In 2008 “Low” by Flo Rida was the #1 song on the Billboard Year-End Hot 100 singles chart, The Dark Knight was the #1 movie at the box office, and Nathan Sexton (PDGA# 18824), a 22-year old disc golfer from Oregon, finished 6th at the Stumptown Disc Golf Spring Classic, starting a PDGA event cash streak that would continue for the next 15 years.
From March 16th, 2008 to June 3rd, 2023 Nate Sexton finished above the cash line at every PDGA event that he competed in. With a 62nd place finish (below the cutline) at the 2023 Portland Open presented by Latitude 64 this remarkable streak comes to a close at 264 consecutive events. Poetically, the streak began and ended in Nate’s home state of Oregon, lasting 5,575 days as he would collect $207,974 in prize winnings along the way.
Sexton battled hard during the 3rd round at the 2023 Portland Open in his pursuit to make the cut and extend the streak. He started the day +3 for the event after 2 lackluster rounds at the Glendoveer – West course, and through his first 8 holes on Glendoveer – East he wasn’t faring much better. 2 birdies, 2 bogeys, and a handful of pars had Sexton even for the day. The cut line shifted as the MPO field made their way through the course, but it was starting to become clear that 7-under par was the score to hit.
Sexton was going to need a miracoulous finish, 10 birdies in 10 holes, to secure another finish in the money. On hole 9 Sexton found his groove, carding a string of 5 straight birdies, it began to look like the tour veteran might have one more magic finish in him. Unfortunatley the story ends on hole 14, Sexton took bogey on the difficult par 4 (the second hardest hole on the course that day) all but sealing the end of his historic streak.
Sexton’s Elite, Major, Silver and Tour Championship event cash streak (including only the most significant professional disc golf events) spanned a longer period of time but a shorter stretch of events. His Elite, Major, Silver and Tour Championship event cash streak clocks in at 122 consecutive events, over 6,579 days from 2005 to 2023.
Photo: Kevin Huver / DGPT
Nate Sexton has carved a distinct path to success in the world of disc golf, finding notoriety not only through his exceptional skill but also his captivating personality. With a voice as smooth as his signature forehand throw, Sexton has become a comentating icon on JomezPro post produced coverage and Disc Golf Network live coverage, in addition to being a proven winner on tour. A Major Champion (2017 USDGC), a forehand trailblazer, and the namesake behind the acclaimed Innova Sexton Firebird (certain runs are staples in the the collections of disc enthusasits), Sexton has truly made his mark on the disc golf world.
After the end of his iconic streak, Sexton extended a heartfelt message to his fans and followers via Instagram:
“Today I finished the Portland Open in T-62nd place, bringing an end to my cash streak at 264 @pdga events. I was 22 years old when I started this streak, and I’m 38 as it finishes. It hurts to lose something that I’ve worked so hard at for so long, in fact I shed a few private tears walking down the 18th today. Looking back, this streak is one of my proudest accomplishments as an athlete. It means that for over 15 years I never finished outside the top 40% in any tournament I played. I was always able to dig deep and never give up despite injury or illness or a broken putt or terrible weather or a crisis of confidence, or anything else this game could throw at me. Tonight I’m sad, but I’m also proud. Thanks everybody for following along. ❤️”
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Ken Climo’s all-time PDGA event cash streak record is 426 events, set between 1989 and 2013. The end of Sexton’s 264 event run comes nearly a year and a half after the end of Cale Leiviska’s 307 event streak which was broken at the Las Vegas Challenge in 2022. Chris Dickerson was also recently on quite the impressive run, his streak of 228 consecutive events above the cash line was snapped with a 42nd place finish at the MVP Open last year. The end of these three significant streaks could mark the end of an era.
While records are meant to be broken, it’s unlikely anyone will approach any of these player’s streaks in the forseeable future. The recent disc golf boom and development of the professional game by the Disc Golf Pro Tour has created a world where the tour field has never been more competitive, and there are no signs that trend is going to slow down.
