Gannon Buhr throws Sunday on the 2023 TruBank Des Moines Problem. Pictures: Kevin Huver / DGPT
After a number of climate delays throughout the FPO division’s second spherical of the 2023 TruBank Des Moines Challenge, the DGPT suspended play on Saturday in accordance with its climate insurance policies.
On Sunday, FPO gamers resumed Spherical 2 from their earlier lies and instantly began Spherical 3 as soon as scores had been tallied. Since most MPO rivals had not began their second spherical on Saturday, the MPO event was shortened to 2 rounds.
With one final day at Pickard Park, the FPO discipline noticed a repeat winner and the MPO discipline noticed an Iowa native take down the win.
Repeat Champ
The FPO discipline had an early begin on Sunday as they picked up the place they left off in Spherical 2 the day earlier than. After ending out the second spherical, Kristin Tattar held onto her lead at 11 strokes below par whereas Missy Gannon adopted shut behind at 8-under. After capturing the recent spherical in Spherical 2, Stacie Rawnsley made her first lead card look at an Elite Sequence occasion as she began the ultimate spherical tied for third place with Macie Velediaz and Paige Pierce.
Circumstances had been tough throughout the remaining spherical as gusty winds ripped near 20mph. Whereas the FPO discipline averaged lower than half a stroke over par on Friday, the ultimate spherical averaged greater than 5 strokes over par. Gap 18 particularly was not birdied by any participant within the discipline.
Tattar had a tough begin to her spherical after bogeying Gap 2 and going out of bounds two holes in a row. Regardless of the challenges, Tattar was capable of flip her recreation round with back-to-back lengthy putts on Holes 3 and 4.
“I used to be simply offended once more, throwing OB and never having a very good begin to the spherical. My purpose was to only hold it in bounds,” Tattar stated of making an attempt to keep up her lead in Spherical 3, “That anger type of helped me hit these lengthy putts.”
After her drive skipped off the water and landed in bounds, Tattar scored the one birdie on Gap 4 within the remaining spherical. Tattar went on to attain six extra birdies and keep away from any extra bogeys. Tattar led the sector with a 57% scramble price in Spherical 3 and her capability to maintain her scorecard principally clear saved her on the prime. By the top of the day, Tattar had shot the recent spherical and doubled her lead from three to 6 strokes.
In line with StatMando, that is Tattar’s thirteenth sizzling spherical in an Elite Sequence or Main this season, over 4 occasions greater than the subsequent most within the FPO. Along with her back-to-back Des Moines Problem wins, Tattar now has her 4th Elite Sequence win in 2023 and her seventh win on tour this season.
Missy Gannon wasn’t capable of catch as much as Tattar, however she held onto 2nd place with a three-under remaining spherical. Gannon was capable of rack up seven birdies, ending her spherical with 22% parked and 91% C1X placing in response to UDisc. Like a lot of the discipline, Gannon took a couple of bogeys as she fought by the windy circumstances.
“My entire factor is being adaptable so that you simply need to roll with the punches,” Gannon stated after capturing the second-best rating within the tough remaining spherical, “I believe that’s a giant factor, particularly for a day like at this time. You simply need to take what the course is providing you with.”
Along with her 2nd place end on the 2023 DMC, Gannon now has three podium finishes at Elite Sequence Occasions this season and her finest end since inserting 2nd on the 2023 Las Vegas Problem.
Residence State Win
With gusty winds and just one spherical left to claw their approach up the leaderboard, the strain was on for the second and remaining spherical for the MPO discipline. Gamers saved preventing by the circumstances, making an attempt to remain in bounds and decide up birdies on a day that averaged 4 strokes tougher than their first spherical. Because the lead card made their method to the previous few holes, two clear entrance runners had emerged.
Isaac Robinson began the spherical in a tie for tenth place however had labored his approach as much as the lead at 18 strokes below par. As Robinson stepped as much as the tee of Gap 18, he knew Gannon Buhr was simply two holes behind at 16-under. After Buhr took a birdie on Gap 16, Robinson knew he must get aggressive to maintain Buhr from catching up. This may be no small feat as Gap 18 performed because the second hardest gap on the day. After turning over his method shot right into a headwind, Robinson was left scrambling out of the woods and ended up taking a double bogey.
Now with a one-stroke lead on Robinson, Buhr simply wanted to take a par on 18 to win the event. Buhr’s third shot on the par 5 left him exterior the circle. Whereas most gamers would select to put up and faucet in for the win, Buhr went for it and closed out the spherical with a birdie putt from circle 2.
Along with his two-stroke victory over Robinson, Buhr took down an Elite Sequence win not solely in his dwelling state, however on a course he had grown up enjoying.
“I’ve been enjoying Pickard for therefore lengthy and I’ve thought of it as my favourite course in Iowa,” Buhr stated after taking down the win.
This entire weekend proved to be a outstanding bounce-back for Buhr after lacking the money line and inserting fiftieth within the Dynamic Discs Open simply final weekend.
“During the last month or so, I’ve been in a bit of little bit of a backhand stoop,” Buhr stated of feeling strain to reside as much as his world rating, “When my backhand’s off, it seems like I can’t rating in any respect”
Going into the 2023 DMC, Buhr put within the work to repair his backhand type and regain his confidence. The lengthy hours and late nights paid off as he completed the weekend with 11.39 strokes gained: tee to inexperienced together with a powerful 50% Circle 2 placing in response to UDisc.
That is Buhr’s second Elite Sequence win this season and his third win on tour in 2023. Mixed together with his win on the 2022 United States Disc Golf Championship, Buhr is now tied with Simon Lizotte and Calvin Heimburg for many Elite Sequence/Main wins within the final 12 months.
Up subsequent, the Disc Golf Professional Tour will head to Clearwater, Minnesota for The Protect Championship powered by Prodigy Disc.
