Ella Hansen endured the weather the best and leads by one stroke at Idlewild. Photo: Kevin Huver / DGPT
A little rain. A little mud. A long hike through the Kentucky woods.
Players needed to handle all three during round one at the DGPT - LWS Open at Idlewild presented by Dynamic Discs & The Nati, the ninth stop on the Disc Golf Pro Tour schedule. Round one experienced a brief delay for lightning but light rain persisted throughout most of the opening round for FPO and MPO competitors.
Six years to the day, Paige Pierce and Bradley Williams each took down the 2016 Vibram Open, a PDGA National Tour event and the inaugural event of the Disc Golf Pro Tour.
In the morning, as the fans began to fill the beloved property of Minnesota’s own Cale Leiviska, Paige Pierce got off to a blistering start with birdies the first five holes and setting a pace that looked to be tough to match.
Cale Leiviska plays host to the DGPT - Preserve Championship this weekend. Photo: DGPT
In just over two years, the Airborn Disc Golf Preserve has quickly become a favorite among professionals and fans alike.
Given the designer, Cale Leiviska, and the property in Clearwater, Minnesota, it's easy to see why.
As disc golf returned in a pandemic world in 2020, the Preserve came together quickly to play host to an Elite Series event. The course — the Black Bear, a combination of the two courses on the property that neighbors the Mississippi River in the Land of a 10,000 Lakes — evolved in 2021, providing a much tougher challenge than its debut.
Valerie Mandujano and Simon Lizotte each recorded their second victories of the 2022 season at last weekend's Portland Open. All photos by Kevin Huver / DGPT
Portland and the Pacific Northwest has a knack for delivering high-level disc golf and thrilling finishes.
