Eveliina Salonen finished the opening round with a six-stroke lead. Photo: Alyssa Van Lanen
PEORIA, Ill.—“I was excited and I didn’t have any pressure,” said 19-year-old Eveliina Salonen after finishing six strokes ahead of the rest the Open Women’s field to open the 2019 PDGA Professional Disc Golf World Championships in Peoria, Illinois. Word of her 7-under par 56 on the blue layout at Northwood Park spread like wildfire amongst the players and spectators, with the most common reaction being some form of "That is insane.”
Tennessee's Noah Osborne celebrating his 15-stroke victory in the Advanced division. Photo: Matt Gregoire, PDGA
It was a long and grueling week in the greater York, Pennsylvania area for the 2019 PDGA Amateur Disc Golf World Championships, and after one last hurrah on Saturday afternoon it had finally come to an end. 12 new world champions were crowned at Codorus State Park (CSP), some with finals that took place in the morning, and some that first faced a morning semifinal round before heading to CSP for their final nine showdowns.
Maryland's Paula Bowen became the first PDGA Amateur Masters Women 70+ World Champion on Friday afternoon at the conclusion of her fifth and final round.
All good things must come to an end. For roughly 70% of the 2019 PDGA Amateur Disc Golf World Championships competitors, today marked that very moment in time. While there was one world champion crowned this afternoon at Klines Run Park on the outskirts of York, Pennsylvania, there are still 204 men and women that have even more disc golf to endure.
Amateur Masters Women 50+ co-leader Caryn Shearer at Codorus Township Park. Photo: Mike Downes, PDGA
It’s hard to imagine competing in an event where, after already having completed five full rounds in three days, you still have one, two, or even two and a half more rounds to go.
That’s life here at the 2019 PDGA Amateur Disc Golf World Championships. With each round becoming more and more significant and only one day of preliminary rounds to go, getting tired now simply isn’t an option.
Eric Schubert nails a birdie putt during round two at Klines Run. Photo: Matt Gregoire, PDGA
The 2019 PDGA Amateur Disc Golf World Championships kicked off on Tuesday morning with 702 competitors spread out across the greater York, PA area. For the division with the biggest field, Advanced, there's technically still no one that can be truly labeled as the leader, as the size of their division means that all players haven't completed rounds on the same courses. That will all change after today, and the annual Am Worlds "Great Shuffle" will finally put things into proper order.
Jerry "Swami" Swain representing the USA at the 2019 Am Worlds players meeting, Photo: Vic Allen, PDGA
Each year, the PDGA Amateur Disc Golf World Championships brings together hundreds of amateur competitors from around the globe, many of which, despite spending plenty of time competing in local and regional events, haven’t seen each other since the previous year’s Am Worlds. It’s an annual opportunity to see friends, fellow competitors, and familiar faces that one likely wouldn’t see otherwise, hence its nickname, the “family reunion”.
The champagne was flowing as the European Open came to a close Sunday evening in Nokia, Finland. Photo: Jari Mäki-Kuutti
Petomoodi was activated, and Pierce played it all square as the sun set on the European Open. Steve Hill brings the final episode of Chain Reaction from Nokia, with storylines on bulletin board material, USDGC bids, and reactions on how a memorable Sunday unfolded at The Beast!
