Nathan Queen came into the Disc Golf Pro Tour Championship as the 28th seed out of 32 competitors. Not a single UDisc bracket picked him to win. But, after battling through three qualifying rounds, Nathan earned one of four spots to compete in the finals with five-time World Champion Paul McBeth and two top 10 ranked players, Adam Hammes and Drew Gibson. Nathan shot a final round -8 under par—his best score for the tournament—winning by two strokes over Drew Gibson, and taking home the $30,000 first place prize.
The event course, Hornet’s Nest Disc Golf Course in Charlotte, NC, is one of the most demanding on tour, personified by the signature Hole 15 known as “The Gauntlet”. Most holes are wooded and long with curvy fairways that require the disc to fly specific paths. Nathan’s hometown of Kernersville, NC is just an hour and half away. Watching the ease of his performance all week, one might think this was his home course. Over the four rounds Nathan laced fairways like no other, finishing 1st in UDisc stats for fairway hits (78%) and circle two in regulation (69%)—amazing metrics over a four-day stretch.
I got the biggest set of chills that I’ve gotten thinking about his moment right here.
– Nathan Queen
Some were amazed by his victory. But, going into the final day one person had no doubt who was going to win… Nathan Queen. He commented on the 18th green after his win, “After that first round, I still had to settle my head a little bit. Friday morning, I went out to ride my mountain bike cause that’s how I try to calm myself down. I was listening to an “All that Remains” song on the way there. I got the biggest set of chills that I’ve gotten thinking about his moment right here. And at that point I already knew in my head that it was gonna happen.”
The 2021 Disc Golf Pro Tour Championship had a record-breaking $250,000 purse, the richest in disc golf history. Nathan’s $30,000 first place prize is the largest payout of his career.
Nathan Queen is Innova-sponsored on Team Champion and throws his Tour Series Star Wraith.
