Originally published at: https://discgolf.ultiworld.com/2021/10/16/dgpt-championship-young-paces-fpo-field-with-5-under-to-advance/
Heather Young at the 2020 DGPT Championship. Photo: DGPT
The FPO division kicked off their first day to the final tournament of the year at the historic Hornet’s Nest. The Disc Golf Pro Tour Championship quarterfinals round consisted of the first 12 competitors of the field. As the final tournament moves along, many players take their final bows, but the top four move onto the semifinals.
- Heather Young shot the outright hot round of the day at 5-under par, with her only two blemishes coming late in the round. Young came out of the gates swinging going 6-down through the front 9 and finding at least Circle 2 in regulation on eight of the holes. One of the best putters in the game continued her reign hitting 88% from C1X, missing just once on eight tries, and also connected from 50 feet once. She tied the field in fairway hits at 85% and the 9th overall seed heads into the semis.
- The highest rated seed of the field was right on the heels of the leader. Fifth seed and defending champion Hailey King hopped on the birdie train early catching four in a row during the front 9. Even though she shot 4-down on the round, she can still clean it up on the greens. King uncharacteristically shot 50% from C1X, two-putting three times, although she was able to make another three from just outside 10 meters. She continues her dominance at Hornets Nest and moves on to the semifinals.
- The Disc Princess was electric off the tee in her 4-under round. Jessica Weese finished the round second in strokes gained tee-to-green at 3.76 and parked percentage at 28%. With only three bogeys on the day, she punches her ticket to the next round.
- Kona Star Panis tied Juliana Korver at 3-under par for the final spot, and her higher seed pushes her into the semis. The middle of her round was bogey free and consisted of seven birdies but bogeys bookended her round. Panis no OB’s on the round tie her for first amongst the field. Her big moment of the round came on hole 13 where she hit a C2 putt from 38 feet for the birdie 2.
Statline
The statline of the day goes to Holly Finley going out with a bang in her last tournament of the year. She aced hole 2, the 267-foot island hole, off a big skip. Although her round did not end the way she might’ve wanted, she was the only player amongst the field to ace.
Heard
“I was throwing some great shots and I missed some really easy putts that took away some strokes, but other than that I felt great. I was putting the disc where I generally wanted to…I just kept looking at the trees and breathing in this air to stay positive.” – Hailey King, on her day one performance.