🥶 Buhrrr, it's cold in here

Hello and welcome, this is The Players Meeting. The weekly email you can rely on to know what’s going on in disc golf, in 5 minutes or less.

The DGPT pulled out all the stops for their 1st 2022 event. And as if it was scripted, last weekend ended spectacularly.

Let’s get into it.

Las Vegas Challenge

RESULTS - 🏆 DREW GIBSON & CATRINA ALLEN

MPO/ A slow-moving cold front didn’t phase Drew Gibson this past weekend. His experience showed after beating Gannon Buhr in a 4-hole playoff. This wasn’t the 1st time Gibson took part in a DGPT playoff (2019 Portland Open).

After round 1, Buhr made lead card and stayed there all weekend. The 16-year old showed incredible composure until the very end. And it felt like it was his tournament to win.

But Gibson had something to prove and shot the hot round (-13) on the 2nd AND final days. With a costly mistake on the last hole in regulation, Buhr threw his upshot OB and pushed a playoff. Another OB mistake by Buhr gave Gibson this well-deserved win.

FPO/ You’d think seeing the same thing again and again would get boring. But it doesn’t when it’s a battle between the 2 greatest FPO players of this generation: Catrina Allen & Paige Pierce.

The two started tied after the 1st round and ended tied going into the final round. Both made mistakes, but again it came down to the final hole. Keeping with the theme, Pierce threw her 2nd shot OB to allow for a stress-free layup by Allen to win.

The Europeans mostly lived up to the hype. Kristin Tattar took 3rd, Eveliina Salonen 5th, and Henna Blomroos missed the final day cut. They’ll continue their US tour and their podium finishes.

STANDOUT PLAYERS

MPO/ Gannon Buhr almost overshadowed Gibson’s victory by proving himself every round. From his distance off the tee, smart plays, and ridiculous step-putt, Buhr is someone you want to put your money on for the next 20 years.

FPO/ Shout out to Natalie Ryan. I’m not here to discuss controversies or opinions. So since Ryan is allowed to play, she did just that.

Unfortunately, her coverage debut was disrupted by an injury in the 2nd round. She ended up dropping out of the tournament. Hoping she recovers quickly, and we can see more of what she offers to the FPO field.

HIGHLIGHT

Disc Launcher

Stuff Made Here is a YouTube channel (3.6M subs) by Shane Wighton who builds viral contraptions. His latest video was an arm attachment that could throw a disc faster than humanly possible.

Wighton was able to get the attachment to throw 96mph beating Simon Lizotte's 89.5mph in 2013. And in the field, every disc was immediately flipping over but still getting to 550ft.

This video highlights the age-old question of velocity vs spin. The contraption generated huge amounts of torque and power but low spin. Without it, there’s no way to stabilize the discs coming out at ridiculous speeds.

So remember, spin to win.

Memorial Championship (A-Tier)

PREVIEW

The Memorial is presented by Discraft, which is why McBeth and many team members are attending. Other top pros (Wysocki, McMahon, & Heimburg) are skipping this event to prep for the 2nd DGPT stop at WACO (3/11-13).

This is the trend now that DGPT dropped the Memorial from their elite series. The tournament plays four rounds split between Fountain Hills and Vista del Camino.

If you thought Vegas was the Hyzer Olympics, then you are mistaken. Practically every hole can be reached with a hyzer here.

LAST YEAR RECAP

Paul McBeth took home his 6th Memorial Championship win last year. He averaged 1066 golf to beat Arizona native, Paul Ulibarri, by 3 strokes.

With less competition, McBeth’s accuracy and consistency are unmatched at these courses.

PLAYER TO WATCH

Linus Carlsson. With his US tour in full swing, he’s now getting into the groove of things. And maybe we’ll see him pop off on these courses where you can turn your brain off and think one thing: Hyzer.

Post-round coverage will be shared by Terry Miller on his YouTube channel.

Fresh Plastic

Insights by Daddy Disc Golf. SHOP THE SHACK for the latest!

👨‍🏫 Daddy’s Disc of the Week: Airborn Falcor made by Prodigy.Cale Leiviska’s Airborn Falcor was said by commentators a ton this past weekend. And for good reason, Prodigy players were bombing it down the golf fairways of Wildhorse.

The 13-speed stable, distance driver looks to be a staple for max distance in their team members’ bags. Right now, the disc can only be bought from Leiviska’s website but it’ll show up elsewhere later this season.

Another Prodigy signature line, Kevin Jones’s Distortion & Reverb discs were thrown all over LVC’s coverage. The two are described as an A3 with less dump and a D1 with more fade. Like the Falcor, they aren’t widely available yet but the Reverb dropped on Jones’s site yesterday.

Coming soon™️: Lookout for Discraft and DGA tour series soon after The Memorial. For now, Ledgestone’s Wave 2 might keep you satisfied with some rare plastics, molds, and stamps.

Random Triples

1. Cale Leiviska missed the cash line for the 1st time this weekend after a 307 tournament streak. He had the longest active streak by any pro. Now Nate Sexton holds that title (206 consecutive cashes).

2. Want to be a master scrambler like Ricky Wysocki? He shared this tip on The Upshot: Practice where you have no shot (in bushes/trees) and find a way that will get you closer to the basket. Turns out I’ve been practicing that this entire time.

3. Fun fact: Eveliina Salonen is holding at least $2k in this picture.

Meme of the Week

Thanks for reading today. Get out and beat your friends this weekend!

- Charlie

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