2023 US Women’s Disc Golf Championships Preview: Tattar Chasing Grand Slam

Maple
Hill
is
the
most
prestigious
course
in
the
country.

September
21,
2023
by


Justin
Westfall
in

Preview
with
comments

The
United
States
Women’s
Disc
Golf
Championship,
the
fourth
and
final
FPO
Major
of
the
season,
begins
today
at
Cedarock
Park
in
Burlington,
North
Carolina.
In
the
past,
this
event
has
been
played
on
multiple
courses
that
tend
to
score
much
easier
than
those
used
for
the
Elite
Series
and
other
Major
Championships.
This
year
the
FPO
division
will
play
just
one
course,
a
brand
new
championship
layout
at
Cedarock
called
The
Regulator.
As
a
Pro-Am
Major,
every
division
from
open
to
masters
to
juniors
will
compete
in
this
event,
but
only
the
FPO
division
will
play
on
The
Regulator.

Last
year,

Hailey
King
took
the
lead
late
in
round
3
with
a
beautiful
420
foot
flexing
drive
that
set
up
a
40
foot
eagle
putt,
which
she
converted.
Despite
a
strong
performance
from

Valerie
Mandujano
off
the
chase
card
in
the
final
round,
King
was
able
to
hold
on
to
win
her
first
career
Major
championship
by
one
stroke.
Hailey
was
very
close
to
home
at
last
year’s
USWDGC
as
a
Wisconsin
native.
This
year,
the
tournament
will
be
held
less
than
two
hours
from
her
new
home
in
Charlotte,
North
Carolina.

Past
Winners

Four
Things
We’ll
Be
Watching

1.
Having
already
completed
the
career
grand
slam
at
the
European
Open,


Kristin
Tattar
now
has
an
opportunity
to
sweep
the
Major
schedule
and
earn
an
in-season
grand
slam
for
the
first
time
in
FPO
history¹.
Tattar
has
not
played
this
event
since
her
win
back
in
2019.
It
would
also
set
an
FPO
record
for
most
consecutive
major
wins
(5),
dating
back
to
her
2022
World
Championships
victory.
Kristin
may
come
out
a
bit
fiery
after
yet
another
disappointing
2nd
place
finish
at
last
week’s
MVP
Open.
Despite
averaging
a
1005
rating
in
the
final
round,
Tattar
lost
her
lead
on
the
penultimate
hole
and
fell
to
2022
USWDGC
champion
Hailey
King.
While
Maple
Hill
provided
some
solid
woods
prep,
this
week’s
course
is
nearly
2,000
feet
longer
with
even
tighter
gaps.
Kristin
will
need
to
be
at
the
top
of
her
game
in
order
to
secure
the
grand
slam.

2.
Reigning
champion

Hailey
King
is
coming
off
her
second
Elite
Series
win
of
the
season
at
the
MVP
Open.
King
averaged
the
highest
event
rating
of
her
career
at
1002
and
now
comes
to
more
familiar
territory.
Hailey
relocated
to
Charlotte
a
couple
of
years
ago
and
has
plenty
of
practice
playing
in
the
woods
of
North
Carolina.
As
one
of
the
longest
throwers
on
tour,
the
extra
distance
of
the
Regulator
should
give
Hailey
a
slight
advantage
over
the
field.
Scrambling
effectively
is
paramount
when
playing
woods
golf:
King
led
the
field
in
that
statistic
at
the
MVP
Open.
She
will
likely
need
a
similar
effort
this
week
in
order
to
defend
her
title
and
become
a
two-time
USWDGC
champion.

3.
After
an
unfortunate
injury
in
round
1
of
the
Pro
World
championships,

Ohn
Scoggins
was
forced
to
drop
from
the
event
and
end
her
quest
to
become
both
the
FP40
and
FPO
World
Champion.
At
last
week’s
MVP
Open,
Ohn
was
in
great
position
to
push
for
the
win
until
she
carded
a
triple-bogey
on
hole
11
and
ultimately
finished
one
stroke
back
of
King.

