Originally published at: https://discgolf.ultiworld.com/2020/10/01/ultiworld-disc-golf-mpo-power-rankings-october-1-2020/
In our last mid-season edition of the 2020 Power Rankings, the top-rated player in the world is back on top of the rankings. The Green Mountain Championship and the MVP Open featured some thrilling final rounds, and we’re hoping for more of the same in Arkansas and the Carolinas. With three tournaments over three consecutive weekends, including the only Major of the year, the physical and mental toll will be grueling. It’s all about that grind, and it ain’t over ’til it’s over.
Methodology: We combine an algorithmic objective ranking with subjective ballots submitted by UWDG staff and subscribers. The algorithm uses a standardized scoring model to compare elite events, awards competition and cash bonuses, and features a decay function that gradually phases out past results. Staff and subscribers consider results from the past two months, prioritizing elite events in the U.S. and Europe. The most recent month receives priority over the previous month. Voters may consider other PDGA sanctioned events but observe the following hierarchy: Elite > A-tiers > B-tiers > C-tiers. For this edition of the Power Rankings, we prioritized the following tournaments:
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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. Paul McBeth
Rating: 1055
Last Month: 2nd Place- Green Mountain Championship (DGPT), 1st Place- MVP Open at Maple Hill (DGPT)
2020 Best Elite Series Finish: 1st place – Dynamic Discs Open (DGPT), MVP Open at Maple Hill (DGPT)
McBeth reclaims the top spot in our rankings thanks to a second place finish in Vermont and a win at Maple Hill. He is looking like he is peaking as we approach the DGPT Tour Championship and USDGC. McBeth has only missed the podium twice this season.
2. Richard Wysocki
Rating: 1050
Last Month: 3rd Place- Green Mountain Championship (DGPT), 2nd Place- MVP Open at Maple Hill (DGPT), 1st Place- Down East Players Cup (A Tier)
2020 Best Elite Series Finish- 1st Place- Ledgestone
Wysocki stays out #2 player coming down the homestretch. Wysocki looked confident and played with confidence in New England, especially at Maple Hill where he putt at 93%, and led the field in fairways hit, Circle 1 in regulation, birdie percentage, and Circle 2 putts.
3. Calvin Heimburg
Rating: 1044
Last Month: 6th Place-Green Mountain Championship (DGPT), 3rd Place- MVP Open at Maple Hill
2020 Best Elite Series Finish: 1st place – The Memorial
Heimburg jumps back into our top three, looking more like himself at MVP and GMC. Heimburg had looked a little out of sorts at Idlewild, Ledgestone, and DGLO, courses where expectations were high for him. Heimburg is a strong contender for Player of The Year, depending of course on how he shows up to finish the year.
4. Eagle McMahon
Rating: 1054
Last Month: 1st Place- Sparkman Monster (B Tier), Idlewild Open (DGPT)
2020 Best Elite Series Finish: 4th Place- Green Mountain Championship (DGPT), 14th Place- MVP Open at Maple Hill (DGPT)
McMahon slips from the top spot after missing the podium in Vermont, and a poor showing at Maple Hill where he finished outside of the top 10 for the first time since WACO. McMahon also withdrew from the Maine State Championship, citing a desire to rest up before USDGC. McMahon is not currently registered for Jonesboro.
5. Chris Dickerson
Rating: 1045
Last Month: 13th Place-Green Mountain Championship (DGPT), 5th Place- MVP Open at Maple Hill (DGPT), 1st Place- Madisonville Open (A Tier), 2nd Place- Music City Open (A Tier)
2020 Best Elite Series Finish- 2nd Place- DGLO (DGPT), Idlewild Open (DGPT),
Dickerson’s only finish outside of the top 10 came in Vermont, but he followed it up with his usual high level and consistent play. Dickerson has finished on the podium in three of the six DGPT events he has participated in this season.
6. Kevin Jones
Rating: 1037
Last Month: 1st Place- Green Mountain Championship (DGPT), 20th Place- MVP Open at Maple Hill (DGPT)
2020 Best Elite Series Finish- 1st Place- Green Mountain Championship (DGPT)
“Jones is still in search of his first Elite series win this season.”- Us, last time. Well, Jones got his win at GMC, arguably the biggest win in his career at World Championship-level courses against (mostly) World Championship-level competition. He struggled at Maple Hill, but who among us wouldn’t trade a win at GMC for that. Looking ahead, Jones has got to be excited. He next plays in his home-state of Arkansas at the Jonesboro Open, and the USDGC, an event which he has always performed well at.
