Written by Brandon Goldner #31218. Cover photo by The Flight Record.

ESTACADA - Will Schusterick #29064 led the Open division after days one and two, but Paul McBeth #27523 broke from the second card with a run of birdies and consecutive eagles to force a playoff. After three sudden death playoff holes, McBeth was crowned the victor of the 2015 Beaver State Fling. Jessica Weese #50656 battled Valarie Jenkins #17495 all weekend before emerging victorious in Open Women, and got her first PDGA National Tour win as a pro.

“I don’t know what it is. Portland has playoffs,” said McBeth, referring to his five-hole showdown with Ricky Wysocki #38008 during the 2014 PDGA Pro Worlds, also held in and near Portland, OR. “The final round… it’s a lot more pressure, and I enjoy that.”

When asked about the crowds that grew ever-larger as the weekend progressed, McBeth said, “Honestly, I really don’t notice them half the time, but the bigger the crowd, the better. When I got back and see pictures and stuff, it’s incredible.”

Meanwhile, Weese was understandably stoked by her first PDGA National Tour win.

“I feel like I’m floating, it’s not real,” said Weese. “There’s no way. I still can’t believe it.” When asked what gave her the opportunity to pull ahead on a course that typically doesn’t give a ton of chances for separation, Weese replied, “I know that Val [Jenkins] plays very consistent, and I knew that if I could play consistent I could stay in the lead and finish strong.”

Schusterick had a 1-throw lead over McBeth coming into the 17th hole, but his drive on the dogleg left par 3 was high and left, clipping the trees and finishing in the brush. He used a putter to forehand roll his way out of trouble and get close to the basket, but his 35-foot putt was high. Schusterick also had a 60-foot putt on 18 for the win in regulation, but his straddle jumper kissed the top band and kicked out.

Schusterick misses for the win. Wysocki misses his putt to join the playoff. Schusterick putts for par. #2015BSF pic.twitter.com/Y8AkSMJjZ5

— PDGA Live Scoring (@pdgalive) June 14, 2015

Will Schusterick #29064 nearly sinks a huge putt on the 18th hole to win the 2015 Beaver State Fling.

On the first playoff hole, McBeth parked the notoriously tricky Hole 1 of Milo-West which only a handful of players birdied all weekend. Schusterick’s drive clipped the trees, but fought through and landed about 30 feet out. With some wind, Schusterick canned the putt to force another playoff hole.

Hole 2 is another tricky shot, with thick trees and shrubs along the right and an opening about 350 feet out where the pin sits tucked far and high on a hill. Both players drove well, with Schusterick landing above and McBeth below, and McBeth smashed the uphill putt from outside 30 as the crowd roared. With the tournament on the line, Schusterick’s downhill putt was also true to force a third playoff hole.

Hole 3 is short, but thickly wooded. McBeth’s turnover backhand came out clean and landed long, but Schusterick’s forehand skipped off the ground and hit debris to land short. Fighting trees, Schusterick’s turnover putt didn’t have quite enough angle, leaving the door open to McBeth who’s no stranger to pressure putts. His was just outside the circle, and he guided it home for the win in one of the most dramatic finishes of the 2015 season thus far, rivaled only by the sudden death showdown between himself and Jeremy Koling #33705 at the 2015 Memorial Championships.

Paul McBeth wins the 2015 Beaver State Fling. #2015BSF pic.twitter.com/SmoSyCzPhT

— PDGA Live Scoring (@pdgalive) June 14, 2015

Paul McBeth #27523 hits a 35 foot putt to win the 2015 Beaver State Fling on hole 3 of the sudden death playoff against Will Schusterick #29064.

Other divisions weren’t short of action either, as Masters players Scott Stokely #3140 and Patrick Brown #25713 battled all weekend to find themselves in a playoff after four rounds. Stokely got the par on the first playoff hole, and Brown could only manage a bogey as Stokely, emerging from retirement after being among the best disc golfers in the world over a decade ago, got his first PDGA National Tour win in any division of his career.

In Masters Women, Leanne Fulton #27048 overcame a slight deficit to Molly Barnes #27303 after Day 2 to claim the victory. Jim Oates #3351 battled to get the win in Grandmasters, and Steve Tufty #2006 dominated Senior Grandmasters for his first win of the year.

Full results with unofficial ratings are published on the on the 2015 Beaver State Fling results page and high resolution photographs from the weekend are available for viewing and/or downloading on the PDGA Flickr page. We'll see you all at the Maple Hill Open for the next stop on the 2015 PDGA National Tour!

Editor's Notes: Like every great event, it wouldn't be possible without a hard-working group of staff members and volunteers. The 2015 Beaver State Fling was no exception. And it wasn't just the local tournament crew that did an amazing job all weekend. With the PDGA Media Manager unable to attend, locals Brandon Goldner #31218 and Tom Elder #36581 stepped up. Brandon wrote all the coverage articles for PDGA.com (including everything above) while Tom did all the tweets on the @pdgalive Twitter account plus helped with live scoring on pdgalive.com. We can't thank them enough and we know the disc golf world agrees! Thanks for all the hard work fellas!