Chris Dickerson tees off at the 2019 Dynamic Discs Glass Blown Open. Pro disc golf returns to the Emporia Country Club this weekend for the Dynamic Discs Open. Photo: Alyssa Van Lanen

The PDGA Elite Series is back in action this week with the return of the Disc Golf Pro Tour. The newly minted Dynamic Discs Open will serve as the 2020 touring season restart and will be contested over three rounds in Emporia, Kansas at the Emporia Country Club. The field, like all DGPT events, consists of just two divisions, Open and Open Women. 

After taking a hiatus on March 13 after the Elite Series was suspended, the DGPT and touring pros alike are excited to see play resume. As we prepare for this weekend, here’s a recap of where things sit based on the first two events of the DGPT season.

Current DGPT Point Series Leaders

With two Elite Series and one Silver Series event (The Challenge at Goat Hill) in the books, the DGPT Point Series looks primed for a compelling season. As a reminder, Silver Series events count at 25% of full DGPT Elite Series events and competitors can bank their top three Silver Series scores, as opposed to their top seven of 10 Elite Series events on the DGPT. Read more about the Silver Series here.

The Challenge at Goat Hill was the first-ever Silver Series event on the DGPT and the most notable jump was from Philo Brathwaite, who moved up to fourth place in Tour Standings after his fourth-place finish at Goat Hill. Jennifer Allen moved back into the top 10 in Tour Standings with her second-place finish at the event.  

Paul McBeth is currently leading the Pro Tour Standings in the MPO division is with his third and second-place finishes at Memorial and WACO. On the FPO side, Eveliina Salonen is leading the Disc Golf Pro Tour Standings but will not be making this week’s event due to international travel restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Emporia Country Club & Competition Preview

The Emporia Country Club has seen its share of historic battles at both its flagship event on the National Tour, the Glass Blown Open (GBO), as well as the 2016 PDGA Professional Disc Golf World Championships. The course is a beast and measures in at over 10,000 feet for the MPO division and just over 9,000 feet for FPO.

The ECC has been hosting events at a championship level for quite some time, so don’t expect big changes to the course since last year’s GBO. The largest update to the venue comes on hole 16, where course designer Eric McCabe has added a wall to the island and moved the basket closer to the front edge of the green. The goal of this alteration, McCabe said, is to encourage players to go for the island for a look at birdie instead of laying up and playing safe for par.

While the Dynamic Discs Open has not been on the DGPT, the Glass Blown Open has been an NT for years and its rich history offers good insight into which competitors may do well this weekend. The defending GBO champions are McBeth and Catrina Allen; McBeth has won the Glass Blown Open three times, while Allen has registered four wins. Both players are familiar with the Country Club course and will look to be strong contenders as inaugural Dynamic Discs Open champions this weekend.

If we look back to 2016 Worlds, Ricky Wysocki was able to garner his first world title on the Emporia Country Club course. While the track itself has seen some updates since 2016, Wysocki should be included on anyone’s list of potential lead card members on Sunday. The 2016 World Champion in FPO, Valarie Jenkins, will not be in attendance this weekend but will be commentating on the round live on the Disc Golf Network, which will have coverage of all three rounds of men’s and women’s action live. Subscribe today!

This event is replacing the San Francisco Open on the DGPT. While the SFO’s Gleneagles and Emporia Country Club courses have some stark differences, they are similar in that they are played on a traditional or “ball” golf course. The open fairways and fast greens create unique challenges that see a certain group of players excel. The current defending champions of the SFO are Ricky Wysocki and Catrina Allen. These two players will be included in feature card coverage on Friday thanks to their 2019 performances in San Fran. 

Coverage Details

Coverage of the Dynamic Discs Open begins Friday at 2 p.m. CT on the Disc Golf Network with Wysocki, Jeremy Koling, Eagle McMahon, and Eric Oakley on the MPO feature card The FPO feature card will tee off and join the broadcast at 4 p.m. CT, with Allen, Paige Pierce, Paige Shue, and Rebecca Cox headlining.

If you are not already a subscriber to the Disc Golf Network, subscriptions are $8.99 a month or $4.49 for PDGA members. If you are not in a position to subscribe to DGN monthly, you can pay to watch just the live coverage of the Dynamic Discs Open for $4.99 per round or $6.99 for the weekend.

Check back tomorrow for full media details, including post-production plans in our How to Watch article.