👊 Random Draw Tuesday - June 18, 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, Ohn’s putting routine, 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 👊 

Two days ago, Turku, Finland, hosted the 2nd Elite event in Europe. Since the true Swing starts next month, the field wasn’t well represented.

And yet, the action was intense as the Finns conquered on their home turf. In MPO, Niklas Anttila raised the well-earned 10kg (22lb) trophy.

Coming into the event, Anttila was hands down the favorite but wasn’t realized until Sunday’s 9th hole. What followed was a heroic chase down, catching 2023’s dark horse - Mauri Villmann.

3 months ago, Anttila became the first Finnish man to win on Tour, and now, he’s found his second hours from home. In FPO, Silva Saarinen’s win was also defined by putting.

She was labeled as the “European Ohn Scoggins” and has now won 3 DGPT events (2 Silver, 1 Elite) in a row. Saarinen’s stamina will come into play as she has 8 more weeks of competition planned before time off.

#2 👊

Speaking of conquering and Scoggins, the PDGA Masters Worlds took place over 5 days in Emporia, KS. This age-restricted event crowned an astounding 24 individuals as Pro & Am World Champs.

FP40/ Two days and a redeye after barely losing BSF, Ohn Scoggins lit up her division. The “Michael Jordan of FP40” has now won 4 Masters Worlds in a row.

MP40/ Paling in comparison to Ohn’s, Joe Rovere’s 14-stroke win is still massive. He tore apart Champions Landing and made me wish there was a world where he loved disc golf more than his middle school robotics teacher job.

FP50/ In a field of 5, Juliana Korver bumped her number of Worlds titles to 8 (1 Am, 5 FPO, 2 Masters).

MP50/ After missing his opportunity to defend his 2022 title, JohnE McCray made up for lost time. He became 3x Champ with 4 strokes over Brian “406 wins” Schweberger.

It turns out all these multi-time champs aren’t only good, but they’ll keep running it back. FP/MP80+ will be interesting in 40 years.

#3 👊

Last week, the World Disc Golf Hall of Fame announced its Class of 2024. And while the HoF has had its ups and downs (McBeth’s 1st ballot dismissal), it’s important to recognize its soon-to-be members.

• Chris O’Cleary (#3024) is a 2x FPO World Champ (1988 & 1989) and 2013 inductee to the Ultimate HoF. She once held the distance record (Stingray, 377’) for over a decade in the 80s.

• Scott Stokely (#3140) needs no introduction. And despite taking 13 years off, he came back strong as an incredible ambassador through his teachings, positivity, and generosity.

• Leonard Muise (#3974) is a renowned course designer, most notably for OTB Open’s Swenson Park.

• Mike “Hubee” Hughes's (#1438) history goes way back, but nowadays, he’s best known for founding the Flying Disc Museum (2018).

• Terry Calhoun’s (#15117) impact ranges from designing courses in MI, serving on PDGA boards, and running popular disc golf sites. You’re most likely to see him on his private 28-hole course in Ann Arbor.

#4 👊

Last week, two things about money happened. One, The Fed decided if your money should be worth a little more or a lot less. And two, Paul Ulibarri gave us a peek behind the curtain into sponsorship numbers (Tour Life).

• Early years Innova: A “huge bonus program” with points race, rating, etc. Come season end, good performances meant “big” bonuses.

• 2013-2018 Prodigy: Monthly income between $1-1.5k, $100/month from Grip.

• 2019-2021 Discraft: Same monthly income and no signing bonus, Signature Series Raptor sales.

• 2022-Now Discraft: Icon Team, Co-Captain, Cap Rap sales, and many 3rd parties (Jomez, Power DGA, Zuca, etc.).

The final thing he mentioned was his Tour winnings make up 5-10% of his total income. Last year, he won $17.5k, so with some simple math, we can guess he made between $175k and $350k.

Not too shabby for one of the hardest workers on Tour.

#5 👊

If you thought the chess.com crossover was weird, this weekend’s partnership will blow your mind. The Preserve will have Microsoft Teams as the presenting sponsor.

If you’re a user, then you know all too well how nightmarish the incoming call sound can be. But instead of missed mute buttons, the DGPT is using Teams to connect pros directly to fans.

Since the announcement, the message board has held several Q&As. Here are the best quotes:

The event itself starts in three days, and its typical scorcher rounds might be doused by Midwest thunderstorms. This will be Simon Lizotte’s first event back since baby #2.

#5.5 👊

In shocking news, Kevin Jones announced he left Prodigy yesterday. While mid-season moves exist, they’re generally not from top well-known pros.

Not only that, but he’s only in year 3 of his 4-year contract. From Heather Young 2.0 to a performance clause, the speculations have been endless and won’t stop until he shares his “exciting news.”

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

- Charlie