Pro Worlds Final Round Recap: Kristin Tattar, Isaac Robinson Take Titles

Both
players
cruised
home
in
the
final
six
holes

September
5,
2023
by


Kingsley
Flett
in

Analysis,

Recap
with
comments

In
the
five-day
long
street
fight
between

Kristin
Tattar
and

Missy
Gannon
to
decide
the
2023
PDGA
Pro
World
Championships,
it
was
remarkable
how
seldom
either
player
could
kick
the
other
when
they
were
down.
Hole
1
and
hole
7
during
round
four
were
prime
examples
of
potential
two-stroke
swings
where
Kristin
let
Missy
off
the
hook
with
uncharacteristically
loose
play.
Then,
when
there
was
a
two-stroke
swing,
like
the
one
that
favored
Gannon
on
hole
14
in
round
four,
one
of
the
lost
strokes
was
gained
back
by
Tattar
on
the
following
hole.
It
seemed
that
Tattar
was
unable
to
produce
the
knockout
blow
that
would
separate
her
from
her
chaser,
and
Gannon
was
unable
to
counterpunch
strongly
enough
to
swing
the
momentum
back
her
way.

The
pattern
continued
in
the
first
hole
of
the
championship
round.
Seeing
Gannon’s
approach
shot
slide
into
the
left
side
OB,
Tattar’s
usually
surgical
forehand
approach
game
failed
her,
with
the
upshot
landing
just
outside
the
circle.
Then,
just
as
on
the
same
hole
in
round
four,
Tattar’s
putt
was
low
and
into
the
cage
and
the
lead
was
six
strokes
when
it
could
have
been
7.

A
two-throw
swing
came
soon
after,
though.
On
hole
4,
Gannon’s
drive
landed
behind
a
tree,
forcing
her
to
shape
a
shot
that
turned
too
far
and
into
OB
just
near
the
basket.
Tattar’s
birdie
took
the
lead
to
8
strokes
and
with
14
holes
left
to
play,
Gannon
was
beginning
to
run
out
of
chasing
room.
As
she
had
all
week,
though,
Missy
continued
to
fight,
birdieing
the
next
five
holes
in
a
row.

Had
Tattar
not
made
circle-two
putts
on
hole
6
and
hole
9,
the
lead
might
have
shrunk
to
four.
Although
strong
from
Circle
2,
Tattar’s
C1
putting
was
keeping
Gannon
in
contention.
Through
the
middle
stretch
of
holes,
Tattar
seemed
to
be
trying
to
steer
the
closer
putts
in
while
Gannon’s
putts
were
machine-like.
In
the
first
12
holes,
Tattar’s
C2
putting
percentage
was
higher
than
the
percentage
in
C1.
It
was
one
of
these
missed
putts
that
allowed
Gannon
to
take
her
first
stroke
back
of
Tattar
since
hole
14
the
day
prior,
then
Missy
gained
another
on
hole
10,
and
it
was
back
to
a
six-stroke
lead
with
eight
holes
to
play.

“Maybe
it
was
just
nerves,”
said
Tattar
after
the
round.
“Something
was
going
on
with
the
putting.
It
wasn’t
as
strong
as
usual
so
that
made
me
kind
of
hesitant.”

Tattar
took
one
stroke
back
on
hole
11
and,
then,
on
hole
13,
Gannon’s
drive
faded
left
of
the
mandatory
tree.
The
imaginary
rubber
band
that
had
connected
the
two
leaders
since
early
in
round
two
finally
snapped.
The
air
seemed
to
go
out
of
the
contest.
Eight
strokes
in
five
holes
were
too
much
to
make
up.
Both
players
made
par
or
bogey
over
the
remaining
holes
and
walked
the
fairway
of
hole
18
with
that
same
8
stroke
gap
separating
them.

Tattar’s
OB
and
layup
for
a
double
bogey
finish
only
disappointed
the
fans
who
wanted
to
see
her
score
yet
another
1000-rated
round.
Kristin
tapped
in
to
become
the
first
back-to-back
FPO
world
champion
since
Val
Jenkins
in
2009;
she
raised
her
arms
to
her
fans
and
was
wrapped
in
a
long,
tearful
hug
by
her
daughter.

“It
felt
like
the
last
three
rounds
I
was
just
struggling,”
a
relieved
Tattar
said
afterwards.
“But
I
just
kept
telling
myself
‘I
might
be
struggling
but
I’m
not
failing’
so
that
kept
me
going.
I’m
just
very
happy
I
pulled
it
off.
It’s
great
to
be
in
that
sort
of
a
battle
with
Missy.
It’s
exciting
to
win
against
a
player
who
is
playing
their
best
golf.
It’s
a
big
honor
to
play
against
her
and
actually
win.”

