Kyle Klein entered 2019 with a focused mind and his eyes set winning some notable disc golf tournaments. After taking down the 2019 US Amateur Disc Golf Championship in June, Klein looked for redemption at the Next Generation Tour Championships.
In 2018, Klein finished in second behind Team Discmania’s Silas Schultz. As the NextGen Championships moved from Arizona to Austin, Texas, Klein was certainly one of the favorites going into the event.
Klein shook off a slow start in the first round and soon took firm control of the tournament en route to the championship finish.
After shaking off the first round, Klein really hit a groove in round two.
“It was one of those rounds where everything was clicking and going right,” Klein says about his second round. “I just had to line it up and hit it. I didn’t have to try very hard to get it to do what I wanted it to do. It was just happening.”
The highlight of the round was an ace for Klein that helped with the positive momentum.
Klein says the ace was his first ever tournament ace, “In the first round, I hit the cage on that hole. I thought same disc, same shot and this one went in. I was having a good round up until that point and that made it even greater.”
With the USADGC and NextGen titles to his name, Klein believes this is his best year in disc golf yet. He says it acme down to execution. He put in the work off the course and knows he had the skills to make it happen.
Looking to next year, Klein says he wants to hit as many Disc Golf Pro Tour events as possible, make it to PDGA Pro Worlds, and return to the USDGC.
Go-To Discs for Klein
Throughout the tournament, Klein says he was reaching for the Swirly S-Line CD3, “It goes nearly as far as my DD3s but more controllable and straighter.
The DD3 Cloud Breaker, of course, C-Line PD2s, and the new run of the Swirly S-Line FD.
Klein actually used two different putters in the tournament. In the first three rounds, the cooler weather caused him to use the D-Line P2. Once things warmed up a bit, he switched to the Swirly P-Line P2 Imperial Eagle III.