Ricky grabs his second win of the year as Kristin makes a strong return from injury
July 16, 2024 by Kingsley Flett in Recap with 0 comments
If we reflect on the imaginings of the pioneers of disc golf and wonder what they thought the sport might become, then Krokhol in Norway might have been in some of these dreams. The Krokhol Disc Golf Course, near Oslow, is ranked number one in the world on UDisc and played host to the Krokhol Open this past weekend. Designed on the abandoned back nine of a golf course, Krokhol combined physical beauty with a precision-demanding layout and large galleries of Norwegian disc golf fans to create one of the great spectacles of the DGPT this year.
The lead up event to this week’s Presidents Cup and European Open was won comfortably in both divisions: Kristin Tattar made a strong return from an injury hiatus to dominate the final round on the way to a six-stroke win over Silva Saarinen. Then Ricky Wysocki continued his streak of recent good form with a coast to coast, bogey free, five stroke win over the Czech Republic’s Jakub Semerád.
Kristin’s Back
The first question about Kristin Tattar’s return to competition after cracking a rib in a home renovation fall in May was answered early in round one. Tattar appeared unhindered by the injury and was throwing the flat, laser-straight shots she is known for. It seemed that she had some rust to knock off, though: she went out of bounds three times and carded four bogeys to finish the first round in a tie for fourth place with Heidi Laine. The round one feature card gave the already slightly nostalgic feeling of having Paige Pierce and Tattar playing together. Indeed, it was Pierce who shot out of the gate early with four birdies on the front nine before leaking a bogey, two double bogeys, and a triple to slide to 12th place.
The second question was how Tattar would match up with Silva Saarinen, who was on a five-tournament winning streak in Europe. Saarinen took the early points in that battle, and the lead, in round one with a 6-under par 60, three strokes ahead of Anniken Steen and Rachel Turton, who were tied for second. Tattar took command in round two, though, shooting seven down in a round that could have shattered the course record but for a couple of late bogeys. Tattar finished Saturday tied for the lead with Saarinen, the pair breaking away by four strokes from Steen.
Reflecting on her recent layoff, Tattar was treating the break as a positive. “I feel good,” she said after round two. “I don’t experience any pain anymore and it’s very exciting to be back on the course. I feel like a new season has started. It’s a totally different feeling. I feel like in the beginning of the year I wasn’t really prepared to start the season and the injury allowed me some time off the reflect on what was going on. I feel like I’m in a better place.”
The fine weather of the first two rounds gave way to torrential rain for the FPO final round. Saarinen made the best of it early, pulling away to a two stroke lead before Tattar got one back on hole 5 and then pulled away with a birdie and a two stroke swing on hole 7. The lead has stretched to three by the end of the front nine before Saarinen threw out of bounds on holes 13, 15 &16, putting the result beyond doubt. Tattar was able to club down and stay in bounds, cruising to a six stroke win in the pouring rain.
“I got a little bit frustrated on hole 4 or 5,” Tattar said after her win. “But I just told myself to keep doing what I’m doing, and I just said to myself to not be so hard on myself. If I’m not succeeding in the rain, it’s ok. But then it’s a paradox because after that all my shots seemed to be very good. I am very happy with how things have turned out so far this year and I just try to keep the pace. I was just so happy to play with all of these girls especially Silva who has been playing so well. It was a really good battle between us and I’m looking forward to our next competition.”
Tattar and Saarinen won’t have to wait long for their next battle as they line up in the European Open next week.
Ricky Keeps Rolling
After his first win for the year in the Preserve Championships in May, Wysocki started his European Tour with an eleventh place in the Swedish Championships before bouncing right back in Krokhol. He shot out of the gate in round one with a course record 13-under-par, 1089-rated, bogey free 51. Wysocki handled the precision shots needed to navigate the tight, undulating fairways with ease. Ricky also cranked up some distance and power we haven’t seen since 2017.
“I feel really good,” Wysocki said after the round. “I felt like I was really in control of my game. I felt like I was hitting my spots on the fairway. Hitting my landing zones. I had a lot of very makeable putts. I was landing on the right side of the green. Out here at Krokhol the greens are very sloped, so you’ve got to be on the right side of the basket if you want to have a good putt, without having a death putt. I was able to do that, and I made a lot of circles edge putts which were a huge reason why I shot as well as I did. (Wysocki made 90% of his C1X putts and also hit 3 of 6 from circle two in the round)
The early stage of the litmus test of how far the MPO field in Europe has come seemed to indicate that the Europeans still have some way to go. After round one the top four were all from the United States. Wysocki led from Gannon Buhr who was four strokes back, with Bradley Williams and Eagle McMahon tied for third a further stoke back.
Williams and McMahon dropped right out of contention in round two, falling to 17th and 26th place respectively. Buhr also cooled off in the second round but only dropped to the chase card. Meanwhile the Czech Republic’s Jakub Semerád shot 12-under par to climb into a share of second with Finland’s Väinö Mäkelä. Round two was the Ricky show though, with Wysocki shooting a 12-under-par 52 to stretch his lead to seven strokes.
Wysocki was clearly enjoying disc golf in Norway. “It’s a whole different atmosphere over here,” he said. “It’s very professional which I like. I think it’s going to take out sport to a new level. This property is unbelievable. It’s definitely the most beautiful course I’ve played in my whole life. Hole 18 is probably my favourite finishing hole I’ve played in disc golf so far. It’s set up for a great finish on the final day.
The heavy rain that drenched the FPO players in the morning had cleared slightly in the final round. Wysocki got off to a slow start though, managing only three birdies in the first twelve holes and allowing Semerád to close within three strokes. After a stretch of five pars, Wysocki steadied the ship with a birdie on hole 14 and then pulled away to a four stroke lead with another birdie on hole 15 on the way to closing out the tournament with five birdies in a row.
“I started off slow,” said Wysocki. “But I was able to get a couple of birdies and I knew that every birdie I got it was getting harder for the field to catch me. I was thankful to get some birdies down the stretch and widen the gap.”
Wysocki is clearly enjoying his time back at the pointy end of disc golf tournaments this year. “It’s getting harder and harder and I love a challenge,” he said. “I love the competition. I’m thankful for the competition. It’s a fun challenge to stay at the top.”
Next stop: The Monster & The Beast.
The European Open is upon us. The next big major for the year has taken on more significance the closer it comes. The coming four days in Tampere on The Monster and then twelve miles away in Nokia at The Beast feel like they will be a decisive point in the 2024 season. Will we see the European MPO players rise? Will Kristin continue to dominate? Who, out of the strong MPO players this season, will step forward and start to make this their year?
