For the last seven days, 600+ men, women, boys, and girls from around the world have been gathered in Quad Cities for disc golf’s annual “family reunion”, the PDGA Amateur & Junior Disc Golf World Championships. After six full regulation rounds, and a 7th for those divisions with semifinal rounds on Saturday morning, 15 new Amateur & Junior World Champions were crowned during the Final 9 playoffs at West Lake Park.
AJ Carey, pictured above, is tied with Dhylan Lhotak for the lead in Advanced heading into the semifinal round. Photo by AJ Risley.
It’s been four long, hot, and humid days here in Quad Cities for the 2017 PDGA Amateur & Junior Disc Golf World Championships but we’ve finally made it to the weekend. For a majority of the competitors, Saturday means finally getting a day of rest and relaxation. For those that made the cut to semis and finals, there is still one intense day of disc golf remaining.
Hole 8 – Tee Shot must come to rest on the target side of the road. If OB, proceed to Drop Zone with a penalty. On subsequent shots, the road is normal OB.
For the Finals at West Lake Park on Saturday, please use the map below to make sure you entering through the correct gate (Gate 1, pin dropped on map) and parking in the correct locations. The pin for Tournament Central has a small parking lot that is for vendors and tournament staff only (parking pass required). Competitor and spectator parking lots are marked with the P pins.
If the competitor and spectator parking lots fill, DO NOT PARK ON THE GRASS. You will be ticketed. The same applies for breaking the park's speed limit.
Food, beverages, and ice cream will be available at Tournament Central along with the other sponsor vendors.
Advanced Women's leader, Missy Gannon. Photo by Bob Carey.
Another day down and one more to go before the competitors here at the 2017 PDGA Amateur & Junior Disc Golf World Championships are cut down in size for the semifinal and final rounds on Saturday at West Lake Park. Two new players have emerged as the leaders in the Advanced and Advanced Women divisions; Illinois’s Dylan Lhotak and Colorado’s Missy Gannon.
Dylan Lhotak hitting a birdie putt at Richmond Hill during Round 3. Photo by AJ Risley.
With two days and three rounds worth of disc golf scores officially published, the sometimes-dreaded tradition of the Great Shuffle took place here at the 2017 PDGA Amateur & Junior Disc Golf World Championships. 24 competitors that began in the Advanced division’s B-Pool jumped up into the A-Pool due to the shuffle and the same can be said for six men in the Advanced Masters division (moved from N-Pool to M-Pool) and another six in Advanced Grandmasters (moved from H-Pool to G-Pool).
Colin Poe (left) and Alec Anderson (right) on the Round 2 lead card. Photo by AJ Risley.
After a world-class Players Meeting on Monday night and 12 straight hours of disc golf on Tuesday, the 600+ competitors here in Quad Cities for the 2017 PDGA Amateur & Junior Disc Golf World Championships are already back on the courses this morning teeing off for either their second or third rounds.
With 600+ men, women, boys, and girls on site hailing from 46 states, two Canadian provinces, and a total of seven countries, Quad Cities has officially been taken over by the 2017 PDGA Amateur & Junior Disc Golf World Championships competitors, staff, volunteers, and vendors. With the Players Meeting set to begin in just a few hours and the ancillary events in the books, all parties involved are ready to kick off what is always an exciting, exhausting, and sometimes chaotic week of disc golf!
Friday, May 12th – Registration opens for three weeks to all invitees only for the division(s) for which they were invited. If a division fills then a waitlist is started only for invitees of the division in the order they are received. Note: During this period, spots are held in each division for the 2016 World Champions to register -- during this period ONLY. If not registered by June 2nd, those spots are released.
Anyone coming to the 2017 Amateur & Junior Disc Golf World Championships by air will be best off flying into Quad City International Airport (MLI) in Moline, Illinois; a 15-minute drive to the Isle Casino Hotel (host hotel). If you cannot find a flight into Quad City International Airport, the next-closest regional and major airports are as follows:
The 2017 PDGA Amateur & Junior Disc Golf World Championships is now just a few months away and the invitation list is now published! You can find the lists along with other relative documents and lodging information on the 2017 Am Worlds page. Much more information will be added in the weeks to come.
The requirements to earn an invite to each of the three 2017 PDGA World Championships have been approved by the PDGA Board of Directors and are available online. In an effort to reduce the number of invitees for the limited space at Worlds the invite requirements have been increased considerably for both the Pro Masters and Amateur World Championships. The MPO/FPO World Championships is now strictly based on player ratings.
