Originally published at: https://discgolf.ultiworld.com/2020/03/05/ultiworld-disc-golf-fpo-power-rankings-march-5-2020/
Photo: DGPT – Alyssa Van Lanen
Welcome to the Ultiworld Disc Golf 2020 Power Rankings! Our rankings offer a fun alternative to the PDGA World Rankings and player ratings. Those metrics take a long view of the field, ours relies on the “hot take.”
Here’s how we rank our Top 25.
First, we use an algorithm to create an objective ballot. This formula combines standardized scores across Elite Series tournaments, multipliers for depth of field and tournament purse, and a decay function that emphasizes recent performance.
Next, the Ultiworld Disc Golf staff cast top 10 ballots. Our goal is to marry the “eye test” with cold hard stats.
Finally, we added a popular vote for 2020, which gives our subscribers a chance to cast ballots alongside the staff.
Staff and subscribers only consider results within the past two months. They prioritize performance at Elite Series events but may consider regional tournaments as well. Because our human voters only rank the top 10, the objective ballot covers the lower half of the rankings.
Let’s get to the results!
Power Rankings Top 10 are available to all Ultiworld Disc Golf readers. Want the entire top 25? You’ll have to be a subscriber.
1. Paige Pierce
Rating: 977
Last Month: 2nd place – Samui Swine Classic VII (A), 1st place – The Memorial (DGPT)
2020 Best Elite Series Finish: 1st place – The Memorial
I’ll admit it, I had my doubts about Pierce heading into the Memorial after her lopsided performance in Thailand, but those mid 900-rated rounds definitely look like aberrations in light of the Shellacking in Scottsdale. She averaged 1021-rated golf and nearly lapped second and third place in the process. Pierce has broken the four-digit barrier in five of her seven rounds to start the year.
2. Catrina Allen
Rating: 975
Last Month: 1st place – Las Vegas Challenge (A), 5th place – The Memorial (DGPT)
2020 Best Elite Series Finish: 5th place – The Memorial
I’m usually bullish on Allen to start the year—she hits the gym and the field hard in the offseason—but she needs to find her zen on the green. She shot a 1004-rated round in Vegas with 29% C1X putting, imagine what field-average putting (~61%) would do for her game.
3. Henna Blomroos
Rating: 972
Last Month: 3rd place – Las Vegas Challenge (A), 3rd place – The Memorial (DGPT)
2020 Best Elite Series Finish: 3rd place – The Memorial
Blomroos can huck. She reached C2 in regulation on 72% of the holes (2nd) C1 in regulation on 47% of the holes (3rd), putting her right in the mix with Pierce and the Allens. Perhaps its to do with her youth or the limitations a Finnish winter puts on off-season training (prior to the Las Vegas Challenge she hadn’t played a PDGA event since September 2019), but even with those numbers she still looked a bit raw out there. Meaning no disrespect, I’m buying mad-Blomroos stock.
4. Eveliina Salonen
Rating: 964
Last Month: 2nd place – Las Vegas Challenge (A), 4th place – The Memorial (DGPT)
2020 Best Elite Series Finish: 4th place – The Memorial
Salonen was in the driver’s seat with five holes to play in Vegas. Having kept inside the ropes all day, she found OB three times in that final stretch, which lead to three bogeys and a three-stroke swing. Still, she improved on her performance from 2019 when she finished sixth, and her total score at the Memorial matched her winning total from last year. Net positive, IMO.
5. Jennifer Allen
Rating: 949
Last Month: 1st place – Battle at the Fountain II (C), 1st place – Las Vegas Challenge (A, Masters Women 40+), 2nd place – The Memorial (DGPT).
2020 Best Elite Series Finish: 2nd place – The Memorial
Allen played in the Masters Division at the Las Vegas Challenge and won by twenty-seven strokes, but her 3-under-par 239 also topped the FPO field by one. No letdown in Scottsdale. It’s such a joy to watch Allen play. Though her career is off the course, she can still sling it with the young guns when she hits the links. Allen was top three in parked rate, C1 in regulation, C2 in regulation, birdie percentage, and scramble rate this past weekend, barely missing the statistical podium in Fairway Hits (4th) and C1X putting (70%).
6. Callie McMorran
Rating: 929
Last Month: 2nd place – Battle at the Fountain II (C), 5th place – Las Vegas Challenge (A), 6th place – The Memorial (DGPT)
2020 Best Elite Series Finish: 6th place – The Memorial
The Tennessean ranks #1 in C1X putting across all UDisc competitions in 2020, converting at an 81% clip. McMorran doesn’t have elite distance off the tee but is 5th in parked percentage and 8th in birdie percentage. A cool hand inside of 10m lets her take advantage of her opportunities to score.
