2023 MVP Open Preview: The Final Chance to Make the DGPT Championship

Maple
Hill
is
the
most
prestigious
course
in
the
country.

September
13,
2023
by


Justin
Westfall
in

Preview
with
comments

The
Disc
Golf
Pro
Tour
playoffs
continue
with
the
second
and
final
event
before
the
Tour
Championship
in
October.
Just
four
hours
south
of
Smugglers’
Notch,
Maple
Hill
is
a
favorite
among
pros
and
currently
ranked
as
the
#1
course
in
the
world
by
UDisc.
The
MVP
Open
at
Maple
Hill,
formerly
called
the
Vibram
Open,
has
been
run
by
Disc
Golf
Pro
Tour
founder
Steve
Dodge
since
2008.
This
week
will
also
serve
as
the
final
points
event
for
the
United
Series.

Maple
Hill
offers
everything
that
you
could
want
in
a
disc
golf
course
from
tight
woods
lines
to
elevation
changes,
water
carries,
and,
of
course,
the
beautiful
scenery
of
the
christmas
tree
farm
that
the
course
plays
through.
With
grandstands
behind
hole
1
for
spectators
to
watch
big
opening
tee
shots
and
the
rowdy
“8
holes”
who
sit
and
cheer
for
shots
coming
into
hole
8’s
island
green,
this
event
provides
a
fantastic
venue
to
wrap-up
the
Elite
Series.
Spectators
also
have
the
chance
to
partake
in
an
entire
week
of
special
events
including
disc
dying
clinics,
flymarts,
after
dark
glow
rounds,
and
a
new
$20,000
CTP
contest
on
Friday
evening.

Last
year,
weather
conditions
on
the
opening
day
forced
the
MPO
tournament
to
be
cut
from
four
rounds
down
to
three.
Going
into
the
final
round,
Corey
Ellis
held
a
three
shot
lead
over
the
field
but
struggled
on
the
front
9.
Ellis
came
to
hole
18
tied
with
Linus
Carlsson
and

Simon
Lizotte
for
the
lead.
Carlsson
quickly
got
into
trouble
off
the
tee
and
ended
up
carding
a
triple-bogey.
Lizotte
had
just
shot
the
hot
round
off
the
chase
card
and
was
waiting
in
the
clubhouse
to
see
if
Ellis
would
make
par
to
force
a
playoff.
Corey’s
approach
shot
—
after
an
enormous
drive
—
sailed
wide
left
of
the
small
green
into
OB,
resulting
in
a
bogey
after
a
narrowly
missed
putt
for
par,
and
Lizotte
won
outright.

In
FPO,

Natalie
Ryan
took
a
one
stroke
lead
over

Missy
Gannon
and

Kristin
Tattar
into
the
final
round.
Tattar
was
able
to
grab
one
stroke
on
Ryan
and
force
a
playoff.
With
Ryan
parked
for
a
birdie
on
the
playoff
hole,
Tattar
came
up
short
on
a
circle
2
birdie
putt,
and
Ryan
was
able
to
claim
her
2nd
career
Elite
Series
win.

Past
Winners

Four
Things
We’ll
Be
Watching

1.
With
his
proximity
to
Maple
Hill,

Simon
Lizotte
likely
has
more
reps
on
this
course
in
recent
years
than
any
other
player
in
the
field.
Simon
shot
2-over
par
in
terrible
conditions
during
last
year’s
opening
round,
and
even
with
one
round
being
canceled
due
to
weather,
he
fought
all
the
way
back
to
win
from
the
chase
card.
This
year,
there
will
likely
be
a
lot
more
on
his
plate
as
the
new
face
of
MVP.
Currently
in
10th
in
the
DGPT
standings,
a
win
would
likely
push
Lizotte
up
into
the
top
8,
earning
him
one
more
free
stroke
to
begin
the
Tour
Championship.
He
would
also
sweep
the
playoffs,
and
tie

Gannon
Buhr
with
three
Elite
Series
wins
on
the
season.

2.
Of
course,
this
is
the
final
event
to
earn
points
towards
the
DGPT
standings
and
qualify
for
the
Tour
Championship.
There
are
several
players
to
watch
very
closely
as
the
week
progresses.
A
host
of
MPO
players
including

Robert
Burridge,

Chandler
Kramer,

Paul
Ulibarri,

Garrett
Gurthie,

Eric
Oakley,
and

Brodie
Smith
currently
sit
just
outside
the
cut
line.

Väinö
Mäkelä
and

Andrew
Presnell
are
the
last
players
in
but
are
at
risk
of
losing
their
spots
without
a
solid
performance
at
Maple
Hill.

In
FPO,

Lisa
Fajkus
and

Juliana
Korver
are
the
last
two
players
in,
with

Sai
Ananda
sitting
just
outside.
However,
with

Paige
Pierce
still
recovering
from
injury,
it’s
unlikely
she
will
play
in
the
Tour
Championship,
and
so
Ananda
would
earn
the
final
spot.
Sitting
just
behind
Ananda
is

Emily
Beach,

Holly
Finley,

Hannah
Huynh,
and

Deann
Carey.
All
of
these
players,
including
Fajkus
and
Korver,
will
need
solid
performances
if
they
want
a
spot
in
the
tour
championship.
Any
MPO
or
FPO
player
currently
outside
the
cut
line
would
gain
automatic
entry
if
they
were
to
win
this
week.

