Cleared for Takeoff in Clearwater

With the third weekend of Elite Sequence occasions in a row, the Disc Golf Professional Tour retains the motion going with the 2023 Preserve Championship Powered by Prodigy.

Based and designed by touring skilled Cale Leiviska, the Airborn Disc Golf Protect in Clearwater, Minnesota is the #1 rated course within the state in accordance with UDisc. The Protect Championship made its debut in 2020 and is now in its fourth 12 months as an Elite Sequence occasion.

The Protect options a number of programs however the MPO and FPO fields will play three rounds on the Black Bear course, which was designed by Leiviska particularly with the professionals in thoughts. The Black Bear course is a 9,648-foot par 67 for the FPO and an 11,041-foot par 67 for the MPO. The course options a mixture of lengthy open fairways, tight wooded holes, and loads of water hazards. For instance, Gap 10 is a par 5 measuring 1,000 ft for the FPO and 1,158 ft for the MPO that pushes gamers to get so far as potential off the tee. Even with a wide-open fairway, Calvin Heimburg was the one participant in both subject to take an eagle on the opening, doing so in each spherical 2 and spherical 3.

Shorter holes drive gamers to deal with extra technical photographs, buying and selling out OB traces for partitions of timber that punish errant drives. Gap 17 is bound to check the nerves of gamers coming down the stretch on the ultimate day as they try a 243ft laser-straight shot by a tunnel of timber to an elevated basket. A number of holes have water carries instantly off the tee, forcing gamers to go for the basket as a substitute of laying up.

The distinction all through the course comes naturally as Leiviska, who has a background in wildlife preservation, goals to embrace and make the most of the pure environment whereas minimizing the environmental affect.

Paige Pierce went wire-to-wire within the 2022 Protect Championship, taking the lead on day one with a 10-under sizzling spherical and taking pictures seven-under on day two to increase her result in three strokes over the sphere. Even with tough circumstances on the ultimate day and Catrina Allen charging up the leaderboard with a 6-under remaining spherical, Pierce completed 5 strokes forward of second place and received her second Protect title after successful the inaugural event in 2020.

Bradley Williams shot back-to-back 12-under rounds to offer himself a three-stroke lead going into the ultimate spherical of the 2022 Protect Championship. His earlier greatest end at an Elite Sequence occasion within the 2022 season was sixteenth place on the Waco Annual Charity Open and yet another strong spherical would get him his greatest end of the season. Regardless of taking an early bogey on Gap 4, Williams scored 9 whole birdies on the day, together with a 250-foot blind throw-in on Gap 5. His clean and constant type held collectively coming down the stretch even with the 2021 champ Ricky Wysocki making a push from the chase card.

Wysocki completed the ultimate spherical at 30 strokes beneath par whereas Williams took birdies on 17 and 18 to complete the event at 32-under. Williams’ win on the 2022 Protect Championship got here precisely six years to the day since his final win on tour, the 2016 Vibram Open.

There will probably be a brand new champion in MPO this weekend as Williams is competing in Europe competing on the PDGA EuroTour — Swedish Open.

With sizzling climate and partly cloudy skies, it’s shaping as much as be one other thrilling weekend for the DGPT on the 2023 Protect Championship.

This is all the pieces you have to know to catch the motion this weekend:

Tee Instances & Spherical scores

PDGA | Event Page

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Disc Golf Community

The Disc Golf Community (DGN) is the house of dwell disc golf. Constructed by the Disc Golf Professional Tour, the DGN is a subscription streaming and on-demand platform. Overlaying the world’s greatest gamers competing within the sport’s most elite tournaments, a subscription consists of post-produced protection of choose disc golf tournaments in addition to unique disc golf reveals, touring professional interview collection, podcasts, and different segments solely accessible on the Disc Golf Community.

Friday’s FPO Function Card (Coverage begins at 10:20 a.m. ET with Tournament Central. Feature card tees at 11:25 a.m. ET)

Paige Pierce
Caroline Henderson
Ella Hansen
Kristin Tattar

Friday’s FPO2 Stay Card

Missy Gannon
Catrina Allen
Paige Shue
Stacie Rawnsley

Friday’s FPO3 Stay Card

Holyn Handley
Sarah Hokom
Jennifer Allen
Macie Velediaz

Friday’s MPO Function Card (Coverage begins at 4 p.m. ET with Tournament Central. Feature card tees at 4:55 p.m. ET)

Ricky Wysocki
Gannon Buhr
Isaac Robinson
Calvin Heimburg

Friday’s MPO2 Stay Card

Kyle Klein
Alden Harris
Simon Lizotte
Cale Leiviska

Friday’s MPO3 Stay Card

Luke Humphries
Danny Polk
Kevin Jones
Ezra Robinson

DGPT YouTube | Subscribe

Along with the DGN, the dwell broadcast for each divisions will probably be simulcast free on the DGPT YouTube channel for the primary spherical solely on Friday, June 30.

DGN Press Convention | Watch

Hear from a number of the gamers earlier than the motion will get going throughout a press convention from 1-2:20 p.m. CT on Thursday, dwell on the DGPT’s YouTube channel. Right here is the tentative schedule for the press convention (all occasions CT):

1:00 p.m.: Cale Leiviska
1:10 p.m.: Calvin Heimburg
1:20 p.m.: Kristin Tattar
1:30 p.m.: Gannon Buhr
1:40 p.m.: Paige Pierce
1:50 p.m.: Ricky Wysocki
2:00 p.m.: Missy Gannon
2:10 p.m.: Caroline Henderson
2:20 p.m.: Stacie Rawnsley
2:30 p.m.: Eagle McMahon
2:40 p.m.: Phill Dilone