👊 The latest rivalry on Tour

Hello and welcome, this is The Players Meeting. The only newsletter where seeing your breath during morning rounds means the season has changed.

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If you missed USDGC’s recap, then I got you: The Pinnacle

Let’s get into it.

PLAYER PROFILE
Sully “Rocket Ship” Tipton

Meet Sully Tipton.

Tipton is a 21-year-old from Birmingham, AL. He just had his best finish at a Major (12th) and won $1,516 in a new era of USDGC.

Let’s get to know Sully even better. In a recent interview with The Am Side Podcast, Tipton went through his DG timeline…

• Started playing at 12 years old as a fun hobby, but didn’t get competitive for years

• 2020: Won the USDGC AM Doubles then switched to Pro

• 2021: Got picked up by the Discraft Underground Team

• 2022: Hopped on Tour for about 80% of it while still in school and bumped up to Discraft’s Tour Team

• 2023: Missed about 3 weeks of his fall semester for Worlds

• Now, he finished 49th in the Tour Standings surpassing expectations

Since that interview, Tipton went from a relatively unknown 1025-rated player to being known as a FH specialist. On USDGC coverage, he was described as the Garrett Gurthie of FHs.

So with all the new-found fame, what are the young star’s plans? He still has 2 semesters left of college, then will hit the Tour full-time as the West Coast Swing begins.

While Tipton will be joining the other dozen or so early 20-year-olds, there’s little doubt that he’ll be forgotten. His love for being out there is clear, and that mentality could propel him to success.

But whether he’ll be the next Isaac Robinson, Gannon Buhr, or even Matty O is yet to be determined. Either way, he already has a budding rivalry with the Crimson Tide fan…

Both from AL, he and Matty O share some fun banter on the course. So if the two happen to share a lead card next season, then expect to hear War Eagle mixed in with Roll Tide.

TOUR COVERAGE
DGPT Championship

PREVIEW (10/12-15)

For many, the off-season has already started. But for the top 32 men and 20 women, the final event of the season begins today.

With USDGC, the last standard format tournament is already over. So here’s the unique DGPT finale:

• As shown above, those who played the best all season are rewarded with a stroke advantage. The bottom half of MPO starts with -1 or E

• Everyone plays 2 rounds (Thur & Fri), then the bottom 20 MPO & 12 FPO will be cut and sent home

• Those left have their scores reset to E and a 2-day tournament begins with winners receiving the highest payout in Tour history ($40k)

This new format addresses the complaints of last year. Now, the best of the best get to play and be on coverage all the days.

And it still allows for a gripping Cinderella Story… Players like Uli or even Parker Welck can come in from the low ranks, make the cut, and cash in on the biggest payday yet.

As for the course, “Nightmare Nevin” has become even harder than last year. It’s classic NC woods but made twice as long and hard to further amp up the drama.

LAST YEAR RECAP

MPO/ 🥇Ricky Wysocki 🥈Isaac Robinson 🥉Gannon Buhr

With the bracket format still in place, the event played out predictably with the top seeds making the Final Four. It was the decorated veterans (Wysocki & McBeth) against the young newcomers (Robinson & Buhr).

As the game of inches played out, Robinson and Wysocki came out tied. But with the playoff hole leaning FH-friendly, Wysocki proved his clutch gene and sealed the deal on Player of the Year & $35k.

FPO/ 🥇Kristin Tattar 🥈Ohn Scoggins 🥉Missy Gannon

There weren’t many surprises in FPO. Tattar continued her dominating season with hot rounds on both days and cashed in to become the 1st player ever (regardless of division) to earn >$100k in a season.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

With the last MPO Major over, the 2023 Player of the Year race saw some movement. Buhr drops behind, but Robinson & Heimburg remain neck and neck.

In an unusual scenario, the results of this event will likely determine POTY. We could argue in circles on whether consistency trumps Major wins or not, so instead let’s put it to a vote.

POWERED BY POWERGRIP USA
Celebrate Another Record Broken

Last weekend, Kristin Tattar gave fans and Handley a battle they won’t forget. While she didn’t come away with the Super Slam (Majors + Throw Pink), she did break another record with her $7,150 paycheck.

Tattar officially passed Wysocki in single-season PDGA earnings. With the biggest paycheck ever on the line this weekend, she has a good chance of adding another $40k to that total.

In honor of her 2nd Worlds win, Latitude64 released a Royal Grand Orbit Grace with her stamp on it. Every single one has beautiful, unique swirls.

Show your support and snag a Tattar Grace at Powergrip USA today!

BABY GOAT & SHOT SELECTION
Random Dubs

1️⃣ This Sunday marked the end of an era. McBeth’s & Wysocki’s domination of the biggest events has been swapped for new, unique winners.

For the 1st time in 12 years, neither of them finished in the Top 5 of any Major this season. As discussed by StatMando & The Upshot, this should mark the start of the “Modern Era”.

2 days later (SmashboxxTV Exclusive), Paul and Hannah McBeth had their son on Tuesday, October 10th. Pablo Genesis McBeth was born at 8:31 AM, 7 lb 10 oz, and all are well/healthy.

While his decade of dominance has ended, McBeth will be coming into the 2024 season with a little extra juice: Dad Strength. The field needs to be on watch as there’s no doubt he’ll be back and ready to take his place at the top.

2️⃣ While you may never be 6’5” and throw 600 feet, there’s one thing you can do to be like Gannon Buhr… Eat, sleep, and breathe the flex shot.

Buhr’s most-leaned-on shot is taking an OS disc, starting it on anhyzer, and having it flex back out to fade. Whether it’s FH or BH, he loves chopping discs over and believes it’s the most consistent shot in the game.

He explained why in an interview with Disc Golf World:

• It’s higher percentage because OS discs only want to do one thing: get back to their edge

• They’re simple to execute and plan

• With a spectrum of discs from slightly to very OS, you can create many different angles

• The worst miss you can have is stalling out

So stop listening to the hyzerflip loyalists, and retune your game to focus on the flex shot. You’ll be thanking Buhr when you shave strokes off your next tournament round.

Meme of the Week

Thanks for reading today. Go get some microwaved food this weekend!

- Charlie