During the opening ceremonies for the 2023 PDGA Masters Disc Golf World Championships, those in attendance who competed in the 2003 PDGA Pro Worlds were asked to stand. The same request came for those who competed in the 2005 PDGA Amateur Worlds.
Throughout the overflowing room, countless stood when called upon, kicking off the return of a PDGA Major to Flagstaff, Arizona for the first time in nearly two decades.
This PDGA Amateur Major is one of the best chances for U.S. amateurs to perform at the highest level of competition and get a taste of professional life. Winning the USADGC has jumpstarted the professional careers of players like Benjamin Callaway (2011), Colten Montgomery (2014), Anthony Barela (2015), Gavin Rathbun (2016), Kyle Klein (2019), and Robert Burridge (2021).
Tattar dominated once again, extending her 12-stroke lead to 14 and finishing the tournament at 27 strokes under par. According to StatMando, this is the largest margin of victory ever at an FPO Major with a 30-plus player field.
“I just feel good this weekend,” Robinson said. “Playing in Georgia, I have support — messages from dozens of people just congratulating me and encouraging me.
“That means the world to me, to play in my home state and have a chance to take this Major title down. That’s what I’m out here to do and I’m not stopping.”
While the rest of the field have been playing solid rounds and jockeying for position on the leaderboard, Tattar will start the final round with a 12-stroke lead over second place. Tattar’s last win at a Major was the 2022 PDGA Pro World Championships where she won by eight strokes over Henna Blomroos, so a 12-stroke lead must feel pretty comfortable going into Championship Sunday.
Silas Schultz dropped a course record performance on Friday on W.R. Jackson. Photo: Justin Anderson / PDGA
They’re going to run it back.
On a day of big moves, Friday’s lead card — Isaac Robinson, Silas Schultz, Niklas Anttila and James Conrad — is staying put.
Robinson kept his spot at the top, Schultz dropped a course record performance and Anttila and Conrad are right on their heels as the 2023 PDGA Champions Cup presented by Bushnell hit the midway point.
The FPO field once again finished with some hot scores after navigating the woods of the W.R. Jackson Memorial course. Kristin Tattar extended her lead from two to five strokes over the field, sitting at the top of the leaderboard at 16 strokes under par with Catrina Allen in second place at 11 strokes under par.
With the pressure palpable in the air as the first PDGA Pro Major of the year kicked off, Isaac Robinson was comfortable.
He’s at home — competing in his home state of Georgia and in the woods of W.R. Jackson — and it showed Thursday in the opening round of the 2023 PDGA Champions Cup presented by Bushnell.
“My home state,” Robinson said Thursday after his 11-under opener. “I’ve played here my whole life. It just feels natural in the woods. It’s what I’m comfortable doing.”
Beginning Thursday, the best players in the world return to the International Disc Golf Center for the second running of the PDGA Champions Cup presented by Bushnell, the first PDGA Pro Major of 2023.
For four days, 156 players will take on the on the famed, revered and updated W.R. Jackson course in Wildwood Park in Appling, Georgia. On Sunday, two PDGA Major champions will be crowned.
It's obvious what PDGA Majors mean to the players.
"To make your career go the next step, you need to win a Major," said the defending champion of the Champions Cup and 17-time PDGA Major* winner Paige Pierce.
Added another players with 17 Major wins, Paul McBeth: "Anytime there's a Major, there's an M next to the tournament, you know I'm gunning for it."
Roaring finishes led to repeats and sweeps at the 2023 College Disc Golf National Championship.
Capping off a record-setting event of more than 700 players representing over 80 schools at North Cove Leisure and Disc Golf Club in Marion, North Carolina, the finales to both the Men's and Woman's Division I came down the wire, capping off a furious four days of competition with championship moments.
It was anyone's title as Championship Saturday arrived in less-than-stellar conditions but these players weren't phased and their eyes were on the top prize.
Tailey Rowley celebrates on Thursday at the 2023 College Disc Golf National Championship. Photo: Justin Anderson / PDGA
Tailey Rowley was playing disc golf near the campus of Brigham Young University when a random player ran up to her and asked her to join the Cougar's disc golf team.
That quick interaction sparked her journey in College Disc Golf, and now she's a National Champion.
With over 700 players representing over 80 schools across the country, the 2023 College Disc Golf National Championship kicks off Wednesday for four days of competition at North Cove Leisure Club in Marion, North Carolina.
Former champions and a few newcomers highlight the 12th running of the PDGA Major that honors the late Tim Selinske.
In MP40, Brad Schick is back to defend his title, but 2022 PDGA Masters World Champion Joe Rovere and Patrick Brown, the defending MP50 champion, join the mix. Christian Diertrich and Tyler Horne are among the highest-rated players in the field.
The Wasatch Mountains in Ogden, Utah, will provide the backdrop for the 2020 PDGA Professional Disc Golf World Championship.Photo: Mulligan's Creekside Disc Golf Center
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.
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.
It’s difficult to capture in words just how incredible it was to watch the final round of the 2016 European Masters. Playing for the third straight day in perfect weather on one of the most beautiful and challenging disc golf courses on the planet, Järva DiscGolfPark, with a lead and chase card all within a few strokes of each other, there simply isn’t much else you can ask for.
It doesn’t get much bigger than this. Singles Day at the National Collegiate Disc Golf Championships, a PDGA Major. Today was the day that all the players in the Championship Flight had been waiting for. An individual National Title was on the line and you couldn’t script the type of finish we saw in both the men’s and the women’s divisions. Amazing putts, big comebacks, favorable bounces and unfortunate rolls; today’s action had it all.
