokes was Paul McBeth at the 2016 Ledgestone Insurance Open, where he won by twelve. Buhrs has found his A+ game at the right time and could rattle off multiple wins in Europe, including worlds in late July.
Silva Saarinen’s First Victory in the States
Silva Saarinen checked off another important victory this weekend, earning her first win in the States and her second straight victory this season. Saarinen shot a clean -9 on Sunday to take the two-stroke victory, -20, over Kristin Lätt. Saarinen climbed into a tie for first on moving day with her -8, 10 birdie round, including a clean -7 front nine. Silva and Cadence Burge highlighted the top of the leaderboard at -11.
Saarinen outplayed Lätt during the final round, minimizing her mistakes and capitalizing when she needed to. Over the tournament, Silva led in birdie percentage (46%), reaching C1 in regulation (52%), and C1X putting (87%).
Saarinen should top FPO power rankings right now. She’s a proven winner, hasn’t finished outside of the top four in her last seven events, and has bested one of the top players, Kristin Lätt, twice now in close battles.
Carter Ahrens Takes Third, Earns USDGC Spot
Carter Ahrens, Washington Native and the latest addition to Emporia State’s College Disc Golf Team, had a strong tournament, finishing in a tie for third at -28 with Anthony Barela. Ahrens shot his best round on Sunday, posting a bogey free -13 to jump up four spots on the leaderboard. Carter obliterated the back nine of the Black Bear. He collected seven birdies and the eagle on hole 18. Ahren’s hot streak began with a birdie on ten. After that, he cashed the next four birdies and wrapped up the tournament birdie, birdie, eagle.
Ahren’s burst onto the scene in 2023 with his top 15 finish at the Portland Open. His performance at the Preserve marks his best finish of the season so far and earned him a USDGC spot. This weekend, Carter gained 20.51 strokes tee to green on the field, which ranked second to Buhr. Ahrens put together an impressive putting weekend from C1 and C1X. He made 91% from C1 (51/56) and went 86% C1X. Overall, it was a great tournament from Ahrens, who has the talent to be a top player if he can find more consistency week in and week out.
Cadence Burge Earns Podium Finish
Cadence Burge during round three at the Preserve Championship. Photo: Kevin Huver / DGPT.
The future of FPO is bright. This marks the second time in three weeks that a young FPO player has finished in the top five: Burge, 18 years old, third place this week, and Lida Lehtomäki, 15 years old, tied for fourth at the Ale Open. Burge made the lead card on Championship Sunday and shot -4 to finish the tournament in third at -15. Cadence started the tournament with the hot round carding a -6 on Friday for a tie at the top with Missy Gannon. Burge had a scorching hot front nine, collecting six birdies before cooling off on the back nine. She followed her round one performance up with a -5 under to remain tied at the top, going into Sunday this time with Silva Saarinen.
Burge shook off a tough start on Sunday and rallied, birdieing six of the final eight holes to take solo third place, her best DGPT finish in her career. Burge finished the tournament fourth in both strokes gained tee to green and strokes gained putting at 17.77 and 5.14, respectively.
Cadence is piecing together an impressive 2025 season. She has five top 10s and two podiums over her six DGPT starts. Her other podium was a second-place finish at the Kansas City Wide Open, where she shot -17.
Valerie Mandujano’s Final Round Course Record
Valerie Mandujano shot a clean -12 1037 rated round on Sunday for the new course record. Mandujano’s elite final day moved her from third card to a tie for 4th at -12 for the tournament. Her final round included an impressive four birdie stretch from holes 4-8, which highlighted her six under front nine.
Mandujano led the field on Sunday in birdie percentage 67%, fairways hit 95%, C1 in regulation 67%, and strokes gained tee to green 8.40. Valerie secured her best finish of the year and is peaking at a great time with the next major, the 2025 United States Women’s Disc Golf Championship coming up this weekend in Manitowoc, Wisconsin.
