Ultiworld Disc Golf Power Rankings: Post-St. Jude, European Open, & Fort Steilacoom Open [June 7, 2016]

McBeth reclaims top spot, while Roan, Bjerkaas continue to climb

June 7, 2016 by Steve Hill in Rankings with 1 comments

It’s been a busy couple of weeks on the professional disc golf circuit since we dropped our last set of Power Rankings, with top players splitting time between Europe and various locales on the West Coast.

And therein lies the problem.

With fields being divided up between six events – the St. Jude Disc Golf Charity Invitational, The Lynx, and the Des Moines Challenge two weeks ago; and the European Open, Fort Steilacoom Open, and the Zoo Town Open last weekend – it makes ranking the players a bit more tricky than if the majority of them showed up at one tournament. We’re left to dissect not only how well golfers handled the group they played against, but also to project for their hypothetical play against those who were half a world away. The result, then, is much more shuffling at the bottom of the rankings than at the top, which is actually a bit more fun. It gave us two new entries to the list on the men’s side and three on the women’s, while also seeing some players get in the groove and continue to climb the Power Rankings ladder a few rungs at a time.

1. Paul McBeth was back with authority at the European Open, but was he ever really gone? Top marks for being able to adjust putting styles midseason with barely a hiccup.

2. It’ll be interesting to see how Ricky Wysocki rebounds from his European Open disappointment. He certainly sounded determined after the final.

3. After notching his best finish at the European Open, it seems like the maturation of Simon Lizotte has taken another step. Sure, he was still airing out big drives when he was out of contention for first, but drilling an edge-of-the-circle putt from one knee and then dispatching K.J. Nybo in a playoff shows he still meant business.

4. K.J. Nybo just couldn’t get the putter going during the EO final, and it came back to bite him.

5. A tie for second place at St. Jude was a nice bounce back for Nate Doss after a slow finish at the Masters Cup. We won’t see him again until the end of June at the Vibram Open.

6. Jeremy Koling tied for fifth at St. Jude, but looks to be taking a sabbatical (minus one small event) until Worlds.

7. He may have been frustrated by the “crush after crush after crush” of St. Jude, but Eagle McMahon recovered from it with a fifth place finish at Fort Steilacoom.

8. Jared Roan followed up his second place tie at St. Jude with another second place at Fort Steilacoom and has defeated most of the players below him on this list at some point in the last two weeks. He’s earned this spot.

9. Entering this weekend’s Beaver State Fling as a relative hometown favorite, Nate Sexton could use his experience at Milo McIver for a breakthrough National Tour victory.

10. Philo Brathwaite’s seventh place finish at St. Jude made for his tenth Top-10 performance this season.

11. After winning The Lynx, an A-Tier in Cottage Grove, Oregon, Paul Ulibarri finished 17th at Fort Steilacoom.

12. Nikko Locastro continues to be one of the most enigmatic players on tour. From a pure talent standpoint, he should be in the Top-5 of this list, and he’ll show it with blazing rounds at most big events. But his propensity to crumble at the end of tournaments has made for a roller coaster of a season, and it feels like most of the players above him on this list are playing more consistent golf.

13. Since finishing in sixth place at the 2011 Beaver State Fling, Gregg Barsby hasn’t cracked the Top-10 at the event. His recent play, though, suggests he might be able to continue his 2016 revival show this weekend outside Portland.

14. Drew Gibson continues to climb after a Top-10 showing at St. Jude.

15. He came in seventh place at the European Open and doesn’t have much else coming up on the calendar, so we’ll see if Seppo Paju remains on the list after this week.

16. The fields haven’t been as strong as at tournaments populated by most pros the last couple weeks, but Zackeriath Johnson’s win at the Des Moines Challenge made it two straight A-Tier victories.

17. Win an A-Tier, get on the list. Welcome aboard, Eric Oakley. Congrats on the Fort Steilacoom victory.

18. Dustin Keegan has made the most of his current West Coast swing, with three Top-10 finishes in three weeks. He’s a dark horse candidate to make some noise at the Beaver State Fling.

19. Steve Rico stumbled to a 19th place finish at St. Jude before taking down a B-Tier in Arizona last weekend.

20. Is Cam Todd’s magical mystery tour over, or does he have another ace up his sleeve for this weekend’s Oregonian action?

On the Bubble: Devan Owens, Will Schusterick

1. Catrina Allen may have been upset at the Tali Open, but 11 consecutive wins buys you a little more time at the top of this list.

2. She won by default, but Valarie Jenkins’ strong season continued at St. Jude.

3. After being the fastest riser in our last rankings, Paige Bjerkaas takes another step up after winning the A-Tier Zoo Town Open in Montana.

4. Paige Pierce, meanwhile, hasn’t played since the Masters Cup as she nurses an injury. We’ll try to confirm her status for the Beaver State Fling.

5. You’ve likely never heard of 15-year-old Eveliina Salonen, but the native of Valkeakoski, Finland, is the only woman on this list to beat Catrina Allen this season.

6. Des Reading jumps up a spot after winning the Des Moines Challenge by five strokes last weekend.

7. Fourth place at The Lynx and a win at Fort Steilacoom bring Melodie Bailey to the list.

8. Madison Walker has cooled from her strong start to the season, but still placed second at Zoo Town.

9. Zoe Andyke has continued to play well, with a sixth place finish at Fort Steilacoom and second at The Lynx moving her up a notch.

10. With a fifth place finish at The Lynx, Lesli Todd has now placed in the Top-10 at each event she has played in this season.

On the bubble: Jennifer Allen, Sarah Hokom