💫 PDXO's new slogan: Keep Portland Wild

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If you missed PDXO’s preview, then I got you: Everything’s Bigger in Portland

Let’s get into it.

TOUR COVERAGE
Portland Open

RESULTS - 🏆ADAM HAMMES & KRISTIN TATTAR

From giant Douglas-firs to thousands of spectator roars, Portland showed up in a big way. The weather was unusually immaculate, and the courses forced pros to take a slice of humble pie and get creative.

Here are the storylines you should remember or you may have missed:

1 - A motivated Tattar is an unstoppable force.

About a month ago, Hannah McBeth - one of the most insightful FPO analysts - explained her Tattar Theory. She said, “When [Tattar] is highly motivated, she has the skills to match it.”

You could say that about others dedicating their lives to the sport, but so far Tattar’s season has proven the theory. Out of her 8 events, she has won 5 of them.

If her heart is set on the win, then she will pull it off. At her WACO win, it was her 1st event of the season. At Champs Cup, she wanted a Major and redemption from last year. This weekend, she’s coming off a month-long break and had never played in this event before.

Tattar has admitted that it’s getting a lot harder to create the same energy week in and week out. By Sunday, her tank started to run dry.

She was no longer hitting every putt and allowed Tour veterans plus Ananda to have a glimmer of hope. With 4 more events in June, this month will be very telling.

2 - A chaotic leaderboard ended with Discraft on top.

With a cluster at the top and the Young Bird dropping out, the event played out like years past. Since its start in 2019, PDXO has been decided by 1 stroke or less.

On Sunday, a card of 0x winners plus a 3x Tour winner set the stage for an insane playoff finish. And being the only one with closing-out experience, Hammes came in clutch.

On Hole 18, his 66ft birdie save rattled Gossage back into his nervy misses. It may have been Hammes’s weekend, but Gossage will get his soon and we can all yell GOOOOSE then.

At the end of the day, the real winners are the viewers. There are so many who deserve the win, and the sad thing is that only one of them can.

3 - A victory lap for the living legend.

Just 4 weeks ago, 52-year-old Korver reflected on her season and made the announcement that this could be her last full-time year on Tour. She felt that she can’t compete on the biggest stages and wants to transition more into commentary.

Since then, Korver secured the 9th Major win of her career and followed it up with a 3rd finish here. She averaged 983-rated golf to beat out Pierce, Allen, and many other farther throwers.

Blowing away her expectations of just cashing, Korver stuck to her game and overcame struggles with putting yips. While she couldn’t catch Tattar, she proved that she can beat those old enough to be her daughters.

Will this change her decision come the end of the season? Probably not… But it was a beautiful victory lap filled with smiles, cheers, and laughter.

4 - The end of an era.

It was a big ask for Sexton to keep his cash streak alive at these courses. After 3 rounds, he sat in 81st and had to move 36 spots to make the cut and continue the impressive streak.

He played his heart out on Saturday with a -5 round (1026 rated) but only moved up 19 spots. After 5,557 days and 264 events, Sexton made a total of $207,974 while averaging $787.78 per tournament.

This accomplishment is bittersweet to the OR native. 3 weeks ago, he said this on the Tour Life Podcast, “What a relief it’ll be when I miss [cash]… I’m proud of it and obviously, I want to keep it going, but I don’t really like being in 41st place all stressed out.”

HIGHLIGHT

After skipping this hole in practice, Maria Oliva grabbed her Thought Space Athletics Votum (7|5|0|3) and smashed chains from 330ft. This ace on Hole 16 of Round 3 pushed her to barely make the cut and play on Championship Sunday.

POWERED BY POWERGRIP USA
Fresh Plastic

👉 Powergrip’s Highlight: Clash Discs 2023 Tour Series
There are 6 exclusive molds available in Clash’s newest plastic - Sunny.

This plastic was designed with the pros in mind. And like other brands, this pro-level blend is slightly stiff, flatter, torque resistant, and feels perfect as the weather heats up.

• Heidi Laine’s Popcorn (3|3|0|1) - Like the P2, this beadless putter works for short ace runs or straight approaches

• Erika Stinchcomb’s Peach (4|5|-2|1) - This easy thrower won’t flip unexpectedly and acts like a farther-flying Popcorn

• Scott Withers’s Berry (5|5|-1|1) - Feels like a Hex but with more fade at the end

• Evan Smith’s Mint (4|3|0|3) - Pleasantly OS but not a beefcake

• James Proctor’s Cookie (7|5|0|2) - Handles Dr. Proctor’s big arm while gliding for days

• Jacob Courtis’s Peppermint (4|2|0|4) - A bump up from the Mint, this can handle any power and torque

Don’t make the same mistake as Simon and start munching on the wrong discs. Support your favorite pros like “The Proctologist” or “Cupcake” by grabbing some tasty Clash Discs today!

DG MYSTERY & RULE CHANGE
Random Dubs

1️⃣ These are two of the world’s greatest mysteries:

1/ What happens to socks in the washing machine?
2/ What’s going on with McBeth this year?

Well, we don’t have answers for either of them… At the Estonian Open, Paul McBeth’s Europe Swing didn’t start on the right foot. In a field where he was the clear favorite, he finished in 31st and 19 off the lead.

He may have drawn McBeast-level crowds but couldn’t lock in his own game. This was the worst finish of his career outside of the States and was his 1st sub-1000-rated event in over a decade.

As for the winner, Mauri Villmann (PDGA #107197 & 1009 rated) won the Monday Qualifier to earn his spot in this event. He then averaged 1051 while winning by 6 over Finnish favorites like Lauri Lehtinen & Jesse Nieminen.

2️⃣ Recently, a Redditor emailed the PDGA Rules Committee asking about retailer hot stamps that have grown in popularity. Here’s the response:

As you can imagine, this post caused an uproar and more confusion. If “manufacturers” like Dynamic Discs or Infinite can add their own stamps, then why can’t smaller retailers add personalization or make some extra cash?

Like foot faults and time violations, this rule clarification only matters when it gets enforced. Will someone really call you out on your PIAS sticker, glow tape, or overweight Destroyer?

It would come as no surprise if the PDGA walks this back and comes out with a clearer statement. Until then, keep slinging them discs.

Tweet of the Week

Thanks for reading today. Get out and score under par this week!

- Charlie