7. Garrett Gurthie
Rating: 1033
Last Month: 14th Place- Green Mountain Championship (DGPT), 5th Place- MVP Open at Maple Hill (DGPT), 1st Place- Maine State Championship (DGPT Silver Series), 19th Place- Music City Open (A Tier)
2020 Best Elite Series Finish: 5th Place- MVP Open at Maple Hill (DGPT)
Gurthie’s up and down season continues, and it looks like he should probably just move to New England, right? I’m not biased at all, but I think it’s clear. Gurthie’s only win on the season so far came in Maine, and his first top 10 finish at a DGPT event since pre-Covid came at Maple Hill.
8. Nikko Locastro
Rating: 1031
Last Month: 7th Place- Green Mountain Championship (DGPT), 7th Place- MVP Open at Maple Hill (DGPT), 19th Place- Music City Open (A Tier)
2020 Best Elite Series Finish- 1st Place- The Preserve Championship (DGPT)
Back to back top ten finishes in New England will keep Locastro in our top 10. Since his win at the Preserve, Locastro has three top 5 finishes, and has only missed the top 10 three times.
9. James Conrad
Rating: 1034
Last Month: 4th Place- Green Mountain Championship (DGPT), 14th Place- MVP Open at Maple Hill (DGPT)
2020 Best Elite Series Finish- 3rd Place- The Preserve Championship (DGPT)
Conrad is still seeking his first win of 2020, and coming off of a rough stretch in the midwest, Conrad looked like he had found his form in Vermont, but it didn’t stick. Still, Conrad stays in our top 10. The next time we see him will be at Winthrop where he will be defending his US Championship title.
10. Andrew Fish
Rating: 1025
Last Month: 12th Place- Green Mountain Championship (DGPT), MVP Open at Maple Hill (DGPT), 2nd Place- Stafford Open
2020 Best Elite Series Finish: 12th Place- Green Mountain Championship (DGPT), MVP Open at Maple Hill (DGPT)
Making his 2020 Ultiworld Power Rankings debut and rounding out the top 10 is the darling of disc golf Twitter, Mr. Andrew Fish. Fish has only played in two elite series events this year and he played well at both. Fish shot the hot round to start the MVP Open but wasn’t able to carry it through the full event.
Top 25 continues below.
11. Jeremy Koling
Rating: 1022
Last Month: 29th Place- Green Mountain Championship (DGPT), 8th Place- MVP Open at Maple Hill (DGPT), 2nd Place- DEP Warm Up Flex Start (C Tier), 4th Place- Down East Players Cup (A Tier)
2020 Best Elite Series Finish- 7th Place- Idlewild Open (DGPT)
Koling makes a big jump up our rankings thanks to his top 10 finish at MVP Open, followed up by a back to back top five finishes
12. Colten Montgomery
Rating: 1012
Last Month: 14th Place- Green Mountain Championship (DGPT), 11th Place- MVP Open at Maple Hill (DGPT), 6th Place- Stafford Open
2020 Best Elite Series Finish- 1st Place- WACO (DGPT)
With his sixth place finish at Stafford, Montgomery secured his second top 10 finish since WACO.
13. Chris Clemons
Rating: 1025
Last Month: 17th Place- Green Mountain Championship (DGPT), 8th Place- MVP Open at Maple Hill (DGPT), 12th Place- Maine State Championship (DGPT Silver Series), 3rd Place- Music City Open (A Tier)
2020 Best Elite Series Finish- 8th Place- MVP Open at Maple Hill
As was the case last year, Clemons seems to be playing his best golf down the stretch. The more wooded, lefty forehand friendly courses along the east coast match up better for Clemons’s game, and he may be a sneaky sleeper pick for a USDGC podium.
14. Simon Lizotte
Rating: 1040
Last Month: 26th Place- Green Mountain Championship (DGPT), 8th Place- MVP Open at Maple Hill (DGPT), 2nd Place- Maine State Championship (DGPT Silver Series)
2020 Best Elite Series Finish: 2nd Place- The Preserve Championship (DGPT)
Lizotte bagged back to back top 10 finishes at Maple Hill and in Maine following up an iffy showing in Vermont. Lizotte has been battling an elbow injury all season which has prevented him from using his world class sidearm power throw. How this will impact him heading into USDGC remains to be seen.
