From the office of Owl P. Jackson, Esq.
May 1, 2024 by Chouette P. Jackson, Esq. in Opinion, Summary with comments
On a weekend where it was more about surviving the course than conquering it, two major champions emerged victorious from the trees. In my opinion, these are the top 10 storylines for the 2024 PDGA Champions Cup.
1. Andrew Presnell wins
“There are troubles in the forest, problems with the trees.”
Raise your hand if you had Presnell on your podium picks? I did not mean it. Andrew Presnell becomes one of the most unlikely major winners of all time. He has no elite wins. He had never even made the top 10 at a Major before.
He has a reputation as a touring grinder, hitting the next spot week after week. That’s a bit like how he won this weekend: he just nibbled away little by little. He never took worse than a bogey, and as he noted on the Staggered Stance podcast, “didn’t try to make hero shots.” He just kept it on the fairway and played Golf.
Presnell isn’t one to show too much emotion, but you could tell it meant a lot to him. What does a major victory mean for a generally average player? Only time will tell the long term effects. But there are already immediate results. $15,000 for one. On top of that, Discraft’s Bob Julio was there to welcome him back to their Elite team after the big win. Prez for Prez!
2. Eveliina Salonen wins
“Because the maples want more sun and the oaks ignore their requests.”
Eveliina won her second tournament of the year and the second Major of her career. She’s not a great putter now, but the days of making 5 putts from 20 feet are over. Turns out that’s really all she needed. She has always been at the top of the stats from tee to green and clearly has one of the best shots in the division.
She said after the tournament: “I’m proving to myself that I can do it. This is perhaps the most important thing. Currently, Salonen sits at the top of the Pro Tour rankings. She could well be the constant weekly threat to Tatar that we wanted to emerge among the best players in the FPO.
3. MPO Competitors
“The problem with maples (and they are convinced they are right): They say the oaks are just too tall and absorb all the light.”
Many different names were floating at the top of the leaderboard over the four days. Here are some interesting things to note about those who didn’t make it.
- Casey White reached the winning final score during the third round. He ended up falling to 14th place.
- Niklas Anttila finished in 2nd place with a -11. This is now his third second place in a Major.
- Ricky Wysocki and Calvin Heimburg looked set to lose first place on the final day. Ultimately, their great droughts continued. Ricky hasn’t won a Major in seven years. Calvin never won one.
- Ezra Robinson (T3) gave us hope for his brother’s consecutive Champions Cup victories. So far this year he has been the superior Robinson.
4. European women
“But oak trees can’t help their feelings if they like the way they’re made.”
Take a look at the top 6 FPO Champions Cup finalists. Salonen, Henna Blomroos and Silva Saarinen are all from Finland. Kristin Tattar, of course, is from Estonia. And a name many people in the United States may not know, Rachel Turton, comes from Britain. In fact, the only American player in the top 6 is Ohn Scoggins, and she was born in Laos.
I remember after COVID everyone was talking about the FPO Europeans coming back on tour. Well, here they are. Disc Golf seems global right now…at least in FPO.
-5. Kristin Tattar 0-2 at 2024 Majors
“And they wonder why the maples can’t be happy in their shade.”
After her major sweep in 2023, Kristin Tattar is now 0-2 at Majors this year. She is still the best player in the world. She is always the sure winning pick every week. There were a hundred times during the Champions Cup where I was like, “Okay, here’s Kristin. » But she never did. I will always pick Kristin to win the next tournament. And to the next Major. But that just highlights how incredible Kristin’s season was last year.
6. 4 rounds in Northwood
“There is trouble in the forest and all the creatures have fled.”
I love woodland disc golf, but it was hard to watch at times. WR Jackson, by comparison, seems absolutely laid back. Northwood “Black” is a brutal course where you simply try to escape with as little damage as possible. This is great, but I think it works best as a companion course, as it has with previous Ledgestones. Four days in a row (especially when one of those days is 14 hours) on “the hardest course in the world” can feel a bit like being crushed over the head. But ask me how I feel after watching four consecutive events at Lake Eureka later this year. I’m dying to see players make a quintuple bogey at Northwood.
7. The return of Eagle McMahon
“As the maples cry, ‘Oppression,’ and the oaks shake their heads.”
Perhaps the biggest story of the week was the return of Eagle McMahon, back after surgery, with a brand new disc sponsor and a focus on the featured card. It wasn’t pretty. Something was wrong with Eagle’s timing…or maybe he didn’t know his low drives…or…who knows? Eagle finished with an abysmal +26, tied for 90th place, beating only 4 players and nowhere near qualifying. Difficult journey to stage its rebirth.
8. Casualties at the cutting line
“So the maple trees formed a union and demanded equal rights. »
Eagle wasn’t the only well-known player to miss the cut. In MPO, these players all failed: Drew Gibson (T54), Chris Clemons (T58), Kevin Jones (T60), Nikko Locastro (T62), Ben Callaway (T62), Albert Tamm (T77) and many others. ‘between you. favorites. In a twist of fate, Silver Lätt, Silas Schultz, Brodie Smith and Alden Harris all managed to qualify, but still came up short on money.
In FPO, two names stand out from the others: Paige Pierce (T30) and Hailey King (T32). Even after the injury, I thought Paige would have the skills to finish in the top 10 every week. And Hailey King… where to start? Every week I think to myself, “How is Hailey King not the best player in FPO?” And he, we are… again.
9. Ranking Check
“They say, ‘Oaks are just too greedy.’ We’re going to make them give us light.’”
A Major means double the Pro Tour points are awarded. Here’s what strikes me at this point in the season.
- Presnell’s 200-point win more than doubled his season total and catapulted him into the top 10.
- Somehow, Anthony Barela and Gannon Buhr managed to finish T10, keeping their season-long top-10 streaks intact.
- The next most consistent player? Chris Dickerson. He hasn’t missed the top 10 since Chess.com.
- Isaac Robinson is currently in 23rd place.
- My surprise FPO players this year are Rebecca Cox and Heidi Laine. While victories aren’t always difficult to come by, their play has remained largely consistent. They currently occupy 8th and 9th places respectively.
10. What’s next?
“Now there is no more oppression of the oak, for they have passed a noble law. And the trees are all equal by axe, hatchet and saw.
The first Major of the year (which includes both divisions) marks the end of the start of the season. We saw the emerging dominance of Anthony Barela and the ongoing battle between Kristin and the rest of the FPO. So what’s next? Let me tell you.
- Gannon Buhr will hold the longest consecutive streak in the MPO top 10.
- Some of the “big names” will get a victory before the European Open: Calvin Heimburg and Chris Dickerson. Ricky won’t do it.
- Eagle will take the podium at the end of the West Coast swing.
- Between now and the European Open, there will be no FPO winner who hasn’t already won this season.
- This will be the last tournament of the season where Kristin misses the podium.
Thanks for reading, everyone! Come to Emporia, the disc golf capital of the world!
