It took him awhile to get there, but Paul McBeth made the most of his travels once he finally got to the Utah Open with 1076-rated opening round. Photo: Alyssa Van Lanen / DGPT
Ricky Wysocki won his second career Santa Cruz Masters Cup after a wild final round at the DeLaveaga Golf Course. Photo: Alyssa Van Lanen
SANTA CRUZ, Calif. – The famed Beach Boardwalk and its landmark Giant Dipper make for a bucolic skyline here in this seaside enclave, but for yesterday afternoon’s final round of the Masters Cup it was as if Ricky Wysocki and Josh Anthon picked up the red and white wooden roller coaster and transplanted it to the fairways of the DeLaveaga Golf Course.
Paul McBeth joins the show to talk about this weekend's Santa Cruz Masters Cup. Photo: The Flight Record
Steve Hill and Sara Lamberson discuss the record-breaking PDGA Women’s Global Event weekend, including Sara’s WGE experience (00:45); the KC Diva Spring Feeva (3:50); and some of the other numbers that point toward the event’s success (5:57). Sara breaks down observations from the Global Scores (9:22) before the hosts cover the hot rounds from the weekend (13:45).
The weather in Waco was not the only intriguing story from the weekend. Photo: Alyssa Van Lanen / DGPT
There weren’t any buzzer beaters, though competitors did race Mother Nature’s shot clock on Saturday. Nor were there any UMBC Retrievers to be found, but some did have to retrieve wayward discs from the waters of the Brazos River. Heck, there wasn’t even an upset; even if there was, Nate Perkins over Jeremy Koling would have been more akin to No. 13 Marshall over No. 4 Wichita State than Friday night’s No. 16 over No. 1 shocker.
Jeremy Koling has employed a smooth forehand and precise approaches as he aims to defend his Waco title. Photo: Alyssa Van Lanen / DGPT
Paul McBeth was on a historic pace Friday at the Waco Annual Charity Open. A near impossible eagle connection through a wooded jail on Brazos Park East’s 15th put him at 10-under par through nine holes, and it looked as if a vintage performance was in the making.
A clean sheet vaulted Devan Owens to the top of the Waco Annual Charity Open leaderboard. Photo: Alyssa Van Lanen / DGPT
Devan Owens was in the zone Thursday, content to play placement golf through the woods of Brazos East Park and take what the course would give him. Even as he peppered in a 75-foot throw-in for birdie on the track’s 462-foot 13th, he really didn’t have a sense of how well he was playing.
Paul McBeth tees off during the final round of the 2013 Memorial Championship. Photo: PDGA
March 2, 2013, started like any regular day for Paul McBeth. He woke up on the road, in Arizona, and ate a basic breakfast – probably yogurt, he said, because he was less sensitive to dairy back then – and headed to Fountain Hills for the final round of the Memorial Championship.
Paul McBeth, shown here during round one of the Memorial at Fountain Hills, fired off the hot round to move into first place Thursday. Photo: Alyssa Van Lanen
There’s a reason fans refer to this week’s tour stop in Arizona as the “Mc”morial.
Eagle McMahon (left) and Joel Freeman shared their home state pride after round three of the Las Vegas Challenge. Photo: Alyssa Van Lanen
HENDERSON, Nev. – Eagle McMahon and Joel Freeman stood feet from the 18th basket on the Adidas Terrex course on one of the rare patches of green grass in this parched desert landscape. The sun had just set on the third round of the Las Vegas Challenge, and the two Colorado natives could not help but be in awe at their current standing.
“I can’t believe that Joel – from Colorado -- and me are first and second right now,” McMahon said. “That’s so ridiculous.”
Paul McBeth #27523 sweeps every ranking metric in 2015 to retain his PDGA World #1 rank after sweeping the PDGA Majors: Pro Worlds, USDGC, Aussie Open, Scandinavian Open, and European Open. McBeth also finished with the best record for the PDGA National Tour events and retained the highest player rating, setting new records along the way. Ricky Wysocki #38008 moved up into 2nd place on the strength of his runner-up finish at the 2015 USDGC, forcing Will Schusterick #29064 and Nikko Locastro #11534 down to 3rd and 4th, respectively.
Disc golf history was made at the USDGC during Saturday’s final round when Paul McBeth #27523 won his first USDGC and completed disc golf’s Grand Slam in the process when he beat Richard Wysocki #38008 by five strokes.
Coming from three strokes behind to start the day, McBeth shot a 61 (-6), overtaking Round 3 leader Nate Sexton #18824, then eventually outlasting Richard Wysocki when Wysocki stumbled on Hole 17, clearing the way for a McBeth victory.
“The National Tour started with a playoff and ended with a playoff”, said Paul McBeth #27523 as we walked up to the tee pad of Hole 2 with the gallery just behind us. At that moment, the reality of the 2015 National Tour coming to an end finally hit me. Has it really been six months since The Memorial Championships where Mcbeth faced another North Carolinian in a playoff?
While most people were talking about Paul McBeth’s second straight course record breaking round as the last cards were being turned in at Moraine Lakeview DGC this morning, a handful of people were talking about something much more serious. Word was spreading that the current Open Women’s division leader and 2012 PDGA Pro World’s Champion, Sarah Hokom #34563, had been in a car accident.
We think back to last year’s exciting PDGA World Championships and how exciting the final few rounds were before the most memorable playoff. The way this year’s tournament is playing out, we wouldn’t be surprised if we see equally as large fireworks in Pittsburgh this weekend for the 2015 Pro Worlds.
With two full rounds remaining before the finals, the leaderboard continues to see many changes after a wild day on Thursday.
Over the past week, 175 men and women made their way to Leicester, MA for the 2015 Maple Hill Open to compete for one of the most coveted victories in disc golf. All in all, the 175 competitors at this PDGA National Tour event represent 33 states, Finland, and Sweden. Unfortunately, for nearly half of those 175, the 18th hole of Round 3 this afternoon was the last they would play at the Maple Hill Open.
The long awaited first round of the 2015 Maple Hill Open is officially in the books and as expected, it was truly a great day of disc golf. Maple Hill Gold is the kind of place where unexpected names can reach the top of the leaderboard but that wasn’t the case today. Two very familiar names will sit atop the lead card tomorrow, current PDGA Professional Disc Golf World Champions Paul McBeth #27523 and Catrina Allen #44184.
It’s been less than two weeks since the end of the 2015 Beaver State Fling in Oregon, yet here we are again on the other side of the country in Leicester, MA, getting ready for the start of the 5th stop on the 2015 PDGA National Tour, the 2015 Maple Hill Open presented by Vibram. It’s a 3050+ mile trek from Oregon to Massachusetts but for those fortunate few that have had the opportunity to compete at this event in the past, the long hours on the road are well worth the trouble.
Paul McBeth #27523 and Paige Pierce #29190 top the PDGA Year-end 2014 World Rankings. McBeth has completed the most dominant year ever since World Rankings were started in 2005 (Ken Climo #4297 likely has had as dominant of a year before World Rankings started). McBeth averaged just slightly under first place in the tournament and ratings elements used to calculate World Rankings. Nathan Doss #11794 ranked second, averaging around fourth place for the year. RIchard Wysocki #38008 ranked sixth may have had the second best season if you eliminate his finish at the 2014 USDGC.
