The Brent Hambrick Memorial Open (BHMO) returns to the PDGA National Tour once again after a year break and is ready to begin here in Columbus, Ohio for the final event of the 2016 PDGA National Tour on the infamous courses built on and around the Hoover Reservoir/Hoover Dam. No, not that Hoover Dam, but it is a dam and it certainly provides some amazing views when walking across the top. This event holds a special place in the hearts of the hundreds of people that were directly affected by the loss of now Disc Golf Hall of Fame (DGHOF) member Brent Hambrick #2797 to Leukemia in 1997. The following excerpt is displayed on Brent's DGHOF plaque at the International Disc Golf Center.

Brent Hambrick embodied an intense love and passion for disc golf. His warmth, charisma, and candid demeanor made Brent an extraordinary ambassador for the sport. While well-known on the tour as a lion-hearted competitor, he was also a champion of drawing people into disc golf, patiently teaching, encouraging, and sharing his immense enthusiasm. Brent’s tenacity in producing a new model of excellence and professionalism for tournaments united his community and inspired a new standard within the disc golf world to present our sport at its finest. The Brent Hambrick Memorial Tournament has become both a premier stop on the pro tour and a generous contributor to the Leukemia Society. Brent Hambrick raised the bar for the potential of disc golf by combining outstanding sportsmanship and performance with an unparalleled commitment to the greater good.

Disc Golf Hall of Fame - Brent Hambrick

This, amongst many other reasons, is why this event, formerly called the Columbus Open under Brent's tenure, has been such an important and well-known stop on the PDGA National Tour for the last 20 years. Some of the proceeds from this event each year go directly to The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. To date, more than $60,000 has been donated to the organization.

The infamous elevated basket of Hole 4 makes for a difficult birdie, even with an open fairway.

The BHMO takes place on two courses: the 27 hole Brent Hambrick Memorial DGC and the 18 hole Hoover Dam West course that's installed temporarily specifically for this event each year. The 27 hole permanent course is built on the flatter land around the reservoir and contains a good mixture of open and wooded holes.

One major change this year is that the players competing in the National Tour event will be playing for three days instead of two, and will be playing the permanent Hambrick course for all three rounds except for the Final 9, which uses some of the holes from the temporary Hoover Dam West course. And that's not necessarily a bad thing, by any means. Columbus local and 2008 BHMO Champion Brad Schick #7992 had this to say about the new format.

"I am really looking forward to the three-day format this year. In previous years, 27 holes on the permanent course and then another 18 on the Hoover Dam West course was brutal. With this change, touring players will have some time to actually enjoy Columbus and relax a bit. With some of the changes on the 27 hole course put in place this year, I expect it to play at least 3-4 strokes harder. It will be fun to watch the world’s best on the course I grew up on!"

As stated earlier, the 2016 Brent Hambrick Memorial Open is the last event on the 2016 PDGA National Tour. It's the last chance for many players to try to boost their overall numbers, as only the points earned from their best five of the first six NT events will count going into the required final event this weekend. The competitors will be teeing off every morning via a shotgun start to take on the 27-hole course, followed by a safari Final 9 that will take place on Sunday some time after the last players finish up the morning round. More information on that to come.

Players are practicing the #BHMO course. Birthday shout out to Adam Montgomery! #discgolf pic.twitter.com/sMhyobnOOA

— PDGA (@PDGA) August 25, 2016

Birthday boy Adam Montgomery #54038 practicing the BHMO course. Happy 32nd!

In the Open Women's division, Catrina Allen #44184 has all but already won the points series. It might not appear that way if you are looking at the current 2016 National Tour Standings where Paige Pierce #29190 only trails by 20 points, but that doesn't mean much considering Paige is not competing in the event. Paul McBeth #27523 has a chance at overtaking the now PDGA World Champion Ricky Wysocki #38008 for the number one spot, but he will need Ricky to finish....not well. The real battle in both divisions is in the spots below the top, and in those cases, plenty of races are far from over.

On top of live scoring, pictures, and videos as usual all weekend long on PDGALive.com, @pdgalive on Twitter, and @pdga on Instagram, we'll also have live-streaming video coming in on the SmashBoxxTV YouTube channel each and every day. Tune in tomorrow for Round 1 of the 2016 Brent Hambrick Memorial Open starting at 9:30am EDT. Follow along all weekend as we honor the memory of the late and truly great, Brent Hambrick.

The list of past BHMO winners is truly world-class!