7. Hailey King
Rating: 941
Last Month: 1st place – CSUMB Otter Open (B), 6th place – Las Vegas Challenge (A), 7th place – The Memorial (DGPT)
2020 Best Elite Series Finish: 7th place – The Memorial
It’s surprising that Hailey King currently ranks 14th in C1 in Regulation through two UDisc events when 1. we know she can bomb and 2. she is solidly top 10 in all other statistical categories.
8. Paige Shue
Rating: 946
Last Month: 4th place – Las Vegas Challenge (A), 9th place – The Memorial (DGPT)
2020 Best Elite Series Finish: 9th place – The Memorial
I bet Shue is looking forward to a one-course tournament. Given consecutive cracks at the same course on back-to-back days, she improved her round rating by 56 points at Fountain (920 > 976) and by 62 points at Vista (920 > 982). Look for her to dial it in at WACO, where she finished second in 2019.
9. Rebecca Cox
Rating: 943
Last Month: 14th place – Las Vegas Challenge, 7th place – The Memorial
2020 Best Elite Series Finish: 7th place – The Memorial
Cox gamely bounced back from a missed cut in Vegas to middle cash at the Memorial. If her tee-to-green game improves, she should jump in the rankings. While she is top 10 in scramble rate (10th) and C1X putting (71%), she’s only hitting circle 1 in regulation at a 22% clip.
10. Jessica Weese
Rating: 944
Last Month: 1st place – Wintertime Open (A), 6th place – Las Vegas Challenge (A), 12th place – The Memorial (DGPT)
2020 Best Elite Series Finish: 12th place – The Memorial
Gotta like opening the season with a repeat victory at the Wintertime Open, but she’s also played more rounds below her rating than above. All told, Weese is only playing about a half-stroke below her average, but she’ll need to crank out more rounds in the 975+ range than ~940 if she wants to contend at the big tournaments.
Top 25 continues below.
11. Kona Star Panis
Rating: 914
Last Month: 3rd place – Wintertime Open (A), 9th place – Las Vegas Challenge (A), 10th place – The Memorial (DGPT)
2020 Best Elite Series Finish: 10th place – The Memorial
Sometimes I feel anxious for Panis, like when she missed the cut in Vegas (despite playing 18 points above her rating). I know how hard she works in the off-season and want to see her snag some top 5s at the bigger tour stops. Of course, I also tend to forget how young Panis is because she has PDGA stats dating back to 2005 (our PDGA numbers are only 72 spots apart but she’s one year north of twenty and I’m about three years shy of 40). So basically I need to chill.
12. Lykke Sandvik
Rating: 902
Last Month: 6th place – Las Vegas Challenge (A), 13th place – The Memorial (DGPT)
2020 Best Elite Series Finish: The Memorial
Sandvik made the cut in Vegas and Scottsdale, better than some of the women ranked above her. Heading into her final two rounds at Vista, she hadn’t played a single round below her rating in 2020, averaging 947-rated golf. Two sub-900 rounds to wrap her first U.S. tour of the year were a bummer, but I bet she bounces back. Sandvik’s another competitor that hits the gym hard between tournament weekends, slinging weights as often as discs on her Insta. Hard not to root for her.
13. Sarah Hokom
Rating: 969
Last Month: 1st place – Samui Swine Classic VII (A)
2020 Best Elite Series Finish: N/A
A bit tough to peg two months into 2020. Three consecutive 997-rated rounds propelled her to victory at the Samui Swine Classic VII, but she opted out of Vegas and the Memorial. See you in Texas, Sarah!
14. Kristin Tattar
Rating: 968
Last Month: N/A
2020 Best Elite Series Finish: N/A
We’ve entered the portion of the power rankings where not playing in 2020 trumps playing in the bottom half of the field, especially if your 2019 EOY resume is Tattar-strong. Her first PDGA sanctioned event isn’t until April, so she’s liable to drop considerably before she barnstorms the top 10 mid-spring. A reminder: she went out on a high note in 2019 winning her first Major—the United States Women’s Disc Golf Championship—and was top 7 in all UDisc Statistical categories.
15. Lisa Fajkus
Rating: 944
Last Month: 1st place – Lone Star Classic (B), 3rd place – Swordstone Shiver (B)
2020 Best Elite Series Finish: N/A
Fajkus opted to wait for the tour to come to her before hitting the road in 2020. She’s been sparring with Valerie Mandujano and Christina Linthicum for the B-tier Ws as a warm up for the big W: WACO.