Scoggins
will
get
an
opportunity
at
redemption
this
week.
She
is
the
current
and
2-time
Tim
Selinske
US
Masters
Champion
in
the
FP40
division,
winning
the
event
by
11
strokes
last
year
and
14
strokes
this
year.
Ohn
has
an
excellent
opportunity
once
again
to
take
down
her
first
career
FPO
major
title
at
42
years
old.
Of
course,
in
order
to
do
that,
she’ll
need
to
defeat
Kristin
Tattar,
who
she
has
only
finished
ahead
of
one
time
in
her
career,
by
a
single
stroke.

4.

Valerie
Mandujano
is
a
very
proficient
woods
player,
picking
up
a
win
at
Idlewild
earlier
this
season
and
at
Waco
last
year.
Mandujano
fell
just
short
of
capturing
this
title
last
season,
shooting
a
1009-rated
final
round
to
nearly
catch
Hailey
King.
After
a
successful
2022
season
in
which
she
won
two
Elite
Series
and
a
Silver,
Val
was
sidelined
with
an
ankle
injury
for
the
first
four
months
of
the
2023
season.
Coupled
with
Kristin
Tattar’s
dominance
over
the
division,
Mandujano’s
hype
would
be
all
but
gone
had
she
not
earned
a
win
in
Idlewild
this
year.
Considering
her
setback
at
the
beginning
of
the
year,
just
getting
the
one
win
in
Idlewild
was
a
big
accomplishment.
Picking
up
her
first
career
Major
championship
in
Burlington
would
immediately
push
Val
back
into
the
conversation
as
one
of
the
top
FPO
players
on
tour.

The
Courses

The
Regulator
was
officially
installed
earlier
this
year
after
existing
as
a
temp
course
for
the
past
couple
of
years.
Designed
by
Jacob
Wade,
Chuck
Connelly,
Lance
Brown,
and
the
Burlington
Area
Disc
Golf
Club,
this
track
is
very
tightly
wooded
and
features
plenty
of
elevation
changes
throughout
the
course.
There
is
also
a
pond
and
creek
that
come
into
play
on
more
than
half
of
the
course,
including
an
island
green
on
hole
17.
Between
the
elevation
changes,
inevitable
tree
kicks,
and
a
back
9
that’s
nearly
600
feet
longer
than
the
front,
the
Regulator
will
test
a
player’s
stamina
over
the
course
of
four
rounds.
With
seven
Par
4s
and
four
Par
5s,
scrambling
from
off
the
fairway
and
getting
up
and
down
for
birdie
looks
will
be
the
most
crucial
aspects
needed
to
score
well
this
week.

The
Regulator:
8,750
Feet
Par
69

Extended
Forecast

Rain
showers
should
persist
throughout
the
weekend,
with
heavier
winds
coming
into
play
during
the
middle
rounds.

• Thursday:
  Partly
  cloudy
  with
  highs
  in
  the
  lower
  80s.
  Winds
  5
  to
  10
  mph.
• Friday:
  Partly
  cloudy
  with
  a
  few
  showers
  late,
  highs
  in
  the
  upper
  70s.
  Winds
  10
  to
  20
  mph.
  Chance
  of
  rain
  30%.
• Saturday:
  Cloudy
  with
  occasional
  rain
  showers,
  highs
  in
  the
  upper
  60s.
  Winds
  10
  to
  20
  mph.
  Chance
  of
  rain
  60%.
• Sunday:
  Overcast
  with
  rain
  showers,
  highs
  in
  the
  mid
  70s.
  Winds
  5
  to
  10
  mph.
  Chance
  of
  rain
  50%.

1. 
   Justin
   Westfall

   
   

   

   Justin
   Westfall
   is
   a
   contributor
   at
   Ultiworld
   Disc
   Golf
   who
   enjoys
   living
   in
   Southern
   California,
   where
   he
   can
   play
   disc
   golf
   year-round.
   Off
   the
   course,
   he
   works
   in
   the
   film
   industry
   and
   prides
   himself
   on
   being
   a
   lifelong
   Buffalo
   Bills
   fan.
   You
   can
   find
   Justin
   on
   Twitter
   and
   Instagram
   @PDGAStats.

TAGGED:

PDGA
FPO,

2023
USWDGC,

Cedarock
Park,

PDGA
Major,

The
Regulator,

USWDGC

PLAYERS:


Hailey
King,


Kristin
Tattar,


Ohn
Scoggins,


Valerie
Mandujano