Trek Disc Golf

What a great tournament. From the crowds to the gameplay to the course itself, Des Moines was really a fun tournament to watch. Finishing with the gauntlet of 17 and 18 made for some crazy score changes each round, and there were so many holes that I thought were just incredible. 16 sticks out in my mind, but you also have hole 4 and 5 playing back to back over the water. Overall, a great tournament and a course I hope to visit one day.

Starting with FPO, great job by Emily Weatherman to take control of the tournament and finish off with the victory. She shot a 1026 rated -8 final down and finished the tournament -18 and an overall tournament rating of 1005. She took home $8,000 and her first victory on the tour… and she’s just 18. And great job by Eliezra Midtlying coming in a tie for second. We know she can smash, but this was her best finish of the year, finishing at -15 and a 997 event rating.

On the MPO side of things, what a final day. Anthony Barela steps the hell up with an -11 down final round to take over the tournament and win his 4th elite series event of the year. After a quiet stretch, AB was dominant in the final event before heading over to Europe. His putting was top tier and his drives, both forehand and backhand, are awesome to watch. The precision and the effortless power, when on, feel unbeatable. His bogey on 17 was the only blemish for him on the weekend, but still finished the tournament at -30 and a 1067 event rating. Gannon Buhr made a hell of a push, at one point at -14 through 16 holes. But on the Iowa Island on hole 17, Gannon took a double bogey that ended his chances. Man, he was on one though, something I just expect once a round from Gannon at this point. Adam Hammes fell off the pace in the back 9 after sticking with AB early, and a bogey on 16 and double on 17 really ended any chance. And of course, Matty O was Mr. Consistent, shooting a -9, getting the last four holes, and finishing the tournament in second at -28.

Congrats to AB, taking home $13,000. Total purse at the Des Moines Challenge was $107,531.

Just an interesting note before signing off. I always look at strokes gained tee to green because it really shows the top competitors in the field. AB was 5th. The four players ahead of him, Jaden Rye, Calvin Heimburg, Evan Smith, and Chris Dickerson (3 finished tied for 7th and Chris finished 21st), all were in the negative on strokes gained putting. Just goes to show, if you are able to putt in C1 and C2 with consistently, its going to be damn hard to win.

Krokhol in Norway next. Let it rip!