Innova’s European Athletes are Heating Up
We are always happy to have athletes on the podium, but we are especially thrilled at the Innova players who took 3rd last weekend! Our latest team addition, Väinö Mäkelä, had his first DGPT podium in over two years, just weeks after joining Team Champion. In the FPO, rookie, up-and-comer Anneli Tõugjas-Männiste had her first DGPT podium finish at just the fourth Tour event she has played.
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Well That Was Fast, Väinö!
In his second DGPT tournament playing with Innova discs, Väinö Mäkelä has already earned a podium finish. He took 3rd place at last weekend’s 2024 Krokhol Open, tying the best Tour result of Väinö’s entire career. His average event rating of 1058 is the third highest at any tournament he has played. What a way to start out our new partnership.
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Väinö came out strong and kept his foot down through all three rounds. He played consistent, well-rounded disc golf, keeping the disc in bounds, giving himself birdie opportunities, and capitalizing with his putts. He was 3rd in the field in C1 Hits in Regulation and Strokes Gained C1. Väinö did not miss a putt from inside the circle in his second two rounds and he was one of just two players in the field to only take one OB stroke all weekend. Väinö looked great in all aspects of his game; a similar level of play and event rating would win some weekends on tour.
Photo by DGPT
We signed Väinö because he is a world class competitor, but for him to find such a rhythm with his new discs so fast is unexpected and exciting. It shows that the Innova molds Väinö bags (Destroyer, Teebird, Roc, Aviar, etc.) are such classics for a reason. It also shows that Väinö is riding a wave of new passion for disc golf fueled by joining Team Champion. This weekend’s European Open is one of the most important events all season. Väinö has a history of strong play at that event. Let’s see if he can keep the momentum going heading into the PDGA Major.
Rookie on the Rise
In her rookie season on Tour, Estonia’s Anneli Tõugjas-Männiste is standing on a DGPT podium! The Innova Crew member has played four DGPT events in Europe this season and has finished in the top 10 at three of them. She is quickly making a name for herself (even if the Americans have trouble pronouncing it.)
Anneli was 3rd in the field in Fairway Hits, 3rd in C1 and C2 Hits in Regulation, and 3rd in C1x Putting. She played smart and kept the OB strokes to a minimum. Each round she shot well above her player rating, averaging 36 points above her rating for the tournament. The turkey she took on the final three holes of the final round was needed to earn to the podium. Anneli is certainly an underdog going into the European Open, but we won’t be surprised if she’s right back at the top of the pack.
Team Innova’s Top Performances
In the FPO, Norway’s Katarina Staalesen Bjørkås had the best finish on tour of her career so far, tying for 8th place.
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In the MPO, just one week after tying for 3rd place at the Finnish National Disc Golf Championships, Joona Heinänen tied for 12th at Krokhol.
Peter Lunde also tied for 12th place and was 3rd in C2 Hits in Regulation. He is coming off the back of an 11th place finish at the Swedish Open just last month. Those are his two best DGPT results by over 20 positions.
The 2024 European Open
The 2024 European Open, a PDGA Major event, will take place this week from July 18-21 in Nokia And Tampere, Finland. Team Innova has multiple athletes competing worth keeping an extra eye on. Eveliina Salonen and Henna Blomroos have a home field advantage, playing at courses in Finland. Väinö Mäkelä is bringing momentum into the weekend from his podium at Krokhol. Calvin Heimburg is still hungry for his first Major win. Follow all the storylines live each day on the Disc Golf Network; only DGN Pro subscribers will have live access to the final three tournament days. Visit innovadiscs.com for tournament recaps, tips, Innova news, and more.