15. Emerson Keith
Rating: 1029
Last Month: 20th Place- Green Mountain Championship (DGPT), 18th Place- MVP Open at Maple Hill (DGPT), 2nd Place- Madisonville Open (A Tier), 6th Place- Music City Open (A Tier)
2020 Best Elite Series Finish- 3rd Place- Dynamic Discs Open (DGPT)
Back to back top 10 finishes at A-tiers keep Emerdaddy in our top 15. He will be playing the Texas State Championship ahead of USDGC, and the Texan has not been playing his best golf since the Preserve.
16. Philo Brathwaite
Rating: 1027
Last Month: 9th Place- Green Mountain Championship (DGPT),44th Place- MVP Open at Maple Hill
2020 Best Elite Series Finish: 9th Place- Green Mountain Championship (DGPT)
Philo climbs one spot in our rankings ahead of Jonesboro and his commentary duties at USDGC.
17. Austin Hannum
Rating: 1026
Last Month: 26th Place- Green Mountain Championship (DGPT), 20th Place- MVP Open at Maple Hill (DGPT), 35th Place- Music City Open (A Tier)
2020 Best Elite Series Finish- 10th Place- Ledgestone (DGPT)
Hannum has not finished particularly well during the East Coast swing, but he hasn’t played particularly poorly. If Hannum can prevent the big numbers, he should see his finishes improve.
18. Drew Gibson
Rating: 1029
Last Month: N/A
2020 Best Elite Series Finish: 4th place – The Memorial
Gibson hasn’t played since his seventh place finish at Ledgestone.
19. Paul Ulibarri
Rating: 1026
Last Month: 8th Place- Green Mountain Championship (DGPT), 37th Place- MVP Open at Maple Hill (DGPT), 3rd Place- DEP Cup Warm Up Flex Start (C Tier), Down East Players Cup (A Tier), 1st Place- Yadkin Challenge (C Tier)
2020 Best Elite Series Finish- 5th Place- WACO(DGPT)
Uli has had a mostly nice little stretch of events over the last month since the season restarted, including his best finish at a DGPT event since the re-start
20. Eric Oakley
Rating: 1020
Last Month: 17th Place- Green Mountain Championship (DGPT), 17th Place- MVP Open at Maple Hill (DGPT), 27th Place- Music City Open (A Tier)
2020 Best Elite Series Finish- 17th Place- The Preserve Championship (DGPT), Green Mountain Challenge (DGPT), MVP Open at Maple Hill (DGPT)
Rounding out our top 20 is Eric Oakley, with back to back top 20 finishes in Vermont and Massachusetts, those are his only consecutive top 20 finishes this season.
21. Adam Hammes
Rating: 1035
Last Month: 2nd Place- Arizona State Championships (A Tier)
2020 Best Elite Series Finish- 5th Place- Idlewild Open (DGPT)
Hammes’s runner up finish in Arizona is impressive. He will be rejoining the tour in Jonesboro and at the USDGC.
22. Kyle Klein
Rating: 1028
Last Month: 48th Place- Green Mountain Championship (DGPT), 4th Place- MVP Open at Maple Hill (DGPT), 21st Place- Maine State Championship
2020 Best Elite Series Finish- 4th MVP Open at Maple Hill (DGPT)
Klein’s MVP Open showing was reminiscent of KJUSA at the 2017 USDGC, in that we all wondered out loud “who is that?” Klein could be flash in the pan, or he could be a one show wonder. Who knows?
23. Nate Sexton
Rating: 1043
Last Month: 1st Place- Washington State Championships (A Tier), 4th Place- Odus Falls Open (B Tier)
2020 Best Elite Series Finish- 21st Place- The Memorial
Sexton will be at USDGC, therefore he is on our power rankings. Oh, and he also was posting some impressive rounds at his first events in months.
24. Andrew Marwede
Rating: 1029
Last Month: 1st Place- Lower Penninsula Open (B Tier), Hamilton County Open (B Tier), Michigan State Professional Open (B Tier), 2nd Place- Alpena DGC Open (B Tier), Northern Michigan Championships
2020 Best Elite Series Finish- 3rd Place- Idlewild Open (DGPT)
For those of you paying attention above, Marwede is King of Michigan. He will also be rejoining the tour in Jonesboro and the USDGC in the coming weeks.
25. Noah Meintsma
Rating: 1021
Last Month: 38th Place- Green Mountain Championship (DGPT), 12th Place- MVP Open at Maple Hill (DGPT), 2nd Place- King of The North (C Tier)
2020 Best Elite Series Finish- 9th Place- DGLO (DGPT)
Meintsma rounds out our top 25. Should we call him Giantsbane if he is the second in command to the King of the North? Too soon?