How sharp will Kristin's game be after a 10-week layoff?
July 16, 2024 by Justin Westfall in Preview with 0 comments
With the Tour de France concluding this week, Wimbledon having just wrapped up, and the Paris Olympics soon to get underway, the entire sporting world is currently centered in Europe. Disc golf is no exception to this with the European Open, the 3rd FPO and 2nd MPO Major of the season, beginning this Thursday, July 18th, in Tampere, Finland.
This year, the event will also serve as a preview to the 2025 World Championships, which will be hosted in Finland next year in place of the European Open. As a result, this year’s tournament will be played on two courses: Rounds 1 and 2 will take place on the Monster in Tampere, with the final two rounds being played at the event’s typical venue of the Beast in Nokia.
Last year’s tournament was one of the most memorable of the entire season. In MPO, Calvin Heimburg entered the final day with a two stroke lead on Anthony Barela and three strokes on Corey Ellis. Heimburg struggled to get anything going and fell off the pace, shooting even par through the opening 12 holes. Going into the difficult hole 16, Anthony Barela led Corey Ellis by one stroke. Barela’s tee shot pushed a bit deep of the normal landing zone, putting a low hanging branch and some extra distance between him and the island green that players had to safely land on in order to advance from their current lie. Barela proceeded to miss the island five times before finally landing a shot on the green and carding a quadruple-bogey.
Smelling blood in the water, Ellis veered from his game plan of playing the hole for par and instead went for the island, which he safely made to card a birdie and take a two-stroke lead over Kyle Klein. Ellis proceeded to throw an excellent tee shot on 17 to card yet another birdie, and par was all he needed on 18 to defeat Kyle Klein by one stroke to earn his first career Major championship.
In FPO, the story couldn’t have been more different, with Kristin Tattar getting out to a 13 stroke lead after just two rounds. Tattar would go on to defeat Heidi Laine by 16 strokes to win her first career European Open. It was Tattar’s third consecutive Major win and also completed her career Grand Slam. She would also go on to win the final two Majors of the year, earning a single-season Grand Slam.
Past Winners
| PDGA Tier | Open | Open Women | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | M | Corey Ellis | Kristin Tattar |
| 2022 | M | Eagle McMahon | Paige Pierce |
| 2019 | M | Paul McBeth | Paige Pierce |
| 2017 | M | Paul McBeth | Catrina Allen |
| 2016 | A | Paul McBeth | N/A |
| 2015 | M | Paul McBeth | Catrina Allen |
| 2013 | M | Paul McBeth | Paige Pierce |
| 2011 | M | Dave Feldberg | Valarie Jenkins |
| 2009 | M | Jesper Lundmark | Valarie Jenkins |
| 2007 | M | Ken Climo | Carrie Berlogar |
| 2006 | M | Dave Feldberg | Carrie Berlogar |
Six Things We’ll Be Watching
1. After a mediocre opening round at the Krokhol Open, Kristin Tattar quickly regained her form, shooting a 1005-rated round two and a 1012-rated round three to win the event by six strokes. Despite sweeping the Major schedule last season, Tattar now finds herself in a bit of a Major slump, if you can even call two losses a slump. She finished in 6th at this year’s United States Women’s Disc Golf Championship and 5th at the Champions Cup, averaging 985 and 987 event ratings. A win this week would give Tattar her 7th career Major, tying her with Elaine King, Des Reading, and Catrina Allen for the 3rd most all-time. It would also be her 6th win over the past eight Major championships. While the reigning champion’s 16 stroke win at last year’s event is impressive, what’s more so is that she averaged a 1000 rating over those four rounds. By Tattar’s standard, she played just average golf. The addition of two rounds on the Monster for this year’s event should change little as Kristin’s game is well-suited to perform on both courses. Tattar is yet to lose an event where she averages over a 1000 rating, but she has averaged exactly a 1000 rating in four of the past six events she failed to win.
2. Another player who should excel on both the Monster and the Beast is Eveliina Salonen, whose gap-hitting abilities and distance off the tee give her a big advantage on these courses. Salonen is the most recent Major winner, having taken down the Champions Cup this past spring. The Finn has plenty of history at this event with four top-5 finishes including a runner-up finish in 2022. She held an 8-stroke lead over Paige Pierce after two rounds of that event but failed to hold on down the stretch and ultimately lost by three strokes. Fellow countryman Silva Saarinen is perhaps the antithesis to Salonen, performing with suboptimal distance but terrific putting. The results are tough to argue with: eight consecutive podium finishes including five wins. While her ceiling may be limited, Saarinen is still a threat to win this event if other top players struggle to play consistently over four rounds.
3. No player is more synonymous with the European Open than 5-time champion Paul McBeth. Since his first win in 2013, the only time McBeth has failed to win this event was in 2022, when his legendary battle with Eagle McMahon resulted in the highest-ever event rating for a non-winner at a Major championship. Last year, McBeth injured his throwing shoulder in the final practice round before the Presidents Cup, and he was eventually forced to withdraw from the event before the final round. McBeth had just won the PCS Open at this time last year, and while he’s yet to earn a win since then, he’s coming off a pair of strong performances at the Swedish Open and Krokhol Open. A win would give McBeth his 18th career Major championship, tying him for the all-time record with Ken Climo. It has long been a goal of McBeth’s to match and exceed that record. Though he’s plenty familiar with taming the Beast, it will be the first time in his career that he must also face the Monster in Tampere.
