New Tour Event that is Here to Stay
Bradley Williams took 2nd and Ohn Scoggins took 3rd at last weekend’s Innova Blue Ridge Championship at North Cove to continue an excellent season for Team Innova. We have had an MPO player on the podium of every DGPT event so far this year and have only missed one podium in FPO. Calvin Heimburg continued his run of top 5 finishes, widening his margin in the DGPT points standings. And our newest addition to Team Champion, Emily Beach, had her strongest finish so far this season. Team Innova looks well-practiced and prepared as we head into the first Major of the year, the Champions Cup, in Appling, Georgia.
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About North Cove
The property at North Cove is one of the most idyllic locations for disc golf on tour. The three courses on site were designed by Winthrop Gold course designer, Andrew Duvall. Design elements from the famed USDGC venue can be found throughout the North Cove property. Duvall designed North Cove to force deliberate and precise shot-shapes and decision-making. Even though the Gorge, is far from the longest course on tour, it may well be the hardest. The cash-line was the highest in DGPT history at 10 over par for the event. The course created some of the greatest scoring separation we will see all year.
The courses at North Cove place an emphasis on speed control at shorter distances. Duvall forces specific lines with narrow landing zones and difficult greens; small mistakes can be quite costly.
Photo by DGPT
The property provides everything you want from a world-class disc golf venue: elevation changes, water hazards, and a combination of open fields and wooded fairways. The player responses were overwhelmingly positive. Athletes praised the mix of beautiful scenery and expert course-design. Though the tournament was one of the most difficult on tour, nearly everyone enjoyed the challenge. FPO winner, Kristin Tattar, described the event as feeling like a vacation.
North Cove is a destination facility. Cabins and Airbnbs line the property, making it the perfect place for a disc golf vacation. With stunning views of Grandfather Mountain in the background and the Catawba River running through the property, this is one of the most scenic courses in the world. Add to that three professionally-designed courses built for a range of skill levels and you get one of the premier properties for disc golf in existence.
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Smart Decisions and Word-Class Speed Control Lead Bradley Williams to Podium
Bradley Williams’ pinpoint accuracy and calculated decision making landed him in 2nd place at last weekend’s Innova Blue Ridge Championship. That is Bradley’s best Pro Tour finish so far this season.
On one of the most challenging courses on tour, Bradley Williams managed to string together three consistent, clean rounds of golf as the rest of the field struggled. He averaged over 1060 rated for the weekend. He was 2nd in the field in Fairway Hits and 3rd in the field in C2 Putting. Bradley’s speed control onto postage-stamp landing zones and greens earned him strokes on every player in the field.
Photo by DGPT
Williams is a proven winner on Tour, taking down the Elite Series event, the Preserve, last year. Last weekend, Bradley made the decision to play safe down the stretch instead of pushing for the win. In his post-round interview at the end of day 2, Bradley said, “On 16, 17, 18 it’s hard to play aggressive if you need to catch up. There is so much risk involved. It’s not that great for my game at least. I’m just going to finish where I finish I think. There are not going to be any options for me to go for a birdie on 18.” As the conditions on the 18th hole became nearly unplayable in the wind and rain, Bradley stuck to his game plan, and layed up to secure 2nd place. Some may question his choice to lay up when there was still a slim chance at victory, but that sort of disciplined play is how Bradley found himself so high up the leaderboard to begin with.
Vinny Becomes Statmando #1 Player in the World
Photo by DGPT
Calvin Heimburg took 4th place last weekend, bringing his historic podium streak to an end. That said, Calvin played top-level golf with three rounds above his player rating. He was 2nd in the field in Birdie Percentage and 3rd in C2 Hits in Regulation. Calvin remains the most consistent and dominant player this season.
His 4th place finish moves Calvin further into the lead of the Pro Tour points standings. Kyle Klien sits in second place, over 100 points behind Calvin. That means Calvin could get last place at an Elite Event that Kyle wins and still have the lead in tour points.
Last weekend was Calvin’s 8th straight top five finish on tour, the longest top 5 streak of any player on tour in MPO since Calvin’s own streak of 12 a couple years back.
In the Statmando Official Rankings, Calvin is now ranked the number one player in the world. He is the first player besides Paul McBeth or Ricky Wysocki to hold the number one slot in over a decade.
Ohn Scoggins Looks Sharp Going into Champions Cup
Photo by DGPT
In the FPO, Ohn Scoggins took 3rd place, shooting -12 for the event and averaging nearly 980-rated golf. In typical Ohn fashion, she led the field in C2 Putting at 33%. She was 2nd in Strokes Gained Putting and 2nd in Birdie Percentage. This is Ohn’s 3rd podium finish of the season, moving her up one spot into 4th place in the DGPT point standings.
Ohn’s game shapes well for the upcoming Champions Cup course, the technical WR Jackson. Her scrambling abilities and C2 putting will keep Ohn from taking big numbers on a course that is as much about damage control as scoring. She currently leads the field in C1 putting percentage for the season, an asset on every course. Ohn’s time to win a big event has been on the horizon since early last season; a Major victory next weekend would be well-deserved for this fan-favorite player.
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Weese and Beach Find Top 10
Jessica Weese had yet another strong finish last weekend, taking 5th place. That makes four out of five top ten finishes at DGPT events so far this season for Jessica. She remains in 9th place in the points standings. Emily Beach took 6th place, her best result at a Pro Tour event so far this year. She led the field in Strokes Gained Putting.
Get Ready for the First Major of the Year
The Innova Blue Ridge Championship at North Cove served as a final chance for players to compete under tournament pressure before the first Major of the year, the Champions Cup, this upcoming weekend. Calvin Heimburg is widely considered to be the most consistent player in the world right now. Many people say he is the best player in MPO who is yet to win a Major; could this be his weekend? Tune in on the Disc Golf Network to follow Team Innova at the Champions Cup live and check in at Innovadiscs.com for tournament recaps, tips, Innova news, and more.
