The Preserve Championship Preview
Several players across both divisions make their pro tour return this weekend at the Preserve Championship
*EDIT*: Due to Silver Lätt testing positive for Covid-19, Kristin Tattar announced on Wednesday that she will not be traveling to the U.S. for the Preserve Championship. This article was written prior to this announcement.
After a nearly 1,700 mile trek across the northern United States the Disc Golf Pro Tour has landed in Clearwater, Minnesota at the Airborne Disc Golf Preserve for the Preserve Championship. Designed by local legend Cale Leiviska, the Airborne Preserve has hosted this event since the 2020 season. After some major changes to the course last year, the 2022 layout has seen less tweaks but some much needed ones nonetheless. The field of players has also been rejuvenated with top end talent returning from injury as well as returning from overseas. Reigning MPO champion Ricky Wysocki is set to make his first appearance since the Dynamic Discs Open, as is reigning FPO champion Kristin Tattar. Some other players returning to the tour include Cale Leiviska, Gavin Rathbun, Eveliina Salonen, Henna Blomroos, Hailey King and Macie Velediaz.
2021 Recap
Last year Kristin Tattar concluded her U.S. trip with a bang at the Preserve. Just one week after winning her first Disc Golf Pro Tour elite series event, Kristin came to Clearwater and defeated Paige Pierce by ten strokes. Similar to her win in Jonesboro earlier this year, it was a top to bottom dominant performance with Tattar shooting the hot round each day and averaging a 1000 event rating.
The MPO division was anything but a runaway victory, in fact it produced one of the best battles of the season. With only three holes to play, the three highest rated players in the world were all tied for the lead. Ricky Wysocki would go on to birdie the final three holes, with Eagle McMahon missing out on hole 17 and Paul McBeth falling two back of the lead. Ultimately it was Wysocki’s course record 15-under par opening round that propelled him above the competition.
Course Changes
Hole 5 has been changed from a par 4 to a par 5 in the FPO division, this hole averaged more than 5.6 strokes in all three rounds last year. Hole 7 which previously had fairways on both sides of the water now has OB on the entire left side, players must throw to the right side of the water. The very lengthy hole 9 will play about 220 feet shorter in both divisions, with the basket moved closer to the teepads. And most notably hole 11 has been completely redesigned after offering little scoring separation at last year’s event.
2021 MPO: 10,803 feet Par 65
2022 MPO: 10,896 feet Par 66
2021 FPO: 9,978 feet Par 66
2022 FPO: 9,665 feet Par 67*
*The caddie book lists the FPO layout as a par 66 because hole 5 is mislabeled as a par 4. The hole layout properly denotes it as a par 5.
Fantasy Picks
Here are my picks for the free weekly league over at skipace.com where you select four MPO and two FPO players with a budget of 6,000 PDGA ratings points.
Anthony Barela (1033)
Nikko Locastro (1032)
Aaron Gossage (1027)
Gavin Babcock (1013)
Ella Hansen (951)
Emily Beach (944)
Points Used: 6,000
Tournament Picks
It’s hard to bet against Kristin Tattar, especially at a tournament she dominated less than a year ago. But Kristin seems to understandably get off to a somewhat slow start after making the long trip back to the United States. Paige Pierce on the other hand always seems to come back refreshed when she takes a couple of weeks off, not to mention she won this event by thirteen strokes back in the 2020 season. Fans will be closely watching Eveliina Salonen to see if her putt has improved since her previous trip to the U.S. She last played in Heinola on the European tour and putted quite well on her way to a victory.
It feels a little crazy to pick Simon Lizotte for a third straight elite series win, but it’s more than just the fact that he’s playing better and more consistently than anybody else right now. With Ricky Wysocki just coming back from his knee issues, Paul McBeth struggling for the past couple months, and Calvin Heimburg now dealing with a hip issue there’s a lot of uncertainty for those players. Gannon Buhr isn’t a bad choice, he’s probably been the most consistent player across this entire season and he did earn his first top-5 finish at the Preserve. But between those two players I’m inclined to go with Lizotte who almost won this event back in 2020, coming up just one stroke shy of Nikko Locastro.
Weather Report
Temperatures will be warm on Friday with a chance of rain Saturday. Slightly heavier winds are expected on Sunday.
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