When the last putt of a multi-day disc golf event hits the chains, take a look around at the staff and the volunteers. They look pretty happy, right? If you’ve ever ran or helped put on a tournament, you probably know the feeling. The weight being lifted off your shoulders. The joy of knowing that soon you’ll be back home with your family and friends, sleeping comfortably and stress-free. It’s weird to think that after months and months of prep work, all you want once the event finally begins, is for it to end.

The 2014 “Steady” Ed Memorial Masters Cup is run so well and is such a blast to attend that it makes it difficult to embrace the idea that it’s over. The DeLaveaga Disc Golf Course isn’t the kind of place you’d pull up to and say, “…let’s go somewhere else.” The beauty and difficulty of DeLaveaga combined with the amazing staff and fun-loving atmosphere of The Masters Cup provokes a bittersweet feeling as you drive the winding road down the mountain and out of the park for the last time. Whether you love it here in Santa Cruz or not, there’s no denying that it always inspires some of the greatest disc golf action of the year.

Of all the times I’ve been lucky enough to have front row seats during the final round of a huge event, this was easily one of the most intense. The Open division’s final round started out with 15 different world class players within 10 strokes of the leader, Paul McBeth #27523. That might sound like a lot of ground to make up, but DeLaveaga can take care of that gap for any player with just a few mistakes.

When the front half of the course was complete, McBeth would have Ricky Wysocki #38008, Steve Rico #4666, and Simon Lizotte #8332 all tied for second place just one stroke away from tying him for the lead. On hole 17, nicknamed “gravity”, McBeth’s drive left him deep in the woods with an uphill look to get up and down for par. His second throw hit a tree and he was forced to run a long jump putt to save par, but couldn’t pull it off.

Wysocki took advantage of the situation and nailed a birdie putt from 25’, gaining two strokes on McBeth and taking over as the leader for the first time all weekend. It wouldn’t last long though. McBeth quickly regained the lead on the hole that followed with a birdie while Wysokci took a momentum-killing double bogey. McBeth continued to dominate the rest of the field and opened up his lead to three with another birdie on the next hole as well.

With a three stroke lead and only four holes to go, it would take a miracle for someone to catch McBeth. You could see it in his face and in his demeanor. He knew he was taking this one home…again. He threw a safe forehand from the top of the world, hole 24 (course hole 27), and laid up under the cage with a putter to tap in for a historical win, as he is now officially the first to ever three-peat in the Open division at the “Steady” Ed Memorial Masters Cup.

Catrina Allen #44184 won her first PDGA National Tour event of the year in the Open Women’s division without having to worry too much about losing the lead. She absolutely shredded the course during the second round and never looked back. Val Jenkins #17495 would finish in second place, nine strokes behind Allen.

Up-and-coming touring pro Jessica Weese #50656 placed for the first time in a National Tour event, finishing in third just one throw behind Jenkins. Her final round of three over par was the second best women’s round of the weekend, unofficially rated at 990. At 18 years old with only a few years of experience, shooting a 75 at DeLaveaga is extremely impressive.

We really can’t say enough good things about the people that helped make the 2014 “Steady” Ed Memorial Masters Cup such a great part of the PDGA National Tour once again. A huge thank you is owed to The Disc Golf Association (DGA) for donating 29 brand new Mach X Disc Golf Baskets to the course and for hanging around all weekend to help out when and where it was needed. Congratulations to TJ Goodwin #26305 for once again putting on such a great event for everyone involved and to all the competitors that took on such a mentally and physically demanding course for three days.

As always, check the PDGA Flickr page for dozens of high-resolution photos from the 2014 “Steady” Ed Memorial Masters Cup and from every other PDGA Major and PDGA National-Tour event. The next stop on the Majors tour is the United States Amateur Disc Golf Championships in Milford, MI. The same weekend also hosts another PDGA Major, the Japan Open in Tochigi, Nasu Highlands, Japan.

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