Who is Cadence Burge?
Cadence Burge is your 2022 PDGA Amateur World Champion! At just 15 years old, Cadence’s disc golf career is merely starting. The bigger question is, how does a 15 year old disc golfer from Huntsville, Alabama win such a prestigious title?
We had a talk with Cadence just after her win to find out.
Early Beginnings
As with many young champions, Cadence was essentially born into disc golf. Cadence’s dad had her throwing discs as early as 3 years old!
“My dad’s been playing his whole life, so at 3 or 4 I started throwing discs. Then I played my first tournament in 2015 when I was 8.”
Cadence ended up playing several tournaments in 2015 and 2016 in the Junior Girls divisions. Though she had a lack of motivation to compete, as she was the only one in her division.
“When I was younger I played in Junior Girls, so I was always playing by myself. I ended up taking a break for a couple of years.”
This was not the end of her disc golf days though. Little did anyone know, her competitive spirit was just waiting for an opportunity to rise.
Competition Sparks a Fire
Cadence turned 11 years old before her next PDGA appearance. She recalled her first time beating someone in her same division. It was then Cadence started to realize her competitive drive. In just one year she climbed from Junior Girls to the Advanced Women division.
“I always want to get better and add more skills I can use in competition, so competitiveness is definitely something that drives me.” When asked what other hobbies she enjoys, the answer was simple - “All I do is disc golf.”
It wasn’t long before our very own Eagle McMahon took notice.
The CrushBoy Calls
In the winter of 2019, a 12 year old Cadence got the chance to play a round with Eagle. She says she doesn’t remember much of her play during the round, but apparently it was enough to catch Eagle’s attention.
“After the round he posted a clip of me throwing, saying something like ‘watch out for her.’ That was crazy to me, impressing a famous 1050 rated player. Later when I got the offer to join Team Discmania they told me it was Eagle that recommended me.”
Eagle had immediately called Discmania legend, Team Manager, and now fellow World Champion - Avery Jenkins. It was an easy decision for Avery to draft an offer after Eagle’s glowing recommendation.
Just like that Cadence started repping the Discmania Shield in 2020, and Eagle’s intuition proved to be spot on. By the end of that year she took 6 Intermediate Women and 6 Advanced Women wins, not to mention never dipping below 3rd place in her 4 other appearances in those divisions.
A Champion Rises
We would list all Cadence’s accomplishments since joining Team Discmania, but there is far too much to list. Here are a few highlights out of her 54 tournaments in 2020 and 2021;
- 2020 NADGT Premier - Champion
- 2021 Junior Disc Golf World Championships - 2nd Place
- 2021 The Magic City Mega Bowl - Champion
- 20 Advanced Women wins
- 10 wins in other divisions
Cadence is just starting her journey in the FPO division this year, but has already racked up 2 wins alongside her PDGA Amateur Wins in Mixed Doubles and FA1. Oh did we forget to mention? She also won PDGA Amateur Mixed Doubles at Worlds with her teammate Aiden Scott!
What's Next for the Champ?
Cadence is slowly coming to terms with her win. She said, “It feels really weird to think about. I don’t know if this even feels real right now.”
She even got a Facebook notification on her phone as we spoke with her. Apparently her fame is already being advertised for her local league - “Come meet the World Champion!” Looks like her signature is going to be part of practice now too!
Though the win is hardly settling in for her, she is already focused on her next big event - NADGT Finals.
We wish Cadence the best of luck in that and all her future endeavors. We are so proud to have her represent Discmania on and off the course, and are excited to see where her competitive spirit takes her!
We've prepared a limited release of Triumph Neo Origin to celebrate! Grab your piece of history here.
Check out Cadence's team page >>> HERE