Every member of Team Discmania at the 2018 PDGA Pro World Championships had their eyes set on top prize. With countless hours put in on the course and in the practice fields, many consider this to be the ultimate prize of the year.
Held at Smugglers’ Notch Resort in Jeffersonville, Vermont, this year’s World Championships proved to be one of the most exciting in years. Unfortunately, the win wasn’t in the cards for Team Discmania with Nate Perkins claiming the top spot on the team with his finish in a tie for 14th.
Before looking at Team Discmania, we have to tip our cap and recognize this year’s two World Champions: Gregg Barsby and Paige Bjerkaas. Congratulations to the both of you!
Perkins Rebounds to 14th Place Tie
When looking back at the five rounds Nate Perkins put in between Fox Run and Brewster Ridge, a lack of mistakes proved to be important in a field that was as tight as ever.
Through the first two rounds, Perkins only had three bogies to his name. Round Three was back at Fox Run where Perkins continued to pick his spots to keep himself in the mix before the action returned to the second time through Brewster Ridge.
The heavily wooded course was no match for Perkins in Round Four as he Perkins shot the hot round for the day with a bogey-free 50 (-11). This saw him jump 10 spots to a tie for fourth with just one round left.
As the final round got underway at Fox Run, Perkins got off to a slower start than he wanted after running into trouble on the Hole 4. The triple-bogey slowed things down a bit, but Perkins was able to battle back to a tie for 14th to end the tournament.
Tough Week for Team Discmania
Knowing how hard Team Discmania works, it goes without saying that Worlds was disappointing for many.
In some cases it was throwing out-of-bounds by just inches or the putt that just wouldn’t land. In others, it was just wasn’t the right shot. It happened to many out there and sometimes, it just isn’t your day.
In the end, Simon Lizotte was able to carve out a finish in 25th with Eagle McMahon in 39th.
Bart Kowalewski (T61st), Gray Shue (T61st), and Colten Montgomery (T75th) were the three other team members to make it into the finals.
Other team members: AJ Carey (96th), Avery Jenkins (T115th), Steve Braud (T120th), Thunder Schultz (T136th), Bob Kulchuk (194th).
The Road Ahead
As we have stated before, tournaments like these are where you learn from what happened, put it behind you and attack the next one.
While there is a year before the next World Championships, there are still a number of big tournaments ahead of us this year.
In fact, the next one is just next week with the PDGA National Tour’s Delaware Disc Golf Challenge. A few weeks of A-Tiers follow before the 2018 United States Disc Golf Championship in the first week of October.
Finally, the Disc Golf Hall of Fame Classic is held the following week to wrap up the National Tour before the Disc Golf Pro Tour Championship the week after that.
If this week got you excited about disc golf, we’re not done yet.