March 22, 2019 by Christopher Wiklund in Preview with 0 comments
The seventh installment of Throw Down the Mountain concludes this weekend when the Open fields take on this unique, temporary Gran Canyon course in Brooksville, Florida. Over the past couple of years, the event has begun drawing top tier players from outside of Florida and is in its first season as a Disc Golf Pro Tour Test Event. We could be seeing even more of this special track on a regular basis.
The Open side of the tournament became an A-Tier event in 2016, when Austin Turner took the win by two strokes over an up-and-comer by the name of Kenneth Climo. Paul McBeth is the current two-time defending champion, and has described the event and course as one of his favorites of the season.
McBeth will be joined by 16 other 1000+ rated players including Calvin Heimburg and Simon Lizotte. Heimburg is from nearby Safety Harbor and has been playing this event since 2015, never finishing below sixth. Heimburg also took down McBeth at October’s Monster on the Mountain on the same course.
Monster On The Mountain Gran Canyon Calvin Heimburg Paul McBeth
This will be the first time this season we will get to see Chris Dickerson and Michael Johansen “on tour.” At this time last year, Dickerson was undefeated across 10 events. Right now he has two second place finishes and one third place finish, but six wins to go along with them.
On the Open Women’s side, the field is decidedly less stacked. Madison Walker is the highest rated FPO player registered, and is looking to defend her 2018 title. Elaine King, 2014 and 2017 TDTM champion, is registered as well. This will be her third event of the season. Holly Finley will also be making her 2019 UDisc debut.
The Course
Gran Canyon DGC: 9,215 feet, par 64 – When one says Florida, one does not think “mountain.” While the name might be a bit generous by the standards of some of our readers, elevation is a major course factor. Holes often either start or end on raised areas of the land, and rollaways are in play on several holes.
Pars 4s and 5s are littered throughout, and it’s hard to pick out the signature hole at Gran Canyon as so many offer equally beautiful and daunting tee shots and approaches.
How To Follow
JomezPro will be on site and providing next day, post-produced coverage. You can also follow the scores with UDisc Live.
