Estonia's Taaniel Mehine finished second at the PDGA Junior Disc Golf World Championships a year ago.
This year — and on Thursday in particular — he's put himself in position to take the crown back home with him.
Mehine shot the hot round by two strokes in MJ12 — a 984-rated effort — to pull 13 strokes ahead in Tulsa with two days to go. Mehine had an eagle and went 6-down on the back nine. On the tournament, he's averaging 984.
More than 450 players hit the courses throughout the Tulsa area on Tuesday to kick off the week and, if the opening round was any indication, buckle up.
PDGA Major events are the premier competitions for disc golf each year, featuring the world’s best disc golfers competing for Major titles in multiple skill, age, and gender-based divisions. These PDGA marquee events offer any city or town the chance to host an international sporting event in their community, to draw interest and attention to the location, and to generate a significant economic impact for local businesses.
Hosting a PDGA Major is a challenging task, and interest was shown from several involved local organizing committees (LOC), meaning selecting these events was difficult, as so many excellent bid packages were submitted.
There were red-hot rounds all over the tournament, including Henry Bente’s 1023-rated round in MJ16, another heater from Victoria Eriacho-Paul in FJ18 and a new co-leader in Colin Bryant in MJ15.
Victoria Eriacho-Paul tees off to start 2022 Junior Worlds. Photo: Justin Anderson / PDGA
The phrase ‘it’s not a sprint, it’s a marathon’ doesn’t apply anymore when a PDGA World Championship is on the line.
On Wednesday, the 287-player field at the 2022 PDGA Junior Disc Golf World Championships raced out the gates in the Peoria, Illinois area, kicking off a week of disc golf with a competitive opening day.
Some of the 10-division field played two rounds to start their championship and the others will see that schedule on Thursday. The courses were tough, like the Junior 18’s trek through Wildlife and Sunset Hills.
PDGA Junior Worlds offers a fun and fierce competition every year. Photo: PDGA Media
The list of PDGA Junior Disc Golf World Championship alumni is loaded with names you will very easily recognize.
PDGA Pro World Champions and PDGA Major winners like Nate Sexton, Paige Shue, Paul McBeth, Kona Panis and Valarie Jenkins all competed at the Junior Worlds level before rising in the disc golf ranks.
It's a trend that has continued as recent Junior World Champions, like Gannon Buhr, have shown their ready to compete at the elite level.
Hailey King tees off at Smugglers' Notch, which will host the 2023 PDGA Professional Disc Golf World Championships. Photo: DGPT
PDGA Major Events are the premier national and international competitions for the sport of disc golf each year, featuring the world’s best disc golfers competing for World and National Titles in multiple skill, age, and gender-based divisions. These PDGA marquee events offer any city or town the chance to host an international sporting event in their community, drawing interest and attention to the location, and generating a significant economic impact for local businesses.