The 2017 Aussie Open came to a close this afternoon just outside of Perth, Australia at the beautiful and very difficult Mundaring DiscGolfPark. For the first time in several days, the competitors, staff, and volunteers were blessed with a break from the extreme heat that had been pushing a majority of players to their limits, both physically and mentally. It’s been an extraordinary week and we couldn’t have asked for a more exciting or dramatic finish.
UPDATE: At the time of publishing this article we were not aware that several legendary female disc golfers had qualified for the USDGC in the same way that Paige Pierce was on pace to do. Our sincere apologies to 4X World Champion Des Reading #15863, 6X World Champion Elaine King #3090, and 5X World Champion Juliana Korver #7438. Our sincere apologies again.
Today could have been about how 94°F (35°C) somehow felt like a nice, cool afternoon. Today could have been about a hot round that jumped someone to the chase or lead card. But, it wasn’t. By the time the Open division lead card was halfway through Round 2 of the 2017 Aussie Open, it was clear that something incredible was in the works. Ricky Wysocki #38008 and Eagle McMahon #37817 were on a rampage.
How ya goin’, mates? After two years of patiently waiting, we’ve finally made the trip to the other side of the world for the 2017 Aussie Open in beautiful Perth, Australia. Now that the jet lag has worn off, it’s time to kick off the disc golf season with the first PDGA Major of the year and the first event of the 2017 Disc Golf World Tour!
The 2017 disc golf season starts this week here in Australia for the 2017 Aussie Open, the first PDGA Major of the year! As always, we have a team of media professionals on site to bring you close to the action from the comfort of your home or place of work.
Naturally, the best way to follow the action is to come see it for yourself. If, however, you’re unable to make the trip to Mundaring DiscGolfPark, there’s plenty of ways you can follow the event online.
On this, the day of what was scheduled to be the final round of the 2016 US Disc Golf Championship (USDGC), the last PDGA Major of the year and the finale event of the inaugural Disc Golf World Tour, some very, very difficult decisions had to be made. Several inches of rain on Saturday turned the incredibly beautiful and challenging Winthrop University Gold course into a swamp, with fairways and tee pads plagued by pools of water, all while the lake that comes into play on many of the holes was steadily on the rise.
Round 4 of the 2016 USDGC has officially been cancelled. This was not an easy decision to make. Postponing the round would have caused many logistical problems for both our players and staff. Since many of you have traveled to get here, rescheduling hotel and flight accommodations on such short notice would have proved to be very difficult and in many cases not possible. This has been made more difficult due to the influx of evacuees from the coast.
Well, we all knew it was coming. With a category 2 hurricane ravishing the southeast just a few hundred miles away, the chances of getting through four days of competition without rain at the 2016 United States Disc Golf Championship in Rock Hill, South Carolina were slim to none. Unfortunately, for the nearly 100 players that qualified for and are competing in the event the old adage of “When it rains, it pours.” held true. And tomorrow’s forecast doesn’t look any better.
What an exciting day we witnessed here at the 2016 United States Disc Golf Championship, the legendary end-of-the-season PDGA Major that doubles this year as the DGWT Championship. The day started with a thick overcast, that would make way to beautiful sunny skies by noon. Likely thanks to Hurricane Matthew wreaking havoc on the Atlantic Ocean, there was stiff breezes of wind on the Winthrop Gold course challenging the players again today.