Holyn Handley opened the 2023 Dynamic Discs Open with a one-stroke lead. Photo: Kevin Huver / DGPT

In stark contrast to last year’s howling winds, the 2023 Disc Golf Pro Tour — Dynamic Discs Open started off with hot weather and almost no wind at the Emporia Country Club. The FPO and MPO fields hit the ground running, finishing with hot scores and tight leaderboards.

Staying on Track

The Emporia Country Club Championship Course saw a few changes this year for the FPO field, providing a few new challenges and more chances to score. Even though the course averaged 2.25 strokes over par with every player taking at least one bogey, four players were able to finish the round with a 50% birdie rate.

Holyn Handley scored nine birdies and only took two bogeys in the opening round, finishing at the top of the leaderboard at seven strokes under par. After bogeying Hole 13 (the most difficult on the day averaging almost a full stroke over par), Handley birdied 14-16 to take the lead and finish with one last birdie on Hole 18.

Handley picked up up on the back nine for a 7-under opening round. Photo: Kevin Huver / DGPT

“I had a pretty slow start. In weekends past, I would let that derail my round,” Handley said after taking the lead in Round 1, “Because I stayed in the right headspace, I was able to come back and have a good back 9.”

Handley was one-under through the first seven holes but started to pick up momentum with birdies on Holes 8 and 9. Consistently finding ways to score got Handley to the top and her ability to scramble kept her from giving those strokes back. A 50% scramble rate might not sound high, but the other three players to score nine birdies (Kristin Tattar, Holley Finley, and Hailey King) all ended their rounds with at least four bogeys and a 0% scramble rate.

Ella Hansen is one stroke back in second place. Photo: Kevin Huver / DGPT

Handley’s hot round didn’t leave her with much breathing room, Ella Hansen finished at 6-under and they will be joined on the Round 2 lead card by Tattar and Missy Gannon who both finished at five-under. With a tight leaderboard, Handley looks to improve her game to stay ahead.

When asked if she had any changes to make going into Round 2, Handley said, “Getting my drives going, they were missing a little bit of that pop and that power that they normally have so that cost me a couple OB strokes and left me short in some spots. I’m going to try to come out the gates attacking the course a little bit more tomorrow.”

Handley has found herself in the lead plenty of times this season, resulting in multiple top ten finishes. We’ll see if she can score an even hotter round as she attacks the course on moving day of the 2023 Dynamic Discs Open.

Heimburg Leads Locked-Up Leaderboard

With nearly perfect conditions, the MPO field took the opportunity to rack up birdies in the opening round of the 2023 Dynamic Discs Open, resulting in another locked-up leaderboard. Eight players are currently tied for 2nd place at 10-under and players who finished three strokes back of the lead will start Round 2 tied for 17th place. Scores are so tight that all four players on the fourth card on Saturday will be just two strokes back of the lead.

Calvin Heimburg was stellar off the tee to take the lead after the first round. Photo: Kevin Huver / DGPT

Calvin Heimburg currently sits on top of the logjam at 11 strokes under par. Heimburg shot 12 birdies on the day, taking his only bogey on Hole 2 and then going five-for-five on Holes 4 through 8.

“I threw the disc really well for the most part,” Heimburg said of his performance off the tee in Round 1, “I didn’t really make very many putts, I didn’t have to. There were a lot of putts I had that were 15 feet and in, I think the biggest putt I made was on the island today.”

Heimburg’s longest putt of the day was a 27-foot birdie putt on the island green of Hole 16. Otherwise, Heimburg’s drives often left him with short putts, tapping in six birdies from the bullseye and finishing the day with 100% Circle 1X putting.

When asked about playing in the calm conditions, Heimburg said, “The course plays easy when the wind’s down. If the wind picks up, I think there’s going to be quite a bit more separation and there are going to be very few hot rounds.”

Matt Orum returned to action in solid form and is in an eight-way tie for second. Photo: Kevin Huver / DGPT

Out of the eight players who were able to take advantage of the calm conditions to reach 10 strokes under par on day one, both Matthew Orum and Gannon Buhr were able to do so without taking a single bogey. While the conditions are ideal, the lack of scoring separation can make a single bogey feel like a huge setback. With no room to budge, players will have to consistently score well to stay at the top and Heimburg is known for his consistency. In a year filled with tight leaderboards and chase card winners, Heimburg is the only player in the 2023 MPO field with multiple Elite Series wins.

There are still two more rounds for players to maintain their spot at the top or claw their way up the leaderboard in the 2023 Dynamic Discs Open.