From the desk of Owl P. Jackson, Esq.

August 6, 2024 by Owl P. Jackson, Esq. in Opinion, Recap with comments

Like the siren songs of old, the green-and-white water tower calls the tour back home to the States—that, and an enormous paycheck. It’s there, at the base of the tower, that we begin the search for topics to discuss. In my opinion, these are the top 10 storylines of the 2024 Ledgestone Open.

1. Gannon Buhr, best player on earth

“You sure had a hell of a view from way up there.”

At just 19 years old, Gannon Buhr is already the best player on earth. At Ledgestone, he earned his fifth win of the season, this time by a whopping seven strokes. Sad thing is…he didn’t even start that great on the final day. Through the front nine, he continued to open the door for a challenger, but nobody walked through it. He ended up birdieing 9 of the last 10. He has gone 3-for-3 on DGPT+ events this year—and has won 4 of the 5 four-round tournaments, but maybe that should be expected at this point. With enough rounds, the cream tends to rise to the top.

He told Brian Earhart after the round, “After four rounds, with the way my game’s feeling, I should be on top.” Turns out his game is feeling good. So is that $15,000 payday. Go get yourself some Legos, young man!

2. Holyn Handley dominates

“State champs, white and blue; Yeah, I remember you.”

Holyn used to have one major flaw in her game—she melted during the final round. Those days seem to be behind us. On Sunday, she rose to the occasion and extended her 4-stroke lead to a 7-stroke win. Since May, she has been the best FPO player not named Kristin Tattar. In fact, she has finished in the top 5 in her last seven events. In the Ledgestone field, she was the odds-on favorite and she delivered.

After her second win of the season, Holyn reflected on her final day mindset, “You just have to play good today.  You don’t have to do anything crazy…I was just trying to stay within my own game.” Now…14 uninterrupted minutes of slip and slide coverage.

3. No Northwood Black

“I talked to you a million times, but I’m getting out of here.”

When Northwood Black was announced as the temporary home of Champions Cup, it made sense to me that we wouldn’t go back there a second time in a single season. Remember Emporia?

But how did you feel after four days of Ledgestone without it? There are very few courses worthy of a 4 or 5 round tournament. Off the top of my head—Maple Hill, Winthrop…that’s about it. Champions Cup or not, Ledgestone needs Northwood.

4. KJUSA Top 5

“How far did you think I’d get when I pointed my wheels out west?”

Congratulations to Kevin Jones on his first top 5 (also top 10, also top 15) of the season! This has been a rough year for the former tour champion and top 10 mainstay. His previous best finish in 2024 was 20th, all the way back at the Music City Open. With Prodigy this season, Kevin was averaging a 50th place finish.  Since his switch to Innova, he is averaging 36th. Still not great, but hopefully we will see more of this type of performance from Kevin. More flashy, less flashing.  Sorry, I’ll see myself out.

5. Interference

“A little young and dumb; I guess gotta learn somehow.”

If you follow disc golf online at all (of course you do, you’re reading this article), then you’ve seen the clip. You’ve heard the opinions.

Round 2. Hole 16. Garrett Gurthie sends a roller screaming along the left side out of bounds. A volunteer spotter tries to pull a smooth, last-second dodge through the legs. Unfortunately, the disc launched into the air at the last second, hit him in the chest, and landed in the O.B. Should he have ran as far out of the way as possible? Should G.G. never have gone O.B. in the first place? Should it be played as it would have lied? I don’t really care. It’s not the first time we’ve seen it, and it won’t be the last. What we really need to talk about is the spotter’s response. Like a child whose brand-new ice cream fell from the cone he hung his head in frozen silence—the perfect picture of defeat.

Hear from the spotter himself in this interview with Scott Stokely.

6. Lake Eureka Thoughts

“It’s like I found a long-lost friend; God, I have missed this town.”

Eureka has some of the most memorable holes on tour. I don’t think that can be disputed. You know—the hole where you shoot from the bridge. That one hole with a water tower. The one where you shoot over center field. The one where the O.B. lines form a curious shape. But here is my question: is it good when a course is remembered for the man-made objects it plays around? It doesn’t look great—and the objects’ presence is amplified without Northwood—but there is something to be said about the ability to simply mention “the water tower hole” or “the bridge hole” and have people know what you’re talking about. I say lean into it.

7. Some love for Ezra Robinson

“You and that lonesome full moon watching over me; I’m right where I’m supposed to be.”

Ezra Robinson is the best player you forget to mention in the list of the best players. So, let’s give some long overdue love to the other Robinson brother. After all, he sits ahead of his world champion brother in the standings right now. As a matter of fact, he sits in 6th place. Interestingly, the only five players who are ahead of him in the standings are the players with multiple wins this season: Gannon Buhr, Ricky Wysocki, Niklas Anttila, Calvin Heimburg, and Anthony Barela. That speaks to a certain level of consistency, even without taking down a big win. It’s only a matter of time.

8. DGPT layoffs

“Slowin’ down and drivin’ in; I can finally breathe again.”

During a tournament where there wasn’t a lot to talk about, the disc golf scuttlebutt on X and Reddit revealed that the DGPT has made a second round of cuts to their staffing. You might have noticed the lack of the usual Tournament Central routine. The reality of the post-COVID boom seems to be coming into focus. I look forward to the next State of the Union from tour CEO Jeff Spring.

9. Slip and slide

“It sure is good to see you; I’ve been away for way too long.”

Not a lot to say here. Gotta fill the airtime with something when Tournament Central has gone AWOL. Glad they’re having fun!

10. Who is hot heading towards Worlds?

“Like a lighthouse in a storm you help me find my way back home.”

Let’s be honest. We’re just killing time until Worlds week. Here is who is trending in the right direction at the right time: In MPO, the favorites must be Gannon Buhr, Ricky Wysocki, and Paul McBeth. All three are peaking as we head into August. It would mean the most for Ricky, though, who desperately needs to end his Major drought. In FPO, the clear favorite is still Kristin Tattar. But…if she has an off week, look out for Holyn Handley and Missy Gannon. And never count out the Dawg.

Thanks for reading, everyone!  See you at Idlewild.