Originally published at: https://discgolf.ultiworld.com/2020/07/06/preserve-championship-another-double-digit-win-for-pierce/
No lead should be considered safe, but Paige Pierce had to be feeling confident heading into the final round of the Preserve Championship with an eight stroke lead. She would put things away early to etch her name onto the Big Bear trophy as the inaugural winner of the Disc Golf Pro Tour event with a total score of 29-under par and a 10-under par final round.
- Pierce paced the division in putting, leading the field in Circle 1X and C2 putting. She connected on at lest one C2 putt each round, and only two-putted inside the circle once all weekend, coming on hole 4 of round 1. It’s her first time finishing first in C1X putting since the 2019 USWDGC.
- The 13-stroke margin of victory makes it consecutive tournaments in which Pierce has won by double-digits. It’s the third time she’s done so in three DGPT wins in 2020.
- Minnesota-native Catrina Allen put together a strong 6-under par final round to take solo second place at 16-under par total. She finished the day 100% from C1X on nine attempts. It’s the first time she’s not missed from 33-feet-and-in since round 1 of the 2019 Delaware Disc Golf Challenge.
- Missy Gannon’s normally trusty putter faulted her a couple of times in the final round, but she did enough all week to earn a third place finish at 14-under par total, five strokes clear of fourth place Sarah Hokom. She was under par every round, and top three in C1X putting, C2 in regulations, and fairway hits.
Heard
“I would say that besides making some clutch putts, my mental fortitude and keeping a level head helped me the most. It’s easy to fold under the pressure of finishing on the podium especially on a course like this. We saw some great players coming in over par on this course and I knew I could not let that happen.” – Missy Gannon, after finishing her second consecutive DGPT event on the podium, the best stretch of her career.
Statline
Pierce shot all three rounds over 1000+ rated for a 1009-rated weekend. It’s the fifth time she’s averaged over 1000-rated golf for an Elite Series event since the 2019 season began, and the second time she’s shot over 1000 each round (2019 Great Lakes Open).