16. Holly Finley
Rating: 935
Last Month: N/A
2020 Best Finish: N/A
Finley’s season kicks into gear with the second DGPT stop. Like, seriously kicks into gear. Beginning with WACO, she only has one weekend off through the San Fransisco Open. That’s eleven tournaments in 12 weeks, folks. And then Worlds… #grind.
17. Missy Gannon
Rating: 938
Last Month: 11th place – The Memorial Championship (DGPT)
2020 Best Elite Series Finish: 11th place – The Memorial Championship
Save for a handful of one or two point dips here and there, Gannon’s player rating has climbed without interruption since she joined the PDGA in 2016. That July she entered the statistical pool with an even-800 rating. Here’s a snapshot of her progress based on her first update in each consecutive new year: 1. January 2017 – 843, 2. April 2018 – 891, 3. March 2019 – 905, January 2020 – 938. Missy Gannon’s on the up-and-up, y’all.
18. Ellen Widboom
Rating: 929
Last Month: 1st place – Ballantyne Hotel Open (B), 1st place – GCCO Flex Start Friday (C), 1st place – Gulf Coast Charity Open (B), 1st place – NoSo Open (B)
2020 Best Elite Series Finish: N/A
Widboom won’t join the tour until the Jonesboro Open and plans to rack up Ws in Florida in the meantime. She’s not played against a competitor rated above 900 nor in a field larger than 4 women. That said, those are the events you need to win, and she’s playing to her average (932 rating over 9 rounds).
19. Heather Young
Rating: 937
Last Month: 1st place – The Pasture Open (B), 2nd place – Frozen Finger Shoot-Out (C), 1st place – The 2020 Old City Open (B)
2020 Best Elite Series Finish: N/A
Her only loss of the season came in a 2-hole playoff with Macie Walker. Young boasts a strong woods game, finishing 4th at Idlewild and 12th at the Hall of Fame Classic in 2019. Looking forward to seeing how she fares against the bEAST.
20. Michelle Frazer
Rating: 926
Last Month: 1st place – Winter of DISContent (C)
2020 Best Elite Series Finish: N/A
Strong finishes at the 2019 United States Women’s Disc Golf Championship and Delaware Disc Golf Challenge kept Frazer in the mix for the top 25 to start the year, but the Morrisville, PA pro isn’t signed up for any big events in 2020.
21. Vanessa Van Dyken
Rating: 936
Last Month: N/A
2020 Best Elite Series Finish: N/A
VVD’s been quiet since her 9th place finish at DGPT Championship last year. After a solid 2019 campaign resulted in her promotion to the Discraft Elite Team, she’s waiting until the Jonesboro Open to get things going this year.
22. Elaine King
Rating: 943
Last Month: 2nd place – The Buckhorn Open (B)
2020 Best Elite Series Finish: N/A
In 2019, King won the PDGA Master’s World Championship and never missed the top 10 at a DGPT or NT. The only Hall of Famer on this list logged a shake-off-the-rust 2nd place finish at the Buckhorn Open to start her 2020 season, one spot better than last year.
23. Hannah Leatherman
Rating: 922
Last Month: 1st place – Zambia Open (C)
2020 Best Elite Series Finish: N/A
Leatherman is slated to play Throw Down the Mountain, The Open at Tallahassee, and the Glass Blown Open in the coming months. She’s flown under the radar of late, dedicating more of her time to Eagles Wings than tournament play. Don’t forget, she tied Paige Pierce for 1st place at the weather-shortened 2017 GBO and won the 2015 USWDGC. Vintage HL could surprise some folks for sure.
24. Stephanie Vincent
Rating: 925
Last Month: 2nd place – Lone Star Classic (B), 3rd place – Victoria Open (B), 6th place – Swordstone Shiver (B)
2020 Best Elite Series Finish: N/A
Like Lisa Fajuks, Stephanie Vincent is waiting for the Texas tour swing to mix it up with the top pros in 2020. But with the depth of women’s talent on tour this year, Vincent needs to do well at the upcoming regional tour stops to stay in these rankings
25. Maris Perendi
Rating: 921
Last Month: N/A
2020 Best Finish: N/A
Perendi finished runner-up to her fellow countrywoman Kristin Tattar four times in 2019. She also made her first trip stateside last year for the USWDGC and the Stafford Open. Like Missy Gannon, she joined the PDGA in 2016 and has steadily improved from her 765-rated beginnings. She’s only dropped points from her player rating three times in her career. Based on current registrations and past history, Perendi will make her bread this year on the European Tour.
Want to see how the voting shook out? See the complete objective voter tallies for FPO.