Gannon
shot
a
provisionally
rated
average
of
998
for
the
tournament
compared
to
Tattar’s
1007.
“I
was
happy
to
be
in
the
conversation
and
not
make
it
too
easy,”
said
Gannon
after
the
tournament.
“It
was
pretty
surreal
and
intense
but
those
are
the
moments
that
we
live
for
and
it’s
why
we
play
this
game.”

Holyn
Handley
shot
the
hot
round
of
the
day
at
7-under
to
win
the
early
battle
for
the
remaining
spot
on
the
podium
against
Norway’s
Lykke
Lorentzen.
Handley
then
held
off
the
fast-finishing
Finnish
duo
of

Eveliina
Salonen
and

Henna
Blomroos
to
secure
3rd
place.
Lorentzen
faded
to
a
share
of
seventh
place
—
after
hitting
a
huge
emotional
putt
on
the
18th
green
—
but
remains
the
highest-ever
placed
Norwegian
at
a
World
Championship.

Reflecting
afterwards
on
her
win
and
her
overall
dominance
this
year,
Tattar
was
asked
about
the
secret
behind
her
last
couple
of
years
of
unprecedented
success.
Kristen
does
not
give
glib
answers,
and
she
was
silent
for
six
full
seconds
before
she
answered.
The
reply
was
simple:
“I’m
very
lucky
to
have
found
my
passion.
I
don’t
think
every
person
finds
it
in
their
lifetime,
but
I
actually
found
something
that
I
am
in
love
with,
and
that
passion
fuels
my
fire
on
the
course.”

It’s
fueled
her
to
four
consecutive
major
wins
—
the
first
FPO
player
to
do
it
since
Juliana
Korver
in
1999
and
2000
—
and
she
will
head
to
the
US
Women’s
Championship
in
two
weeks
with
a
chance
to
win
a
single
season
grand
slam
for
the
first
time
in
FPO
history.

“It
would
be
a
dream
come
true,”
Tattar
said.

Isaac
Robinson
Holds
His
Nerve

Despite
the
weight
of
history
suggesting
that
a
three-stroke
lead
going
into
a
final
round
at
the
world
championships
will
get
you
over
the
line
most
of
the
time,

Isaac
Robinson
clearly
wasn’t
going
to
start
playing
defense.
He
had
the
luxury
of
being
able
to
make
more
mistakes
that
his
pursuers,
and
with
the
chasing
cards
stacked
with
big-throwing,
major-winning
talent,
he
knew
he
needed
to
keep
pressing.

Robinson
and
second
placed
Evan
Scott
peeled
off
four
birdies
in
a
row
to
start
the
show,
while
Calvin
Heimburg
and
Kyle
Klein
bogeyed
hole
3,
allowing

Anthony
Barela
to
climb
up
into
third
place
and
begin
the
charge
from
the
chase
card.

The
first
pivotal
moment
of
the
round
came
on
hole
5.
Both
Robinson
and
Scott
faded
left
and
into
OB
off
the
tee:
Robinson
130-feet
from
the
pin
and
Scott’s
disc
rolling
across
the
line
just
outside
C2.
Robinson
got
up
and
down
for
bogey,
but
Scott’s
par-save
putt
was
low
and
turned
into
a
roller
that
continued
on,
crossing
the
OB
line
outside
the
circle
beyond
the
basket.
Scott
missed
the
comebacker
and
the
double
bogey
sent
him
tumbling
to
a
share
of
third
place,
five
strokes
back.
Robinson’s
lead
over
his
nearest
chaser
was
now
four.

The
MPO
lead
card
in
a
PDGA
Major
or
DGPT
event
is
not
proving
to
be
a
comfortable
place
in
2023.
As
in
the
previous
rounds
in
this
world
championship
and
in
what
seems
like
every
event
this
year,
while
the
lead
card
grows
nervous
and
starts
leaking
shots,
the
chase
cards
play
with
abandon
and
light
up
the
course.
Add
Anthony
Barela,

Eagle
McMahon,
and
Mathew
Orum
to
said
chase
card,
get
them
firing
off
each
other,
and
almost
no
lead
is
safe.
Despite
going
OB
twice
in
the
middle
holes,
Robinson
managed
to
save
par
and
keep
a
clean
sheet,
but
via
the
cheers
that
could
be
heard
ringing
through
the
trees
at
Fox
Run,
he
knew
the
mercurial
trio
were
on
a
roll.

One
of
those
loud
cheers
was
for
Orum
when
he
threaded
a
60-foot
anny
flex
putt
through
a
downhill
gap
between
the
trees.
The
disc
smashed
into
the
chains
and
made
every
media
person
in
disc
golf
wonder
what
a
post-round,
world-championship-winning
interview
with
Matty
O
might
actually
be
like.

