Paige Pierce drove her way to the top of the leaderboard Thursday at the European Open. Photo: Tomi Mäkipää
NOKIA, Finland—Though she’s now leading the Open Women’s division after round one of the storied European Open, on Wednesday Paige Pierce was just happy to make it here for her Presidents Cup tee time.
Kevin Jones took home the win in his first European tournament. Photo: PDGA Europe
With Estonia just a hop, skip, and a ferry ride away from Finland, the seventh EuroTour event of the season, the Estonian Open, offered the perfect warm-up for this week’s PDGA Major, the European Open. And if the action in Estonia was a harbinger of what’s to come, we’re in for some exciting rounds in Nokia.
One week after withdrawing from the Ledgestone Insurance Open with a shoulder injury, Eagle McMahon hopped across the pond for a win at the Tyyni. Photo: Marika Salmi | Natural Born Disc Golfer
Going into the final round of an A-tier with just a one-stroke lead over three players and another five players lurking two behind would make most leaders edgy, to say the least. But whether it was the festive atmosphere of Europe’s largest-ever event (second-largest in the world this year with 958 registered players), his vacation mindset pre-European Open, or a mixture of both, nerves weren’t a factor for Eagle McMahon during the final round of the Tyyni.
A triumphant Jenni Eskelinen celebrates her Tynni victory. Photo: Marika Salmi | Natural Born Disc Golfer
Before play began at last weekend’s Tyyni near Helsinki, Finland, most people following European disc golf this year would have told you that their hands-down favorite to win the Open Women’s division was Estonian Kristin Tattar. Case in point: In UDisc’s Grip6 Pick6 contest, a game where you pick six players you think will be closest to the lead in their respective divisions, Tattar was picked by 70% of the almost 2,000 participants -- over 800 more than the female competitor with next-highest total.
Tony Ferro, shown here at the Bluebell Woods Open, has his sights set higher after a win at the Quarry Park Open. Photo: PDGA Europe
Established in 1994, Quarry Park is one of the oldest disc golf courses in England. A private venue owned by Derek Robins, it is a place that last weekend’s Quarry Park Open (EuroTour #5) winner Tony Ferro said “is filled with just about everything a disc golf course could have: open shots, wooded holes, elevation changes, and water hazards.”
Like the course, Ferro—a native of the U.S. who now lives in Switzerland—had everything he needed to be great on Saturday and Sunday.
974-rated Juhani Vainio was confident in his abilities, and that paid off as he emerged with a victory at Norway's Sula Open. Photo: PDGA Europe
According to PDGA Europe Tour Manager Matěj Verl, the end of the Sula Open in Langevåg, Norway, the fourth EuroTour event of the season, was “absolutely incredible.”
“I have never seen such a battle,” he said. “There could be a whole book written about what happened here.”
While we’re still working on lining up a publisher, there’s no doubt that there was more than enough action at the highly scenic and challenging Vasset DiscGolfPark, where all three rounds of Sula took place, to pique any disc golf fan’s interest.
Håkon Kveseth took down his second victory of 2019 at Denmark's Kokkedal Open. Photo: Brian Munk Jacobsen
The Kokkedal Open boasted the 2019 EuroTour season’s strongest Open field yet, with nine players rated above 1000 making starts, including Danish legend KJ Nybo. But it wasn’t Nybo—or any member of the four-digit club, for that matter—who walked away from the event with the win.
That honor went to 996-rated Norwegian Håkon Kveseth.
Kristin Tattar has played over her rating for all of 2019. Photo: Brian Munk Jacobsen
Before last weekend’s third EuroTour event, Denmark’s Kokkedal Open, Estonian Kristin Tattar had won the previous two stops on the circuit by margins of 18 and 26 strokes. The weekend before Kokkedal, she earned a victory over both Eveliina Salonen and Henna Blomroos -- the only two European women rated higher than her -- at the Prodigy Disc Pro Tour 2019 - Helsinki.
At Kokkedal, Tattar showed no signs of slowing down.
Since the inaugural PDGA Europe Board of Directors elections were held 2 years ago, PDGA Europe has been going through the process of formation as our association’s legal and largely self-governing continental body for Europe. In recent months registration as a nonprofit in Finland has been completed and our first permanent staff persons have been hired and trained. Now it is time to move PDGA Europe forward by envisioning, building and managing activities that have the overriding aim of growing disc golf into the future, in concert with our individual members, sanctioned events, and national association partners across Europe.
German Antonia Faber's tennis background has translated to the course. Courtesy photo
Often, athletes remember their first time playing their chosen sport as a revelation, as if it showed them that they were hardwired to love the game. But that’s not how Antonia Faber, a lefty who’s Germany’s highest rated female player and Europe’s seventh highest, described her first impression of disc golf.
When her husband dragged her out to a course in their hometown of Potsdam, Germany, in 2013, she was underwhelmed.
“I didn’t like it in the beginning,” Faber said. “It was too slow.”
Another weekend, another dominant showing for Kristin Tattar. Photo: PDGA Europe
The only suspense left in the Open Women’s division heading into the final round of the Bluebell Woods Open in Dunbar, Scotland, was exactly how much Kristin Tattar would take it by.
