A return to Russellville, Arkansas after a year off brought 99 MPO and 16 FPO players back to The Vintage Open, a DGPT Silver Series Event. 

It was blue skies and blue scoreboards for the top of the MPO division, with players like Calvin Heimburg, Adam Hammes, Nikko Locastro, Ricky Wysocki, Matt Bell and Nathan Queen all carding a slew of birdies during the first round. But the best round came from Gavin Rathbun who managed 8 birdies, an ace on Hole 10, and a 350ft throw in for eagle on Hole 17 to round out the day. Coming off of top finishes with a T-7th at Waco and T-6th at The Open at Belton, Gavin is continuing his solid playing here in Arkansas.

"That's gonna be cool. Super cool." #quickhits

Ace alert out in Arkansas from Gavin Rathbun! pic.twitter.com/jzhYiHcei7

— Disc Golf Pro Tour (@DiscGolfProTour) April 8, 2021

While Rathbun and Heimburg are at the top of the standings with a -10 and -9 finish respectively, there are plenty of great golfers chasing them down. Adam Hammes will be looking to stay 100% in C1 putting like he was today as he came into the clubhouse shooting -6. A group of players shot strong -5 and -4 today, including Belton and Texas States champion Ricky Wysocki, 2019 Vintage Open winner Greg Barsby and lefties Nathan Queen and Chris Clemons, who both shot bogey free rounds today.

An exciting second round Friday will bring eyes to Wysocki and Locastro, who each have a DGPT win this season, while Rathbun and Heimburg will be looking to shoot similar rounds again.

Jessica Weese and Stacie Ransley played the hot rounds for the FPO division today, both finishing even after the first round. Weese was 70% in C1 putting, which helped her lead the round in birdies, with one blemish on Hole 16 on her scorecard. 

Kona Star Panis and Lisa Fajkus are just behind the leaders, with Sarah Hokom, Catrina Allen, Missy Gannon, and Rebecca Cox just a few strokes off, too. Fajkus and Gannon lead the FPO in C1 putting, while Cox and Allen were both 33% from C2, gaining each of them a stroke on the field on those holes.

With 8 players within four strokes of the lead, tomorrow’s second round should be an exciting one for players to pick up where they left off, or come out strong looking to climb a few spots on the leaderboard.

Scores and stats for the event are available on UDisc Live. Live Coverage will be available on Saturday, April 10th, through Disc Golf Network beginning at 2:30 EST. Post production coverage for the event will be available through GK Pro and Ace Run Pro.

There were fireworks all across the Old Post Gold course on Thursday! Check out a quick recap of all the action here, and then head to @GKProDiscGolf and @Acerunpro for full shot-by-shot action! pic.twitter.com/XTXbUVAunR

— Disc Golf Pro Tour (@DiscGolfProTour) April 9, 2021