With thunderstorms forecasted for the final round of the 2016 Kansas City Wide Open all week, all we could do was wait and watch the weather with our fingers crossed. Players that teed off in the morning got to play their final round at Swope Park under a clear, sunny sky. The afternoon tee time groups…not so much.

Catrina Allen, Uncatchable 

The Open Women’s division were fortunate enough to be part of the earlier tee times, with the lead card heading out while conditions were still perfect. In a similar fashion to her victory last week at the Glass Blown Open, Catrina Allen #44184 had built up a more than comfortable lead going into the final round.

Weather conditions aside, there was simply no way anyone was going to catch her. Even with a double digit lead, she doesn’t let off the gas too much. “I try not to play any differently, but I know that I do,” said Catrina after the round.  “In the back of my mind there’s a feeling that this putt, or that shot, doesn’t mean anything. I think I play with more confidence when the scores are close, when the pressure is on. I’m working on that, to always keep pressing. I have to make sure I am always playing to win, instead of playing to not lose.”

Open Women's leader Catrina Allen teeing off on Hole 2 of Swope Gold. #34KCWO pic.twitter.com/HW3Bs2UuUr

— PDGA Live Scoring (@pdgalive) May 8, 2016

Catrina Allen #44184 teeing off on Hole 2 at Swope Gold.

Catrina played to win all weekend, starting the final round with a lead of nine and finishing with a lead of 11 to take home her third consecutive National Tour title for 2016. Her round score of 60 (-1) was bested by only one other woman, Paige Pierce #29190.

Paige teed off in the morning in 5th place, slowly but surely gaining strokes on the woman ahead of her. Paige was watching the scores come in on pdgalive.com, and with three holes to go she decided to make a move on the par 4, Hole 16. “I practiced it all week to get a 4,” said Paige. “There’s OB around the green, but you can’t see it from your lie on your second throw.”

She went for it anyway, and pulled it off. Her birdie on 16, and then again on 17, allowed her to finish in 2nd place overall, two ahead of Valarie Jenkins #17495.

Rain Pummels the Open Division

By the time the top cards of the Open division were on deck, the rain was pounding the grounds of Swope Park. The intensity of the downfall undulated throughout the day, but never once let up to the point where an umbrella wasn’t needed.

Round 2’s results left Ricky Wysocki #38008 as the leader with Benjamin Wiggins #38040 two off the lead, and a slew of others several strokes back. It appeared to be a two-horse race when the final round began, but the conditions on the course meant that anything could happen. In pouring rain, tee pads are slick, chains don’t catch as well, and approaches that normally would allow for a run-up become standstill shots.

One thing we can say about rain, there is no one that plays better in it than Ricky Wysocki. He’s proven this over time, racking up big wins in the worst of conditions. You’d think he was playing as if he doesn’t care at all if you were watching him because of the way he comes from under his umbrella, runs up to his lie and throws without hesitation. It’s quite the opposite though. He is a fierce competitor and is always looking to win. He’s just so ridiculously good at hitting his lines that he doesn’t need to stand there and think about it. He plans out his line while drying off his discs under his umbrella, steps into the rain, and does exactly what he was intending to do.

Ricky Wysocki #38008 drying his discs under his umbrella while planning his next throw.

With five straight birdies on Holes 4-8, Wysocki had pulled away from the field. No one was going to catch him, especially in the rain. A lightning delay with only five holes to go and several storm cells heading towards Kansas City threatened the round, but the players eventually got back on the course and finished.

While the field behind him battled for 2nd and 3rd place, Wysocki continued pulling away. By the time he tapped in on the 18th to take home his first NT title of 2016, he was seven ahead of the nearest competitor.

The rain continued to fall throughout the awards and even later into the evening while tournament staff and volunteers were breaking down banners and tents. As the last of the banners were being pulled, the rain suddenly stopped and the sun broke through the clouds. It was too little too late tournament-wise, but it was well-deserved finish a stressful and testing day.

Full results, hole-by-hole scores, and all the videos from the 34th running of the Kansas City Wide Open can be found on the KCWO page of PDGA.com. Photos from the event are available for viewing and/or downloading on the PDGA Flickr page.

The next stop on the National Tour is the “Steady” Ed Memorial Masters Cup on the one and only DeLaveaga Disc Golf Course in Santa Cruz, CA. See you at DeLa!