Day one of the 2015 Pro Worlds is in the books and with a tournament this long we can officially draw absolutely no conclusions as to what is going to happen in the days to come. There is simply too much golf left to even begin to make any long-term predictions. Only two of the 13 pools that make up the 400+ competitors here in Pittsburgh played more than one round today. To say this is only the beginning, is truly an understatement.

The Masters division was one of those pools with back-to-back rounds today, and local writer and disc golf enthusiast Ethan Zaharia #76394 was there to catch all the action.

Masters

Masters coverage written by: Ethan Zaharia

I’ve never spectated the lead card of the Masters division before, and today I was privileged to follow them at Knob Hill in Warrendale, Pa.

From those discers who just started playing the game to the professionals and fans who follow the game with religious-like fervor, a few names come to mind, namely Ken Climo #4297 AKA “The Champ”, who plays out of sunny Florida to Jay “Yedi” Reading #15864 out of Texas.  Watching the lead card of the 2015 PDGA Pro Worlds at Knob Hill proved to be an excited experience from start to finish.

The round opened with Reading holding a commanding seven throw lead in the division. The other competitors, Ken Climo, Tom Carrillo #12809, and Mike Moser #5557 were determined to make the second round of today’s play a competitive one. 

Hole 1, admittedly an easy hole for these veteran players, resulted in birdies for Reading and Climo while Moser and Carrillo each tallied pars.  This competitive trend continued for Hole 2 as well, but Hole 3 really showcased the skill levels of these players.  A 490 ft. uphill par 4 that requires a sharp anhyzer from the tee and a second placement shot through a barrier of trees, that the Pittsburgh areas courses are famous for, gave Carrillo a bit of trouble as he ended with a bogie.  Moser hit the long putt for a par and both Reading and Climo made two impressive initial shots followed by tap-in putts for birdies.    

Hole 7 is one of the signature holes at Knob Hill, sitting at 587 ft. and starting uphill around another solo tree obstacle, and then down an aggressive decline with an OB landing zone 15 ft. from the target.  Reading, Moser, and Carrillo each carded pars while Climo’s putt bounced in and out of the basket resulting in a bogie.  This clearly frustrated The Champ, as it was his third on target putt that ended up on the ground instead of inside the basket. 

As the game progressed, The Champ maintained composure and nailed an amazing 40 ft birdie putt on Hole 8.  He was in good company on this hole when Moser, using a roller second shot that is the envy of many players, also made the birdie “putt”, from inside of five feet.

Sick birdie putt from #TheChamp on Hole 8 at Knob Hill. #2015proworlds pic.twitter.com/r9Wq9cRfV7

— PDGA Live Scoring (@pdgalive) August 4, 2015

Climo nails a 40' putt after an unlucky roll on his approach to save birdie on Hole 8 at Knob Hill.

By Hole 10, with the sun blazing down, the lead card showed no sign of fatigue.   This tight hyzer shot off the tee put Climo and Moser far into the fairway while Carrillo, again challenged by throwing the hole that favors right handed players landed left on the fairway.  Reading missed the gap and ended into the woods to the left proving this is a very difficult shot even for players of the highest caliber.  His nickname, Yeti, proved to be accurate as he navigate the woods with precision, saving par along with Carrillo while Climo and Moser hit chains to card impressive birdies.

The last three holes of the round were exciting with only two strokes separating Reading and Climo while Carrillo was another stroke behind.  The aggressively uphill shot on Hole 16 proved that, even after two rounds, none of the competitors were fatigued from the sun or the hilly terrain.  Reading barely missed his long putt to tally a par while the others, much like on the previous hole, gained another stroke with birdie shots. 

The entire round at Knob Hill was picture perfect; there was no wind and only the occasional light breeze rewarded players and spectators alike with some fresh air, that is until the downhill Hole 16.  At only 248 ft. easy birdies were the prediction, but the Disc Golf Gods saw fit to add some wind…just as an added challenge for the lead card.  Climo’s putting throughout the round was on and off, and unfortunately for The Champ, his putt again sat on the lip of the basket before falling out to give him the par.  Reading’s laser putt served him well as both he and Carrillo marked birdies for this hole. 

Hole 18 was a showcase for the roller shot as both Climo and Moser employed it to gain strokes with birdies.  Carrillo’s long tee shot also gave him a birdie and a stroke on this 538 par 4 while Reading marked a par.

