After the first of four rounds all across the 21 divisions in the largest USWDGC in history, there are close battles from FPO all the way down to FJ10.
Missy Gannon set the mark at the brand-new Sprinkle Valley track, but her lead is just one stroke and there are leads by three or fewer strokes in nine more divisions in Austin, Texas.
Beginning Thursday, a record field of 350 players representing eight countries and 39 states will take over the Austin, Texas area for the 25th running of the USWDGC and the first PDGA Major of 2024.
Twenty-one divisions will compete for the Major title — from the No. 1 player in the world and defending FPO champion Kristin Tattar to PDGA No. 68 Sue Horn in FP70 to an ultra-competitive field of 42 players in FA1 to the rising stars in FJ15 to four players in FJ10.
The rescheduling of the 2024 PDGA Champions Cup has not been without its challenges. While some of these challenges were unavoidable, others were not.
“We failed to properly assess the impact the Champions Cup rescheduling had on the newly announced DGPT Europe 2024 schedule of events. New practices are being put in place by the DGPT and the PDGA to ensure this does not happen again,” said PDGA Director of Operations, Doug Bjerkaas.
The Champions Cup is still moving to Northwood Park in Morton, Illinois. However, the event is now scheduled for April 25-28, 2024.
Kyle Klein lines up a shot on Sunday during the 2023 USDGC. Photos: Justin Anderson / PDGA
The final PDGA Major of the year came to a close as the best players in the world took to Winthrop Arena one last time for Championship Sunday of the 2023 United States Disc Golf Championship.
After three rounds at one of the most iconic courses on tour, the final round came down to a battle between Kyle Klein and Bradley Williams as they both sought to take down their first PDGA Major win.
Kyle Klein took control and leads the USDGC by three strokes with 18 holes to go. Photos: Justin Anderson / PDGA
The wind was howling as the best players in the world made their way through Winthrop Arena in Round 3 of the 2023 United States Disc Golf Championship.
While most players were looking to climb the leaderboard, the lead card made up of four players with no PDGA Major wins — including one player in his first Elite Series/Major lead card appearance — fought to stay on top.
Eight players are within three strokes of the lead after a wild day to kick off the 25th running of the United States Disc Golf Championship, the final PDGA Major of 2023.
And we’ve got a few fresh faces at the top of the leaderboard.
Joel Freeman took off on the back nine, sparked by an eagle on the 10th to take a one-stroke lead as the only player to hit double digits on the USDGC layout at Winthrop University.
The strong start for Freeman is no surprise, given his success in Rock Hill. He’s finished inside the top 15 in his past four trips to Winthrop, including a fifth-place finish in 2021 and seventh place finish a year ago.
Kristin Tattar wrote down that she wanted to win all of the PDGA Majors in 2023.
She would not be denied.
After four rounds at the Regulator course in Burlington, North Carolina, Tattar battled to the top at the 2023 United States Women’s Disc Golf Championships, becoming the first player in FPO history and second all-time to complete the season grand slam of winning all four PDGA Majors.
The Regulator course is already tough to begin with, and playing through cold, wet conditions made the course play multiple strokes harder than the day before. After a difficult day and a dramatic finish for the lead card on hole 18, the leaderboard once again has a familiar name sitting on top.
The course continued to play difficult as the whole field averaged almost an entire stroke higher than the day before and all but two holes averaged over par. After a long season and in the midst of a streak of playoffs and PDGA Majors, players will have to dig deep in the second half to stay focused on the final PDGA Major of the year.
Playing on a new course with the added pressure of the final PDGA Major of the year, this was a great opportunity for players to prove how well they can score and set the bar for the next three rounds. Overall, the Regulator course proved difficult as the course averaged 4.53 strokes over par and every player took at least one bogey.
And the race is on as fifteen of the 21 divisions are separated at the top by less than three strokes after the first of four rounds at the PDGA Major, which features a record-breaking 340 competitors.
For the second time this season at a PDGA Major, the late afternoon sun began to set as Isaac Robinson flashed a small smile walking down the 18th fairway.
Both times — surrounded by family and friends — he was announced as the champion.
Now with back-to-back victories at the World Championships, Tattar is the 10th FPO player with multiple World titles and the first back-to-back FPO Worlds Champion since Valarie Jenkins in 2009.
This year’s PDGA Europe Major event is the Stockholm Open in Sweden, hosted by long time TDs Jonas and Mats Löf, and presented by Latitude 64º Golf Discs, at the beautiful Järva Discgolf Park. All told this is the 34th edition of the Stockholm Open and the 17th time it has been held at Järva since the course was installed in 1995.
