👊 Random Draw Tuesday - July 23, 2024

Random Draw Tuesday 🤜🤛

Hello and welcome. This is Charlie from The Players Meeting. 

Every week, I handpick the 5 best things I saw in the past 7 days. These could be storylines, highlights, memes, Tattar’s custom Porsche, or even news.

But no matter what, it will always be about disc golf AND only what I find interesting.

Let’s get into it.

#1 👊 

The European Open was perfect. The duo of The Monster (Tampere) and The Beast forced pros into a love-hate relationship, all while showing off immaculate fairways, birch trees, and unique greens.

Somehow, even Friday’s three weather delays made the event better. They challenged the pros mentally and gave us a Moving Day worth pulling an all-nighter for.

On Saturday, Gannon Buhr woke up early, set a new Tampere course record (-9, 1065), then matched Nokia’s record (-12, 1082). His marathon day set the stage for what made this EO an instant classic.

On Sunday, the Iceman didn’t flinch. Despite Ricky Wysocki’s near-flawless round, the 5,500 cheers (plus 1 heckler), or the PDGA official’s time warning, the 19-year-old is him.

This may only be Buhr’s 2nd career Major title, but it feels like he’s on to something. He’s still in the early years of his career, and record-setting years are inevitable.

#2 👊

While the emotions were high in MPO, they didn’t hold a candle to FPO’s rollercoaster. Every morning, I’d wake up, check scores, and drop my jaw.

The tournament went from “It’s over” to “Wtf happened?” and finally, “That’s impossible.” Kristin Tattar found a way to shoot a 1040 rating, then a 906, and still mounted the largest final-round comeback.

But it wasn’t just her performance that contributed to her 7th Major win. The young Finns (Silva Saarinen & Eveliina Salonen) were clearly not ready for the moment.

It might take a long time for them to forget this missed opportunity, but their time will come. Until then, Tattar’s time is now.

#3 👊

The end of an amazing event is always bittersweet. This year’s European Open exemplifies that even more.

It was the last time The Beast was played at the event. Next year, the Major moves to Estonia as Finland hosts Worlds for the first time, and after that, Nokia Park will undergo changes affecting its layout.

And since this past weekend was the perfect Worlds preview, let’s go through some noteworthy player storylines:

• Missy Gannon fought from chase card for a podium finish. She’ll be 1 of 4 Americans staying in Europe for this weekend’s DG Festival.

• Despite Team Europe’s sad Presidents Cup, 8 Europeans finished in MPO’s crowded Top 15.

• After playing for his spot on Monday, Thomas Gilbert earned his first top-10 finish at a Major. His season has been in dire need of a turnaround.

• Finishing 23rd, Calvin Heimburg continued the longest active cash streak despite two sub-1000 rounds at Tampere.

• Last week, Nate Sexton pulled his hamstring, cashed at Krokhol, and earned the last EO qualifying spot. This week, he finished 28th, cashed, and beat many notable names like AB.

• Thanks to Hole 16’s new rules, Anthony Barela only missed its island twice. The field, however, improved on 2024’s birdie percentage of 41% to 60% final round.

• Ricky Wysocki didn’t end his 7-year Major drought, but at least he broke other records.

#4 👊

Last week, the great Joonas Merelä and Coach Chris Taylor hosted a long-drive clinic with two of the world’s longest throwers: Anthony Barela & Kristian Kuoksa.

With those four minds together, it’s hard to imagine anything but gold came out of that clinic. Unfortunately for us, that content will mostly stay with the participants from Tampere, Finland.

Thankfully, they did share this slo-mo clip of the pair smashing max-power one-steppers. This is what peak performance looks like, and I love it.

#5 👊

The Europe Swing officially ends this weekend with the European Disc Golf Festival. In Estonia’s capital city of Tallinn, this event will play on the Song Festival Grounds for the 2nd year.

Last year, the European DG Championship was played here, with Dennis Augustsson and Kristin Tattar as the winners. She shot a 1054-rated round and an 892 final round to win the title for her country.

This weekend, every American will be competing on this course for the first time. Compared to the EO, the fields will be slightly trimmed down, but this Elite title will still be hard-fought and worth the practice for 2025’s second Euro Major.

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

- Charlie