Ricky Wysocki finds himself in a familiar position atop the leader board at Pro Worlds. Photo: Conrad Meyer / PDGA Media

OGDEN, Utah — Nearly 24 months have passed since the 2019 PDGA Professional Disc Golf World Championships were contended in Peoria, Illinois, and with memories of a lost opportunity fresh in everyone’s mind, and more at stake than ever before, this year’s Pro Worlds seems to have been designed to become a pressure cooker.

Adding to the heat of the moment were near-triple digit temperatures as the Open Division took to the course for round one at Mulligans, a 7,989-foot Par 63 golf course track that offers very little in the way of protection from the elements.

A large gallery was on-hand to cheer as defending champion Paul McBeth prepared to begin his title defense and the quest for a sixth PDGA World title.

McBeth came out of the gate firing as he went 5-down through the first six holes and looked on-pace to lead the field as he made the turn, but he cooled off on the back-nine before a disastrous final hole ended his chance, not only to lead the tournament, but to even appear on a feature card during round 2.

Stepping up to the 18th, McBeth was 9-down with an opportunity to birdie and match the leading scores in the clubhouse when he sailed his backhand over the iconic island green and out of bounds. Then, to make matters worse, his putt from the drop-zone hit the cage and rolled down the slope for another OB penalty.

All that was left to do was tap-in for a double bogey that dropped him to a four-way tie for 19th place.

Paul McBeth prepares to defend his Pro Worlds title. Photo: Matt Rothstein / PDGA Media

Instead, it was two-time PDGA World Champion Ricky Wysocki and 2017 US Champion Nate Sexton that emerged from the heat at 10-under par and with a share of the lead.

Sexton, like McBeth, had something of a disappointing finish to an otherwise-sterling round after he missed an unthinkably straight-forward 18-foot birdie putt on hole 17 and went OB off the tee on 18 to finish with a bogey. Watching his Firebird sail over the wall that defines the island, Sexton could be overheard saying to himself, quite matter of factly, “Bad finish.”

Still, it was an excellent effort by the 36-year-old Sexton, who has taken significant time away from touring over the past few years to care for his daughter.

“It was good – I was playing my plan, making my putts,” he told Disc Golf Network’s Terry Miller. “Slow finish, but that’s just because I started thinking, ‘man this could be 11-under.’ Overall, it was a good day–nice and hot. This is day one of five days, and I’m happy to start well, but that’s the long and short of it.”

Nate Sexton keeps cool while closing out a 10-under opening round to grab a share of the lead. Photo: Matt Rothstein / PDGA Media

Wysocki also carded only a single bogey on his way to a 10-under finish, missing a series of uncharacteristic circle 1 putts mid-round before hitting a 60-footer that he chased-in, fist raised in vintage raptor fashion. It was all he needed to seize back the momentum and close out his round 6-under through the final 7 holes.

“It felt solid,” Wysocki said in his post-round interview. “I feel like I was in control of my shots today. I knew right where my disc was going. I had a lot of 25-footers and played to the safe side of the basket, away from the water. I setup for a high-percentage round and that’s what I’m doing this week.”

Joining Sexton and Wysocki on the round 2 lead card will be Kevin Jones and Calvin Heimburg, who had to wait just a little bit longer for his round to finish as his putter spun like a break dancer on the ground underneath the 18th basket. It finally came to rest, and Heimburg—who had just watched a similar putt from McBeth roll OB—could breath easy with a 9-under finish.

Calvin Heimburg stands tall during a 9-under opening round that leaves him one out of the lead. Photo: Kevin Huver / PDGA Media

The top of the leaderboard is tightly packed, with 30 players within five strokes of the lead, including Canadian Thomas Gilbert as well as the lesser-known Dallin Blanchard, who will be atop the chase card as the second round commences.

MPO action from round 2 of the 2021 PDGA Professional Disc Golf World Championships kicks off live on the Disc Golf Network at 3:30pm Mountain / 5:30pm Eastern.