A Huge Year for Innova
In 2023, Innova is celebrating the 40th anniversary of the company, the 25th anniversary of Team Innova, and the 25th anniversary of the USDGC. This was always going to be a special year for us, but it has also turned into one of the strongest starts to a season in recent memory.
Calvin Heimburg is now 5 for 5 in podium finishes at DGPT events in 2023. Team Captain, Jennifer Allen, took second place last weekend, her best result at a DGPT event since 2020. We had four top ten finishes and many players landing in the top 20.
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5 for 5 DGPT Podiums
Photo by DGPT
Calvin Heimburg has been unshakeable this season. No matter what mistakes he makes or what bad breaks he gets, Calvin has been fighting to the finish of every round he plays. He has more mental resilience and perseverance than any other player in the game.
Last weekend, Heimburg got off to a slow start in the first round. He was even par through ten holes. But as he has done time and time again this season, Calvin pulled together four late round birdies to find himself just 3 strokes off the lead. He went on to shoot 1050+ golf in the final two rounds of the tournament to earn the podium finish.
Vinny took his strokes on the field on the putting green, sinking 45% of his C2 attempts for the weekend. Calvin led the field in Strokes Gained Putting and in C2 Putting percentage.
Calvin has now finished on the podium of 5 out of 5 DGPT events so far this season, an unprecedented start to his year. With another 3rd place result, Calvin has now built up a sizable lead in the DGPT Standings over 2nd place. Ezra Aderhold sits nearly 100 points behind Calvin. To put that into perspective, if Ezra won an Elite Event that Calvin finished in dead last, Calvin and Ezra would still be within a few points of each other at the top of the leaderboard for the season.
Newest Star Team Member is Off to Hot Start in 2023
Joel Freeman got his 3rd top 10 finish at a DGPT event this year, finishing in 9th place. Freeman shot an impressive 10 under par on the final day to move ten places up the leaderboard. Joel moved up the DGPT Standings two positions, into 7th place.
This is Joel’s first season on the Innova Star Team and he has been crushing it so far. If he can keep playing as well as he has been, Joel will pick up a DGPT victory this season for sure.
A Force on the Course for Over Two Decades
As an Innova Team Captain, Jennifer Allen is setting an example of longevity at the top of the game. Jen finished in a tie for 2nd place at last weekend’s 2023 Music City Open. She has been a force in the sport for over two decades, and is still one of the forerunners at many events today. Jen’s positive attitude and healthy perspective on competition makes her a fan favorite. She has had a fantastic start to her season and we are all rooting for Jen to take home a big win in one of the events to come.
This was Jennifer Allen’s best result at a DGPT event since 2020. She shot the hot round on the second day at 3 under par, moving her 8 spots up the leaderboard. With that round, she made the final day lead card where she put together another super solid round at -2 to earn 2nd place.
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A Battle Back Into the Top Ten
Photo by DGPT
Eveliina Salonen fought one of the hardest battles to get back into the top ten we have seen in a long time. She struggled on the first day, starting her round 6 over par through 4 holes. She finished the first day at 8 over par. Despite being out of the top 25 after round one, Eveliina came back on days two and three determined. She shot a hot, -3, in the second round and a -2 in the final round. She managed to fight back into 6th place, 20 spots better than she was positioned after day one. She led the field in Strokes Gained Tee to Green, as well as C1 Hits and C2 Hits in Regulation.
Emily Beach, Hailey King, and Ohn Scoggins finished in a tie for 11th place. Emily was second in the field in C1 putting percentage, making 90% of her inside-the-circle putts last weekend. Ohn moved one place up the DGPT Standings, into 5th.
Upcoming Disc Golf Pro Tour Events
Next weekend, the Pro Tour will be in Marion, North Carolina for the 2023 Innova Blue Ridge Championship at North Cove. So far this season, Calvin Heimburg has won 2 of 2 Innova sponsored events on Tour; let’s see if he can make it three. The following weekend will be the Champions Cup in Appling, Georgia, the first Major event of 2023. With the strong start Team Innova has been putting together, we are hoping to pick up an early season Major victory in just a couple of weeks. Follow Team Innova at upcoming Tour events live on the Disc Golf Network. Check in at innovadiscs.com for tournament recaps, Innova news, tips, and more.
