2023 USDGC & Throw Pink Preview: Into the Arena

The
final
Major
of
the
season
for
MPO
and
a
prestigious
A-Tier
for
FPO

October
4,
2023
by


Justin
Westfall
in

Preview
with
comments

The
25th
United
States
Disc
Golf
Championship,
the
final
MPO
major
of
the
season,
begins
Thursday
at
the
Winthrop
Arena
in
Rock
Hill,
South
Carolina.
And
for
the
third
year,
the
Throw
Pink
Women’s
Disc
Golf
Championship,
a
prestigious
A-tier,
will
be
played
alongside
the
USDGC.

Since
the
beginning
of
the
DGPT
season
in
February,
players
have
been
battling
for
position
in
the
standings
to
earn
a
spot
in
next
week’s
Tour
Championship.
What
is
often
overlooked
is
that
all
of
those
months
of
hard
work
culminate
in
this
week
as
well.
Most
Elite
Series
events,
and
of
course
the
majors,
offer
players
a
chance
to
qualify
for
the
USDGC
and
TPWDGC.

At
the
2022
USDGC,
Finnish
player
Niklas
Antilla
took
a
one
stroke
lead
into
the
final
day
and
quickly
found
himself
in
a
heated
battle
with

Gannon
Buhr.
Antilla
and
Buhr
were
tied
for
the
lead
going
into
the
dreaded
island
hole
17,
though
both
players
put
their
tee
shots
safely
onto
the
island.
Staring
down
a
60
footer,
Buhr
made
his
putt
for
birdie,
while
Antilla
came
up
short
and
took
a
par.
With
a
one
stroke
lead
on
hole
18,
Buhr
watched
as
Antilla
parked
his
upshot
for
birdie.
With
the
most
important
shot
of
his
life,
the
18-year-old
put
his
approach
just
long
of
the
basket
and
tapped
in
for
his
first
career
major
championship.

In
the
TPWDGC,

Catrina
Allen
took
the
lead
in
round
two
with
a
1028
rated
hot
round
and
never
looked
back.
Despite
shooting
even
par
over
the
final
two
rounds,
Allen
was
able
to
hold
off

Kristin
Tattar
who
went
10-under
par
during
that
same
stretch.
Tattar’s
major
downfall
was
the
difficult
hole
18,
where
she
shot
six-over
par
across
the
four
rounds,
Allen
finished
even
on
the
hole
and
took
home
her
4th
win
of
the
season.

Past
USDGC
Winners

Past
TPWDGC
Winners

Five
Things
We’ll
Be
Watching

1.
All
eyes
should
be
on
World
Champion

Isaac
Robinson
this
week,
who
has
an
opportunity
to
pick
up
his
third
Major
win
of
the
season.
Robinson
would
be
the
first
MPO
player
to
win
three
Majors
in
a
season
since
Paul
McBeth
swept
the
2015
schedule.
Isaac
finished
in
6th
place
last
year,
after
struggling
a
bit
with
OB
strokes
in
the
first
three
rounds
of
the
tournament.
Robinson
finished
in
8th
place
the
year
prior,
clawing
his
way
back
from
an
11-stroke
deficit
after
the
opening
round.
If
Isaac
can
get
a
decent
start
to
his
tournament,
he’s
very
much
capable
of
putting
together
a
hot
round
and
getting
in
position
to
win
the
event
come
Sunday.

2.
Coming
off
a
grand
slam
performance
at
the
US
Women’s
Championships,

Kristin
Tattar
will
try
to
make
her
historic
season
even
sweeter
this
weekend.
Tattar
has
only
played
this
event
once,
after
Covid
travel
restrictions
forced
her
to
miss
the
inaugural
event
in
2021.
Last
year,
Kristin
took
an
uncharacteristic
quadruple-bogey
on
hole
18
in
the
opening
round
and
wound
up
nine
strokes
off
the
lead.
Tattar
managed
to
fight
back
but
ultimately
was
unable
to
chase
down
Catrina
Allen,
finishing
in
2nd
place.

While
Kristin’s
European
Championship
was
certainly
a
more
important
A-Tier
win
for
her
legacy,
there’s
no
doubt
that
the
TPWDGC
field
is
stronger,
and
a
desirable
trophy
to
put
on
the
mantle.
Clearly
the
favorite
to
win
both
this
week
and
next,
the
only
question
that
remains
is
if
Tattar
has
enough
left
in
the
tank
to
hold
off
the
field
and
close
out
her
historic
season
with
two
more
wins.

