The long awaited first round of the 2015 Maple Hill Open is officially in the books and as expected, it was truly a great day of disc golf. Maple Hill Gold is the kind of place where unexpected names can reach the top of the leaderboard but that wasn’t the case today. Two very familiar names will sit atop the lead card tomorrow, current PDGA Professional Disc Golf World Champions Paul McBeth #27523 and Catrina Allen #44184.
It’s been less than two weeks since the end of the 2015 Beaver State Fling in Oregon, yet here we are again on the other side of the country in Leicester, MA, getting ready for the start of the 5th stop on the 2015 PDGA National Tour, the 2015 Maple Hill Open presented by Vibram. It’s a 3050+ mile trek from Oregon to Massachusetts but for those fortunate few that have had the opportunity to compete at this event in the past, the long hours on the road are well worth the trouble.
After the fourth long and exhausting day of competition at the Maple Hill Open, two players emerged as first time winners of this prestigious event: Paige Pierce #29190 and Jeremy Koling #33705. Pierce is no stranger to victory on the 2014 PDGA National Tour. She has now won four out of the five NT events this year, giving her a significant advantage in the overall points standings for the series. Koling isn't new to victory either but this is arguably the biggest win of his professional career.
After another long 12 hour day of disc golf at the Maple Hill Open, a majority of the field has now been cut. The 72 men and 12 women that survived the 3-day battle of heat, rain, and wind will play one last 18-hole round on the Maple Hill Gold Course. The competitors that have made it to this point are all guaranteed to cash but for many of the players cashing was never really a concern. The touring pros that have made this sport their career don’t come out to make the cut. They come out to win.