4. One of the first names fans will be searching for on the leaderboard is Anthony Barela. Barela mentioned after his win at the Des Moines Challenge that the European Open is the only thing on his mind. With four wins already tallied on the year, perhaps AB has the confidence he needs to conquer both the Monster and the Beast and earn his redemption. Of course, Discmania would certainly like to see one of their own young guns take home the trophy, and they have a fairly good chance with the likes of Gannon Buhr, Niklas Anttila, and Kyle Klein. Buhr will be playing this event for the first time and just finished 7th at the Krokhol Open after suffering a triple-bogey on the final hole. Klein was the runner-up here last year but is coming off a pair of 25th place finishes since his runner-up finish at the Preserve last month. Anttila is very familiar with these courses, and, like Barela, he’s experienced some Major disappointment of his own after losing a lead to Gannon Buhr at the 2022 United States Disc Golf Championship. If the Finn is in contention come Sunday, he should have a crowd of over 5,000 pulling for him to hoist the trophy. Regardless of who wins, it’s difficult to imagine that at least one of these four players won’t be in the mix.
5. Ricky Wysocki is coming off a huge win at the Krokhol Open, averaging the 4th highest Elite series event rating of all-time at 1081. Wysocki was in total command of the disc all weekend long, whether it was hyzer-flips or flex shots, he was executing them all to perfection. A win at the European Open would give Ricky a 7th career Major championship that has eluded him for more than seven years now, and tie him with Dave Feldberg for the 3rd most all-time. Another player who’s also looking to break the narrative of failing to perform on the biggest stages is Calvin Heimburg. Despite all of his accolades, Heimburg has yet to win a Major, though he has played on several final day lead cards, most recently highlighted by a two stroke lead that he squandered at this event just last year. When you think of players who are capable of threading the tight fairways of the Monster, Heimburg should be one of the first that comes to mind. He is the player with the most Elite Series wins (11) without a Major title to his name; Simon Lizotte (9) is second on that list.
6. On Wednesday, the 12th President’s Cup will take place, a team event which pits Team USA vs. Team Europe. Paul Ulibarri will act as the Team USA captain for the first time in his career. Ulibarri played for Team USA in 2011 and 2015, and was a reserve player in 2017. Seppo Paju will captain Team Europe for the first time. Paju played for Team Europe in 2011, 2015, 2017 and was a reserve player in 2022. Team USA has never lost this event, but the spread has grown closer and closer with each year. Last year, Team Europe seemed to be on the way to their first victory until Lauri Lehtinen missed a short putt on the penultimate hole. The miss gave Paul McBeth the edge in their matchup, awarding Team USA an additional 1.5 points. McBeth was able to match Lehtinen on the final hole, and Team USA would go on to win by a score of 27-25.
The Courses
The Monster located at the Tampere Disc Golf Center is a championship design that combines holes from the course’s standard 27-hole layout. Designed in 2018 by Jussi Meresmaa and Tommi Vesala, the lengthy track features very tight fairways and tricky greens. The track is aptly named, with par on the MPO layout expected to come in at a 1020 rating. The course underwent some additional manicuring in the spring including the addition of new FPO teepads in preparation for this event.
Also designed by Jussi Meresmaa, the Beast in Nokia is a crown jewel in the sport of disc golf. With a mix of tight woods, open holes, water hazards and plenty of OB, the Beast requires a healthy variety of shot types. While a few small tweaks have been made for this year’s event there is one major change to the course’s most infamous hole. As a result of pressure from the PDGA, the former BUNCR rule on hole 16 has been eliminated and will instead be played with standard OB rules featuring two drop zones. Rather than being forced to make the island green or re-throw from the previous lie, any fairway shot that lands OB will now advance players to a drop zone just 15 meters from the basket.
The Monster
2024 MPO: 3,280 Meters/10,760 Feet Par 67
2024 FPO: 2,876 Meters/9,436 Feet Par 68
The Beast
2024 MPO: 2,794 Meters/9,167 Feet Par 63
2023 MPO: 2,794 Meters/9,167 Feet Par 63
2024 FPO: 2,704 Meters/8,871 Feet Par 65
2023 FPO: 2,690 Meters/8,825 Feet Par 65
Extended Forecast
Rain is expected throughout the week, however temperatures should be comfortable with a clear forecast for the final round on Sunday.
Wednesday: Showers with highs in the lower 70s. Winds 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 70%.
Thursday: Afternoon showers with highs in the upper 60s. Winds 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 60%.
Friday: Showers with highs in the upper 60s. Winds 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 70%.
Saturday: Showers with highs in the lower 70s. Winds 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 40%.
Sunday: Partly cloudy with highs in the mid 70s. Winds 5 to 10 mph.
