No Chill at Maple Hill
No Chill at Maple Hill
Get ready for the DGPT Playoff — MVP Open
Simon Lizotte is the defending MPO champion at Maple Hill. Photos: Kevin Huver / DGPT
With just a short break after the PDGA Professional Disc Golf World Championships, the Disc Golf Pro Tour has landed in Leicester, Massachusetts for the 2023 MVP Open presented by OTB.
This is the second and last playoff event of the season and the second year that the MVP Open has been a playoff event. Just like the Discraft Great Lakes Open earlier this season, the MVP Open will take place over four rounds and award 150% of the tour points awarded by other Elite Series events, meaning players will be looking to move up positions in the DGPT Tour standings. One thing to watch is the cut line, where a number of players will look to punch their ticket to the DGPT Championship.
This will also be the final Elite Series event of the season and the last tour stop before the final two PDGA Majors of the season — the United States Women’s Disc Golf Championships next week and the United States Disc Golf Championships in October.
Maple Hill Disc Golf was founded in 2003 by Tom Southwick and Steve Dodge and this year marks its 20th consecutive year hosting a premier disc golf event. The tournament at Maple Hill was long known as the Vibram Open and the 2016 Vibram Open at Maple Hill made history as the first DGPT event ever held. When Vibram left the sport, MVP picked up the title sponsor role, making this the sixth annual MVP Open.
For three years in a row, Maple Hill has been ranked #1 on UDisc’s Top 10 Disc Golf Courses in the World. This scenic course winds through the hills and valleys of the family Christmas tree farm, offering gorgeous views and challenging holes. This course has it all; water carries with baskets right next to the OB, island greens just begging for an ace run, tight gaps through dense woods, and plenty of elevation changes. From the massive downhill drive over the Christmas trees of hole 1 to the tiny island green surrounded by a rock wall to finish the final hole, this course will have players using every skill in their arsenal.
Much like the Discraft Great Lakes Open, the MVP Open will feature a few holes with A and B positions. The MPO field has alternate positions on the first three holes while the FPO has alternate positions on holes 2 and 3. The B positions will only be played in round 3, offering some variety to keep players on their toes.
Natalie Ryan won the 2022 MVP Open in a playoff.
The 2022 MVP Open at Maple Hill came down to a playoff after Kristin Tattar caught up to Natalie Ryan in the final round. They returned to hole 18 where both players successfully made it to the island green to give themselves a birdie putt. Tattar was up first and came up just short as her putt hit the cage, leaving Ryan with a tap-in birdie putt for the win and her second Elite Series victory of the season.
A severe weather delay on Day 1 meant that the MPO field did not compete in the opening round of the 2022 MVP Open. Instead, they only played three rounds starting on Friday. Corey Ellis had a three-stroke lead going into the final round, but had a slow start as he went one-over through the front 9. He started scoring again on the back 9, finding himself tied with Simon Lizotte (who had already finished his round) and Linus Carlsson as he stepped up to the tee of hole 18.
While Carlsson dropped out of contention with a disastrous tee shot, Ellis was in position to go for the green and take one last birdie for the win. Ellis went for the island green with his second shot but went out of bounds deep and had to progress to the drop zone. Now putting for par to force a playoff, his putt bounced off the top of the cage and left him with a tap-in bogey to drop back to seconnd. Lizotte shot 10-under in the final round, shooting the hot round of the tournament to win from the chase card and take his fourth Elite Series Victory of the season.
Other than some potential wind and rain on Saturday, it’s looking like moderate weather for the 2023 MVP Open presented by OTB.
Here's everything you need to know to catch the action this weekend:
Tee Times & Round ratings
PDGA | Event Page
- Official scores, tee times, PDGA Live scoring and round ratings can be found on the official event page on PDGA.com.
Live Coverage
Disc Golf Network
The Disc Golf Network (DGN) is the home of live disc golf. Built by the Disc Golf Pro Tour, the DGN is a subscription streaming and on-demand platform. Covering the world’s best players competing in the sport’s most elite tournaments, a subscription includes post-produced coverage of select disc golf tournaments as well as exclusive disc golf shows, touring pro interview series, podcasts, and other segments only available on the Disc Golf Network.
DGPT YouTube | Subscribe
In addition to the DGN, the live broadcast for both divisions will be simulcast free on the DGPT YouTube channel for the first round only on Thursday, September 14.
Exclusive Offer for the Off-Season & Beyond
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Post Production Coverage
JomezPro | Subscribe 
Open Lead Card / Round 1 MPO Feature Card
JomezPro | Subscribe
FPO Lead Card / Round 1 FPO Feature Card
Gatekeeper Media | Subscribe 
Open Chase Card / Round 1 MPO Feature Card
Ace Run Pro | Subscribe 
FPO Chase Card / Round 1 FPO Feature Card
Recap Articles
PDGA.com
Check back to PDGA.com daily for a recap of all of the action from the 2023 Elite Series.