Thrilling Three Player Shootout Headlines 2024 Gold Eagle Open

Canadian Disc Golf Tour #6

Friday, September 13, 2024 - 10:13

Written by Matt Lisac, Parked Pro

Cochin, SK - Some tournaments are a grim, plodding procession to the final hole, with a field of sore necks staring up at the leader in the final round. And some finishes collect and captivate a crowd as word of an exciting conclusion to a division’s efforts spread through tournament central, campgrounds, and beer tents. Cochin, Saskatchewan was home to the latter in the 2024 rendition of The Gold Eagle Open. After going wire to wire in 2023, Lethbridge, Alberta’s Noah Higgins returned as the presumptive favourite, having reached a 1000+ rating for the first time after his first A-Tier win here. After a 1055-rated course record in the first round, Higgins was comfortably in the lead. But a tournament is never won on the first day.

Noah Higgins, PDGA #84157

At the Beachside course for round 2, Saskatchewan-native-turned-Calgarian Thomas Germann cut the lead down to three strokes. Meanwhile, Manitoba Provincial Champion Marshall Toews and CDGT leaderboard mainstay Luke Levesque charged within striking distance after tying for the hot rounds in Round 2, setting up an epic conclusion high atop the Jackfish Lake course. Germann and Higgins traded the lead multiple times in the final round, and Levesque pulled to within two strokes, leading to a three-way battle for the win on the course’s signature finishing holes 17 and 18 overlooking the lake.

Luke Levesque, PDGA #201383

In the end, Germann held onto his lead matching Higgins stroke for stroke in the final 5 holes to take his first professional victory in front of family and friends. Higgins, Toews, and Levesque, acknowledging the nerve-defying clutch performance they’d all participated in, were more than gracious in defeat.

Kadie Hozempa, PDGA #117997

FPO saw a return of Teri Hong and Bailey Inglis, who treated the crowd to a heart-stopping 4-hole playoff that saw Inglis take her first professional victory the previous year. Alongside Kadie Hozempa, Hong and Inglis traded strokes the entire way, but it was a masterful 956-rated second round that propelled Hong to her first A-tier victory with a four-stroke win in the end, completing her comeback story a year after the extra-holes heartbreak of 2023. It was Hong’s 12th professional victory, padding her points lead in the Canadian Disc Golf Tour standings following a consistent summer of high-level play.

Bailey Inglis, PDGA #210859

Two hours from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Jackfish Lake is a weekend getaway destination for Saskatchewanians and Albertans alike. It’s home to weddings and golf tournaments every weekend of the summer, and the hilly and forested terrain counter the image the province holds as exclusively flat prairie land. The permanent Jackfish Lake course is an elite-level course that features major elevation changes and rewards precision with distance drivers. The temporary Beachside course runs along the lake itself, and is a more technical course where controlled mid-ranges and tunnel shots are required skills.

“The event was again a great success! The weather was more than ideal, all the feedback received regarding the 3-day format and the event as a whole were unanimously positive, and the Saturday night festivities had attendance & showmanship beyond our expectations. Already planning for bigger & better next year!” -TD Evan Zimmer

Teri Hong, PDGA #142752

"There’s really nothing like hanging around a tournament hub with all your fellow competitors for an entire weekend. Gold Eagle Open is exactly that experience, but stepped up another notch. Food and drinks just off the 18th basket, live music at night, and a massive fireworks show overlooking beautiful Jackfish Lake makes this event special every year, and playing courses like these are the cherry on top. It’s worth the trip to Saskatchewan if you’ve never been." - Andre Lodder, CEO Parked Pro Media

Next Up: Canadian Nationals

The next stop on the Canadian Disc Golf Tour is Canadian Nationals (Harvest Huck) in Clearwater, British Columbia.

The full standings of the CDGT can be found at CDGT.ca

Players can earn CDGT points at all Canadian A-tier and B-tier events.

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PDGA Canada re-invests Canadian player fees back into the sport in Canada, assisting tournaments, training events, course construction, media like the CDGT, and more. Their support makes the Gold Eagle Open and Canadian Disc Golf Tour possible. The CDGT is an exciting new opportunity for players to compete at a high level and showcase their skills on a national stage, in a way that has never been available for players in Canada looking to make the jump to global professional competition. From providing structure, support and sanctioning for tournaments, to helping aspiring professionals reach their athletic dreams, PDGA Canada has been instrumental in bringing Disc Golf into the mainstream in Canada as both a sport and a competitive hobby.