Two-time PDGA World Champion Ricky Wysocki now leads the PDGA National Tour Elite Series Points Standings, but it's a slim margin. Photo: Alyssa Van Lanen

Ricky Wysocki may not have been able to take home the win at last weekend’s Delaware Disc Golf Challenge, but he did emerge from Iron Hill with at least one moral victory.

The Ohio native and two-time PDGA World Champion jumped into first place in the PDGA National Tour Elite Series Points Standings thanks to his runner-up showing in Delaware. His 370 points give him a slim two-point lead in the season-long race over Eagle McMahon, whose last-hole struggles in Delaware dropped him to seventh place at the tournament. Calvin Heimburg (348.33 points) is currently in third place.

Competitors’ lowest finish from the first five National Tour events of the season is dropped from the overall point total. For Wysocki, that knocked his eighth-place showing at the Las Vegas Challenge off the docket, while McMahon’s Iron Hill performance was nixed.

A $6,500 first-place bonus is up for grabs, but anyone wanting to win it has to play at the National Tour finale, the Ed Headrick Disc Golf Hall of Fame Classic at the International Disc Golf Center in Appling, Georgia, from October 11-13.

For Wysocki, the money is merely that: a bonus. Instead, he’s more interested in making his mark as high-level touring professional year-in and year-out.

“We’re grinding it out, so we want to leave a legacy and make it all worth it,” Wysocki said. “…Getting the trophy at the end of the year and seeing your name at the top is rewarding, seeing all the time and effort we put in to go to these different NTs.”

Wysocki has historically performed well at the IDGC. He took down the Hall of Fame Classic in a playoff in 2017, played there en route to his world title the same year, and won his first career major at the 2011 PDGA Championship.

“There’s a lot of titles I’ve got out there, so I feel like I can compete at a high level,” Wysocki said. So I like my position [in the standings].”

Wysocki has won the points title once before in his career, in 2016. McMahon took the crown in 2018.

2019 National Tour Open Points Totals

Full 2019 NT Standings »

Catrina Allen further cemented her hold on first place on the Open Women’s side of the standings by winning the Delaware Disc Golf Challenge. She’s now won three NTs this season, giving her a total of 395 points. Her next closest competitor is Paige Pierce, who is in second place with 365.33 points.

For that pecking order to change at the Hall of Fame Classic, Pierce would need to win the event and Allen would need to finish in 12th or worse. She’s the defending champion two years running and has never performed lower than third place.

If Allen wins the series, it'll be the fourth time she's accomplished that feat in her career. She'll net a $2,500 bonus.

2019 National Tour Open Women Points Totals

Full 2019 NT Standings »