Finland's Tapani Aulu is the first in a series of European players to get to know. Courtesy photo
As the disc golf community continues to grow at a rapid pace, it’s becoming harder and harder to keep up with the people making names for themselves worldwide. Part of this is because the majority of media output focuses on players who live in North America or often make the trip there.
PDGA Europe is pleased to announce that Finland’s Seppo Paju and Estonia’s Kristin Tattar have won its prestigious 2018 PDGA Europe Player of the Year awards, both for the first time ever, based on their consistently stellar level of play throughout 2018.
Eveliina Salonen won her first PDGA Major in 2018 at the Konopiště Open. Photo: Eino Ansio
The Las Vegas Challenge and Memorial Championship are the first Elite Series tournaments of the 2019 season, and 952-rated Finn Eveliina Salonen will hop across the pond to compete in both. If you don’t know why you should be excited by that, here are a few of the accomplishments the 19-year-old added to her resume in 2018:
Newly elected PDGA Europe Board of Directors President, Kajsa Wickstrom, speaking at the European Disc Golf Championships.
During PDGA Europe's latest Board of Directors teleconference, held October 24th, 2017, the current PDGA Europe Board members voted for its officer positions. Each Board of Directors has its President, Vice-President, Secretary, and Treasurer to define roles and responsibilities within the governance structure, and in communicating with the outside world.
The Professional Disc Golf Association announces that Hans Nagtegaal has resigned from the PDGA Global Board of Directors due to professional reasons effective August 1, 2017. As the current Interim PDGA Europe Administrator, Hans will focus his efforts on establishing PDGA Europe operations as well as transitioning the newly elected PDGA Europe Board of Directors into their roles beginning September 1, 2017. The PDGA is currently exploring options for filling the position left vacant due to this resignation.
This is a historic occasion for disc golf and for the PDGA in Europe! As detailed in the PDGA Europe Transition Concept Paper section of the International Program Guide, over the past year the PDGA has begun the process of transitioning PDGA Europe from a Committee to our organization’s formalized and largely self-governing continental body for Europe.
The PDGA is pleased to announce it will be officially opening a European office in the Netherlands in October-November 2016. This is the first step in what is envisioned over the next 1-2 years to be the transitioning of PDGA Europe from a Committee of the Board of Directors into the PDGA’s registered and largely self-governing European continental chapter.
PDGA International Director Brian Hoeniger #4022 is pleased to announce the completion and release of the 2015 PDGA International Program Guide which provides in-depth information on PDGA activities and protocol in all countries outside of USA and Canada. In 2014, the 10th year of the International Program, there were 3100+ International Members, 360+ sanctioned events, and 28 PDGA affiliated countries in Europe, Asia, and Oceania.
If you think Switzerland, your first though might be snow, mountains and beautiful landscapes. This is exactly what you get, when you play on the “Gurten”, where the Swiss Disc Golf Championships have been held this year. Situated at 864 meters above sea level and 332 meters above the city of Bern (Swiss capital), the “Gurten” offers a fantastic panoramic view over Switzerland’s capital with its UNESCO protected domes, towers, and roofs overlooking the Swiss plateau with its charming villages, well-kept fields and forests aplenty.
Simon Lizotte of Germany is the 2012 European Disc Golf Champion. Lizotte overcame shakiness early on and held off a number of charges by Denmark’s Karl John Nybo during the final round as the two see sawed back and forth. In the end Lizotte played his game and came out on top posting a 61 (-5) for a -33 total and four throw victory over Nybo who carded a 60 (-6) and finished at -29 for the tournament. Lizotte looked nervous early on and gave up two throws to Nybo on the first two holes of the day before getting his game back on track. Nybo put pressure on all day and closed to within 3 throws more than once during the round.
Denmark’s Karl Johan Nybo had the hot round of the day at the European Championships with a 55 (-11) to move into second place behind Simon Lizotte of Germany. Lizotte made great drives but struggled with his midrange game during round three but he was still able to post a 58 (-8) for a tournament total of -28 to hold onto a five throw lead over Nybo who is at -23 going into the final 18 holes tomorrow. Oscar Stenfelt of Sweden and Arttu Sikanen of Finland will round out the lead group at -21 and -20 respectively. The title of European Champion looks to be young Simon Lizotte’s to win or lose as he has led the event wire to wire thus far.
Round one of the European Championships teed off this morning under cloudy conditions at the Essex University course in Colchester, United Kingdom. One hundred and ninety seven competitors from fifteen European nations are taking part in this bi-annual event, for individual honors but also for the first time in a new team format called the European Nations Championships. This format will have the top 20 players in each of the six divisions earning points for their countries, with the country earning the most points taking the Nations Cup home with them.
The 2012 European Disc Golf Championship will be played on the Classic Course of Wivenhoe Park in Colchester, United Kingdom at the University of Essex on August 15-18. Host to the 2011 British Disc Golf Open, the 18 hole course was redesigned in preparation for hosting the tournament, which will feature many of Europe’s top players competing for continental bragging rights.
Will Schusterick and Paige Pierce managed their leads and the Järva Park’s Major Course today to secure their second PDGA Tour Major event titles at the Stockholm Open. For their performances Will took home a sweet 28,000 Kronor (US$4050) while Paige won $1300, from the event’s cool total purse of 242,000 kronor / $35,000.