3.
With
each
major
championship,
the
pressure
on

Calvin
Heimburg
to
finally
win
one
continues
to
build.
Heimburg
nearly
won
this
event
in
extremely
rainy
conditions
back
in
2020,
until
his
putt
on
hole
17
hit
the
basket
and
rolled
out
of
bounds.
Last
year,
he
finished
in
3rd
place
after
carding
a
seven
on
hole
10
in
the
final
round.
A
birdie
three
would
have
forced
a
playoff,
and
an
eagle
two
would
have
won
the
event
outright
over
Gannon
Buhr.
As
the
front-runner
for
Player
of
the
Year,
Calvin
may
finally
hoist
the
trophy
at
a
Major.
But

Isaac
Robinson
could
steal
that
title
with
a
win
this
weekend.
And
reigning
champion

Gannon
Buhr
will
also
have
something
to
say
if
he
is
able
to
repeat
at
Winthrop.
While
Buhr’s
average
finish
is
nowhere
near
as
impressive
as
Heimburg’s,
he
currently
has
one
more
Elite
and
one
more
Silver
win
on
the
season.

4.

Ohn
Scoggins
has
a
great
opportunity
to
pick
up
a
win
this
weekend
if
she
can
avoid
the
big
mistakes
the
Winthrop
Arena
baits
players
into.
In
2021,
Ohn
took
a
10
on
hole
5
in
the
opening
round
and
still
finished
just
four
strokes
off
the
lead.
Last
year,
she
carded
a
nine
on
three
different
holes,
including
one
on
hole
5.
Scoggins
has
played
phenomenal
lately;
aside
from
her
DNF
at
the
World
Championships,
she
hasn’t
missed
a
podium
since
the
Beaver
State
Fling.
If
Ohn
can
just
limit
her
OB
throws
at
Winthrop,
she
will
have
an
opportunity
to
take
down
this
event.

5.
5-time
USDGC
champion
and
12-time
World
champion

Ken
Climo

will
return
to
the
Winthrop
Arena
this
weekend.
“The
Champ”
has
been
notably
absent
from
the
pro
scene
over
the
past
several
years,
but
fans
will
have
an
opportunity
to
see
him
throughout
the
event.
Not
only
will
Climo
be
doing
commentary
for
the
live
coverage
on
the
Disc
Golf
Network,
he
will
also
take
part
in
a

special
9-hole
skins
match
after
round
2
along
with
fellow
champions

Barry
Schultz,

Will
Schusterick,
and

Nate
Sexton.
Climo
has
a
bit
of
prior
experience
doing
commentary
but
has
not
played
a
filmed
round
since
the
2016
USDGC.
Newer
fans
of
disc
golf
have
been
clamoring
to
see
the
legend
compete
one
more
time,
and
it
appears
that
opportunity
has
finally
arrived.

Course
Changes

The
Winthrop
Arena
is
one
of
the
most
iconic
venues
in
the
sport,
having
hosted
the
USDGC
since
1999.
This
year
there
is
only
one
notable
change
to
the
course.
Hole
17
typically
has
a
slightly
easier
B
pin
position
used
for
rounds
2
and
3.
To
go
along
with
hole
17,
hole
13
will
also
have
a
shorter
position
for
the
middle
two
rounds
this
year.

2023
MPO
A:
9,812
Feet
Par
64
2023
MPO
B:
9,712
Feet
Par
64
2022
MPO:
9,812
feet
Par
64

2023
FPO
A:
8,787
feet
Par
69
2023
FPO
B:
8,687
feet
Par
69
2022
FPO:
8,787
feet
Par
69

Extended
Forecast

The
conditions
could
not
be
better
for
the
2023
USDGC/TPWDGC.
Temperatures
should
be
mild
to
warm
with
little
to
no
wind
throughout
the
weekend.

–
Thursday:
Partly
cloudy
with
highs
near
80.
Winds
light
and
variable.
–
Friday:
Mostly
cloudy
with
highs
near
80.
Winds
light
and
variable.
–
Saturday:
Partly
cloudy
with
highs
in
the
lower
70s.
Winds
5
to
10
mph.
=
Sunday:
Sunny
with
highs
in
the
upper
60s.
Winds
5
to
10
mph.

Original source