A
few
interesting
notes
ahead
of
the
tournament:

• 
  Missy
  Gannon
  could
  still
  grab
  the
  #1
  spot
  in
  the
  DGPT
  standings
  ahead
  of
  
  Kristin
  Tattar,
  though
  Kristin’s
  ~70
  point
  lead
  means
  that
  Gannon
  would
  likely
  need
  to
  win
  and
  have
  Tattar
  finish
  10th
  or
  worst.
• Everyone
  inside
  the
  top
  22
  in
  MPO
  and
  top
  11
  in
  FPO
  have
  clinched
  spots
  in
  the
  Tour
  Championship.
• Some
  notable
  names
  who
  need
  an
  outright
  win
  to
  qualify
  for
  the
  TC:
  
  
  Jeremy
  Koling,
  
  Albert
  Tamm,
  
  Gregg
  Barsby,
  
  Paige
  Shue,
  
  Silva
  Saarinen,
  
  Keiti
  Tatte,
  
  Kona
  Montgomery

3.
Instead
of
doing
another
Million
Dollar
Shot
challenge,
the
MVP
Open
staff
has
decided
to
take
the
$20,000
they
would
have
paid
to
the
insurance
company
and
give
it
away
in
a
CTP
contest
on
Friday
night.
Eight
MPO
and
eight
FPO
players
will
be
selected
based
on
UDisc’s
Precise
Power
Index
metric
and
a
fan
vote
to
compete
in
a
two-throw
CTP
bracket,
with
the
winner
advancing
to
the
next
round.
If
any
player
hits
an
ace,
the
contest
is
immediately
over
with
all
remaining
money
going
to
that
player.
Prize
money
will
be
given
out
for
each
round,
including
$4,000
to
the
final
winners.
Fans
can
also
purchase
raffle
tickets
for
$20,
where
$5,000
will
be
split
amongst
30
raffle
ticket
winners.

4.
The
MVP
Open
will
mark
the
final
event
of
the
newly
formed
United
Series
(US).

Missy
Gannon
currently
leads
the
US
points
standings
by
a
sizable
margin,
followed
by

Ella
Hansen
and

Holyn
Handley.
The
top
3
players
in
the
US
standings
will
receive
bonus
payouts,
though
the
amounts
have
yet
to
be
announced.

Ohn
Scoggins
currently
sits
in
4th
place
after
dropping
out
of
the
World
Championships
due
to
injury.
Ohn
was
able
to
return
to
play
and
win
an
A-tier
last
weekend,
averaging
a
993
event
rating.
Scoggins
has
a
great
opportunity
to
move
into
the
top
3
and
collect
a
bonus
payout
with
a
solid
performance
at
Maple
Hill.

Course
Changes

Just
like
the
first
playoff
event
at
DGLO,
the
MVP
Open
will
feature
A
and
B
pin
positions
for
holes
1-3
in
the
MPO
division,
and
holes
2-3
in
the
FPO
division.
Rather
than
using
each
position
for
two
rounds,
however,
the
B
positions
will
only
be
used
in
round
3
—
moving
day
in
more
ways
than
one.

In
the
FPO
division,
hole
7’s
pin
has
been
moved
back
40
feet,
and
the
mandatory
off
the
18th
teepad
has
been
replaced
with
a
triple
mando.
For
both
divisions,
hole
17
now
has
OB
that
stretches
all
the
way
to
the
pin,
which
should
add
a
layer
of
difficulty
to
the
upshots.
The
most
significant
change
is
to
hole
9,
where
the
MPO
and
FPO
divisions
used
to
play
the
same
layout.
This
year,
a
new
teepad
has
been
added
for
the
MPO
division
that
makes
the
hole
250
feet
longer
and
creates
a
new
fairway
that
eventually
intersects
with
the
FPO
fairway
near
the
green.

2023
MPO
A:
8,834
Feet
Par
60
2023
MPO
B:
8,724
Feet
Par
60
2022
MPO:
8,584
Feet
Par
60

2023
FPO
A:
7,005
Feet
Par
60
2023
FPO
B:
6,935
Feet
Par
60
2022
FPO:
6,995
Feet
Par
60

Extended
Forecast

Temperatures
in
Leicester
should
be
mild
with
a
chance
of
rain
on
Saturday
from
the
fringes
of

Hurricane
Lee,
which
is
making
its
way
north
towards
New
England.
Moderate
winds
should
persist
throughout
the
weekend.

Thursday:
Partly
cloudy
with
highs
near
70.
Winds
10
to
15
mph.
Friday:
Cloudy
with
highs
in
the
upper
60s.
Winds
10
to
15
mph.
Saturday:
Overcast
with
rain
showers
at
times,
highs
in
the
mid
60s.
Winds
15
to
20
mph.
Chance
of
rain
40%.
Sunday:
Mostly
sunny
with
highs
in
the
mid
70s.
Winds
10
to
15
mph.

Original source