All in all, these competitors proved that they earned their spots on the lead card at Knob Hill.  All courses need players to display a proficient putting game, but Knob Hill requires proficiency in long anhyzers, hyzers, forearms, backhand shots, and rollers.  While spectating this round, it became very obvious why these are the players to watch in the Masters division of the 2015 Pro Worlds.

Open - Ask The Pauls

Paul Ulibarri #27171 shot the hot round in the Open division today at Moraine from the gold tees, finishing with a blazing bogey-free 11 under par (55), unofficially rated at 1065. Meanwhile, reigning 3X World Champion Paul McBeth #27523 finished just three throws back, locked in a 4-way tie for 3rd place with Simon Lizotte #8332, Will Schusterick #29064, and Eagle McMahon #37817.

With that being said, what better opportunity to “Ask The Pauls” about what went down in the exciting Open division A-Pool round this afternoon at Moraine.

What did you plan on shooting today at Moraine Gold?

Paul Ulibarri: "I figured that finishing anywhere in the 50s would put me in a good position heading into Round 2."

Paul McBeth: "Today was all about getting a solid start. There was no need to push, but I still had to maintain the course and prevent bogies. Anything in the mid 50s was my goal."

What did you think the hot round would be?

Paul Ulibarri: "56."

Paul McBeth: "54, or 55."

Was there a certain aspect of your game that was working better than something else or was everything clicking?

Paul Ulibarri: "I was scrambling well. Getting out of trouble and saving birdie or saving par when I needed to. I threw pretty clean overall but when I didn't, I either got lucky or scrambled my way out of trouble."

Paul McBeth: "My putting from distance was pretty on point today. That is what allowed me to stay bogey-free and finish with a solid eight under par."

Do you feel like you could have done better? If so, where/why?

Paul Ulibarri: "Better? Yes. But, I was playing too good to even think about that."

Paul McBeth: "Yes, I made many mental mistakes out on the course today which ended up costing me quite a few strokes. They were fairly routine shots that I simply did not capitalize on."

What are your expectations/plans for your two rounds tomorrow at Slippery Rock?

Paul Ulibarri: "Zero expectations. Pro Worlds is a very long week. I just want to stay in my world and play my game."

Paul McBeth: "Survival. Slippery Rock is the longest of the three courses we’ll be playing (and I'm a bit confused why we have to play that one twice in one day). I would like to shoot -10 or better for both rounds. That course has long par 4 and par 5 holes that can be eagled, but it also has some tough par 3 holes that could easily result in bogies."

As McBeth stated above, the Open division A-Pool will be playing back-to-back rounds at Slippery Rock Disc Golf Links tomorrow. Their second round will be streamed live by Emerging Sports TV on LiveStream and we’ll have hole-by-hole scoring up and running on pdgalive.com for both rounds.

Open Women

The Open Women’s division played only one round today and just like the men they played it at Moraine Lakeview DGC with the only difference being that they played from the blue tees. It’s been a long time since we’ve seen a lead card at a PDGA Major that didn’t include Paige Pierce #29190 or Catrina Allen #44184 and we’re excited to see how it all plays out with back-to-back rounds for the women at Knob Hill tomorrow.

3X Women’s World Champion Val Jenkins #17495 is tied with 2010 Women’s World Champion Sarah Cunningham #30397 (formerly Sarah Stanhope) for the lead both at four under par, but they’re far from safe as five of the best women disc golfers in the world are within four throws or less of catching up to them.

The Open Women’s lead card tees off tomorrow at 8:30am EDT at Knob Hill and with hole-by-hole scores coming in on pdgalive.com and pictures, videos, and updates via @pdgalive on Twitter for their afternoon round at approximately 1:30pm EDT.

Nearly all of the divisions/pools are extremely close races thus far, but even if they weren’t, it’s still way too early to start jumping to any conclusions. The championship courses here in Pittsburgh will get the best of everyone eventually. Only those that can recover and push on will have a chance at a world title.

Tomorrow is “moving day” – Part 1 – as many of the pools will face “The Great Shuffle” tomorrow night. Coverage begins tomorrow at 8:30am EDT on pdgalive.com and via the Emerging Sports TV live broadcast. Check the 2015 Pro Worlds schedule to see when and where everyone is competing tomorrow morning, afternoon, or both.