Robinson
had
canned
a
60-footer
of
his
own
on
hole
8,
though.
But
the
crux
of
the
chase
was
on
hole
12,
where
McMahon
and
Barela
both
eagled
the
hole
and
Orum
birdied.
Right
behind
them,
Robinson
threw
OB
off
the
tee,
and
while
he
got
up
and
down
for
par,
up
ahead,
McMahon
had
climbed
into
second
place,
just
two
strokes
back.
Barela
was
three
shots
back,
sharing
3rd
place
with
Alden
Harris,
who
was
three
cards
ahead.
Orum
was
four
strokes
back
in
5th
place.

“I
felt
pretty
comfortable
through
the
front
nine,”
said
Robinson
after
the
round.
“Then
we
got
to
hole
10
and
they’d
eagled
hole
12
and
I
thought
‘oh
no’
because
[the
lead]
goes
from
four
or
five
down
to
two.
My
Dad
told
me,
‘Just
get
three
more
birdies,’
and
I
was
just
counting
them
down:
13,
14,
16,
and
then
17
was
just
the
cherry
on
top.”

Barela
missed
a
crucial
birdie
putt
on
14
and
McMahon
ended
his
birdie
streak
by
pulling
his
forehand
shot
across
his
body
and
into
an
early
tree
on
hole
15.
Robinson
birdied
holes
13
and
14;
by
the
time
he
arrived
at
the
tee
of
hole
15,
all
he
needed
to
do
was
fire
a
clean
shot
down
the
tunnel
of
trees
to
make
himself
almost
impossible
to
catch.

Robinson’s
backhand
putter
shot
didn’t
quite
make
the
turn
into
birdie
range,
but
it
was
safe,
and
the
par
gave
him
a
three-stroke
lead
with
three
to
play. 
There
was
still
the
test
of
hole
16,
though,
which
had
only
been
birdied
26%
of
the
time.
Robinson
passed
this
test
with
another
birdie,
and
after
he
hit
the
base
of
the
frame
holding
the
basket
on
hole
17
for
a
drop
in
birdie,
the
world
championship
was
his.

The
chasing
trio
of
Barela,
McMahon,
and
Orum
all
stood
on
the
tee
of
18
tied
for
second
place.
After
all
landed
in
the
fairway,
it
was
Barela
who
was
able
to
dial
up
the
bullseye
hit
with
his
approach.
McMahon
and
Orum
both
landed
in
the
bullseye
but
had
their
discs
sit
up
and
roll
slowly
and
agonizingly
out
of
bounds
beyond
the
basket.
The
Eagle
and
Matty
O
show
wasn’t
quite
over,
though.
Both
made
their
par-save
putts
to
the
roar
of
the
crowd
to
capture
a
spot
on
the
podium
with
a
share
of
third
place.
They
were
all
popular
place
getters,
and
it
was
sweet
redemption
for
Anthony
Barela
after
the
European
Open.

Like
Kristin
Tattar
in
the
earlier
round,
Robinson
stood
on
the
tee
of
the
treacherous
hole
18
knowing
he
could
almost
deliberately
throw
out
of
bounds
left
and
still
get
up
and
down
for
the
win.
Robinson
turned,
hugged
his
father
who
had
been
caddying
for
him
all
week,
and
then
stuck
his
drive
in
the
center
of
the
fairway.
His
approach
cut
the
corner
around
the
guardian
tree
a
little
tight
and
got
knocked
down,
but
that
didn’t
matter.
From
there,
he
chipped
his
way
to
a
World
Championship.
The
first
person
to
grab
Isaac
in
a
hug
was
his
brother
Ezra.

“It
doesn’t
feel
real,”
Robinson
said
afterwards.
“I
didn’t
ever
think
this
would
happen,
so
I’m
soaking
it
all
in
and
it’s
not
going
to
feel
real
for
a
while.
I
remember
watching
Gregg
Barsby
win
out
here.
I
was
16
or
17
at
the
time
and
to
be
able
to
do
it
at
the
same
place
is
just
crazy.”

On
what
it
was
like
to
walk
the
hole
18
fairway
knowing
he
was
about
to
become
a
world
champion,
Robinson
said,
“I
was
just
trying
to
soak
in
the
moment,
look
at
the
thousands
of
people
out
here,
sear
that
into
my
mind
and
have
it
forever.”

Robinson
becomes
the
fastest
player
to
win
a
second
major
after
their
first,
claiming
the
world
title
just
133
days
after
winning
the
Champions
Cup.
And
he
joins
Paul
McBeth,
Ricky
Wysocki,
Will
Schusterick,
Dave
Feldberg,
Ken
Climo,
and
Barry
Schultz
as
the
only
player
to
win
multiple
majors
in
a
single
season.

Now
he
has
a
chance
to
cap
a
historic
season
with
a
win
at
the
USDGC:
last
year,
he
finished
6th,
his
highest
ever
finish
at
the
event.

Original source