🐤 A nice season warmup: Birdie or Die

Hello and welcome, this is The Players Meeting. We’re the Geico of disc golf - 5 minutes can save you 100% or more on time wasted reading irrelevant news.

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Terry Miller - “The DG Guy” - is the hardest-working person in our sport. Without the DGPT’s manpower, he put out >10 hours of coverage over 4 days.

With that said, MPO’s final round will be released later today. If you don’t want to read about it, then scroll to the 2nd section and come back later.

Let’s get into it.

THE MEMORIAL CHAMPIONSHIP (A-TIER)

RESULTS

At every homecoming, there’s a King that gets crowned. Discraft’s young stars did everything they could, but the real winner was the Zone OS.

The buzzz surrounding this recently approved mold was a thunderclap around social media. It had diehards throwing cash and others questioning why you’d need it.

Either way, the new Tilt putter has gained hype and came out at the perfect time for AZ’s showcase of hyzers, 1100-rated rounds, and perfect conditions.

MPO/ When you come to the land of 1100, the unicorn rating is up for grabs. On Thursday, Adam Hammes joined the club with a -16 at Fountain Hills (1104 rated).

He became the 31st person to do so, but his achievement was just the start to the weekend…

• Buhr smacked a pedestrian with an errant FH - Hole 11 Round 1

• RD2 - AB joined his best friend/tourmate in 1st with 4 strokes over Gossage

• RD3 - AB & Hammes played flat and let Gossage into a share of the lead

• RD4 - With only 2 holes left, there was a 5-way tie for 1st: Buhr, Gossage, AB, Robinson, & Hammes

• Playoff - A 3-way playoff was needed between Buhr, Gossage, & AB

• Beating the locals, Buhr took home his 1st win of the season on the 2nd playoff hole

FPO/ With flex FHs and big putts, it was the Ohn show from the get-go. To start, she shared the lead with Natalie Ryan, but it quickly became a race for 2nd place.

Each day Scoggins grew her lead to at one point having 11 strokes on the field. Winning 2x here, Scoggins finished with 10 over Jen Allen in 2nd & 11 over Anniken Steen in 3rd.

STANDOUT PLAYER

In case you’re unfamiliar with Anniken Steen, here’s everything you need to know about the Norwegian:

• Previously participated in competitive figure skating & track/field

• Throws wrong-handed with a mixed bag

• Signed a 5-year deal with Guru (Norwegian retailer) and PCS Group (Norwegian construction company)

• 2x Norwegian Champ, 2022 EuroTour Champ, 2022 PCS Sula Open Champ

• Currently on her 1st US Tour

HIGHLIGHT

From 50sec routines to wall rides, Jacob “Cupcake” Courtis had everybody’s attention. But in Round 3 Hole 9, he showed why many consider him one of the farthest throwers in CA.

A CALIFORNIAN SWISS RETURNS HOME

Born in Long Beach, CA, Tony Ferro is known to be “the best player in Switzerland.” He started his pro journey in 2009 and built his reputation across the pond.

He WAS a Euro Tour veteran and highly ranked within PDGA Europe, but his last sanctioned event was Switzerland’s Bern Open (OCT 2021). After Round 1, he was 1 off the lead but was forced to resign.

Switzerland sports’ governing body (World Anti-Doping Agency) showed up to test the lead card. Ferro tested positive for THC and was handed a 2-year suspension for WADA-sanctioned tournaments.

Without relenting, Ferro and his wife started the Discovery Tour in Switzerland and ran 17 events in 2022. They were PDGA sanctioned but not under WADA’s authority.

Now with a rating of 1026, Ferro has decided to bring his talents back home and join the DGPT. Last week, he landed in AZ, set up his family’s RV, and headed straight for Crush on the Concho in San Angelo, TX.

While his 23rd finish this weekend wasn’t much to write home about, he could be the next dark horse. Look for his big arm to make a splash at most Tour stops this year.

FRESH PLASTIC

Sponsored by Powergrip USA… A PRETTY GOOD disc golf shop.

👉 Powergrip’s Highlight: Dynamic Discs Supreme fairways
Are you like a certain 17-year-old who hates sharp flashing? Then DD’s Supreme line is made for you.

This Thursday (3/9) at 12PM ET, Powergrip USA will have 2 of their newest molds. If there’s one thing DD gets right, it’s their fairway drivers and these are the ones to own.

The Supreme Escape (9|5|-1|2) stock run is nearly identical to the 1st runs, so grab one if you missed out or need a backup. Either way, I really can’t recommend this mold enough.

If you’re having trouble getting over 300’ consistently, then you should bag an Escape. If you’ve got internet distance, then you should hyzer flip your way through the woods with an Escape. Try one - Trust me.

On the other side of the spectrum, the Supreme Orbit Sockibomb Felon Prototype (9|4|0.5|4) will be available for its 1st release. This version of the Felon will fall between Orbit stock runs and any X plastic variant stability.

RANDOM DUBS

1️⃣ Ball golf simulators have been around forever, and their tech has gotten accurate. In Houston, TX, an indoor golf facility has added disc golf to its lineup.

With some friends, Raven Newsom tried it out and gave rave reviews. Clearly, it’s not quite there yet and won’t replace a real round with your friends.

But for times when it’s too cold or wet, having a place like this can make for a great Friday night.

2️⃣ For now, the European Open just got scratched off many pros’ schedules. In its 11th year, the event has changed to invite-only with qualifiers.

Weirdly enough, this year had all the makings of being the most well-attended European Open ever. That likely won’t change, but now there are more hoops to jump through than the Westminster Dog Show.

• Auto-qualified:

  • Past winners (McBeth, McMahon, Pierce, & Cat Allen)

  • Top 10 MPO & Top 5 FPO from 2022 EO

  • Top 20 MPO & Top 10 FPO from 2022 UDisc World year-end Ranking

• Everyone else has to place in the top 5 MPO or win FPO at any DGPT Elite, PDGA Major, or Euro Tour events

• Special invites will be sent out to players from Australia, New Zealand, Japan, and Taiwan

There are currently 26 players registered for the July 20-23 event. Here’s the list.

TWEET OF THE WEEK

Thanks for reading today. Get out and throw stuff at stuff this week!

- Charlie