Originally published at: https://discgolf.ultiworld.com/2018/09/19/flight-numbers-long-distance-accuracy-paige-trait/
[caption id=“attachment_11338” align=“aligncenter” width=“1024”]
At the start of her Ultiworld Disc Golf Champion Spotlight, Paige Bjerkaas talked about sealing the 2018 PDGA Professional World Championship by keeping it in between the lines, and boy did she. According to UDisc Live, she hit 72-percent of fairways during the tournament, which is good in a vacuum, and amazing when you compare her to the field. Bjerkaas’ next closest competitor, Zoe Andyke, was a whopping 5 percentage points behind her at 67-percent.
But that’s not all, she also rode that now famous Dynamic Disc Judge to top five rankings in parked, Circle 1 in regulation, and Circle 2 in regulation percentages in the FPO division, including a first place showing for C2 in regulation.
All of those values add up to the second highest long distance accuracy score in the division. To be exact, her score was 96.7, which if you have read my previous articles on accuracy scores is out of a possible 100, meaning it is very high. In fact, it is the fourth highest value for all FPO over the past two weekends, which includes Pro Worlds, the Delaware Disc Golf Challenge, and the Canadian Disc Golf Championship.
[caption id=“attachment_11336” align=“aligncenter” width=“610”]
Rank of long distance accuracy scores for FPO performances at Worlds, the 2018 Delaware Disc Golf Challenge, and the 2018 Canadian Disc Golf Championships. Paige Bjerkaas’s values are in red.[/caption]
Bjerkaas’s long distance accuracy at Worlds was no fluke. She stayed on the fairways and got to the greens even more effectively, compared to the field, in Delaware. Her long distance accuracy score at Iron Hill was 99.96, out of 100! The thing that prevented her from winning in the first state ((Delaware’s nickname. It was the first state to ratify the constitution.)) was her putting. Bjerkaas’ Circle 1 putting percentage was only 82-percent, which translates to a short distance accuracy score was 22.9, well below the average of 50.
The only player to outperform Bjerkaas in long distance accuracy over the past two weekends was the other Paige, Paige Pierce, who had the highest and third highest ranked long distance accuracy scores. She finished second at Worlds and won the Canadian Championship.
Perhaps these performances point to a future “Rivalry of the Paiges." However, it was Paige Bjerkaas who won the world championship last weekend, so for now at least, Pierce has been relegated to “other Paige."