A tremendous preview of the 2025 World Championships.
July 22, 2024 by Kingsley Flett in Recap with 0 comments
The European Open in Nokia, Finland, has historically provided us with some of the most iconic moments in disc golf. The 2024 edition didn’t disappoint, with both winners decided on the 72nd hole of competition. Kristin Tattar won with a record seven-stroke comeback on Sunday, following one of the most disastrous rounds of her career. Then Gannon Buhr held off Ricky Wysocki in a wild finishing stretch that included a pair of two-stroke swings.
As a test for the venues to be hosting next year’s World Championships, the European Open showed it can soak up whatever bad weather and bad luck can throw at it and still deliver an epic event with compelling drama played out in front of huge galleries, estimated at more than 5,000 people on Sunday afternoon.
Kristin forgets how to play, then remembers
At the end of the third round, the first of two rounds on “The Beast” in Nokia after two rounds on “The Monster” in nearby Tampere, it was a very softly spoken Kristin Tattar who appeared for her post round interview. The 2023 European and World Champion looked a little bewildered. Her 8-over-par 73 had dropped her from a one stroke lead over Eveliina Salonen to seven strokes behind her and four strokes behind Eveliina’s Finnish compatriot Silva Saarinen. The provisional 907-rated round was her worst since the first round of the Estonian Championships in 2019.
“It’s tough to find words,” Tattar said. “I found every OB there was and wasn’t able to really execute my shots. I just forgot how to play disc golf.”
For Tattar, the somber end to moving day was a far cry from round one, where she slayed the Monster layout with a 7-under-par back nine on her way to a 1040-rated, 9-under-par 59. Playing on a damp course that had recovered well after torrential rain the night before, Tattar’s forehand was a weapon as she carved a four stroke lead over Salonen, with Missy Gannon and Silva Saarinen five and six strokes back, respectively.
Round two belonged to Salonen as she split the gaps time and again on her way to building a two stroke lead over Tattar. When a course puts a crack in the stoicism of Tattar or Saarinen, you know it has been designed to wear players down mentally. Salonen seemed to be the only player in the lead card keeping their cool. Then, with just a few holes to play, we got a reminder of how high Eveliina’s ceiling might be if she ever develops putting consistency. On hole 17, Salonen matched a brilliant drive and upshot to be putting at a birdie from 20 feet for a two stroke swing that would have had her leading by three. Instead, Eveliina four putted, allowing Kristin to draw level. Tattar went one stroke ahead on the next hole.
Moving to The Beast in Nokia for the final two rounds, it was Saarinen who came to the forefront in round three, shooting a 5-under-par 60 to close the gap to Salonen to three strokes. The two Finns were four and seven strokes ahead of Tattar, respectively, after Kristin’s disastrous round. Tattar struggled with her timing and her line and looked weary.
For the first time in history, the lead card for the final round in a PDGA major was all European: Finns Salonen and Saarinen, Estonians Tattar and Kaidi Allsalu. Early in the final round, when Kristin’s birdie attempt from 25 feet hit the top band, her hopes for an improbable win seemed to fade. Seven strokes down with sixteen holes to play would take a tremendous effort. What ensued was just that. Eveliina could not buy a birdie in the front nine and then the wheels fell off completely in the back as she carded a birdie-free round with two bogeys, two doubles, and a triple. Tattar erased the seven stroke gap from Salonen in the front nine. Kristin then caught Saarinen and went ahead by one after a three stroke swing on hole 10, following one of Silva’s two double bogeys for the round. The pair swapped two stroke swings on the following holes, and it was a one throw advantage to Tattar as the closing stretch loomed.
As things often do on The Beast, it all came down to hole 16. Although no longer capable of running up the huge numbers from years past, the haybale island was still capable of inflicting plenty of misery. Tattar drove slightly long and out of position to a spot that was eerily similar to the one that Anthony Barela had thrown the tournament away from last year. There was no fear of that from Kristin, though: her upshot into the bullseye was a textbook Tattar missile.
“It was a huge relief,” said Tattar afterwards. “This was the moment where I needed to execute so I couldn’t let it slip through my fingers.”
Even though Saarinen matched her effort a few moments later, Tattar’s birdie maintained the crucial one throw gap. They both carded pars on hole 17, and when Silva threw out of bounds on hole 18, Tattar was able to lay up and tap in for an emotional win.
“I thought yesterday that I had lost it,” Kristin said. “I thought that there’s no way I can come back from this. But coming in today I told myself to just focus on my game, that’s all I can do. Just keep fighting, execute the shots, don’t let the fear take over and just go with the flow. I did it. It’s probably one of the most memorable wins I’ve ever had.”
Tattar smashed the previous final day comeback record at an FPO Major (5 strokes, Sarah Cunningham, 2009 USWDGC). Saarinen ultimately finished in second place as Missy Gannon surpassed Salonen to take the final podium spot.
Reflecting on her disastrous round on moving day, Tattar had gained some perspective.
“To be honest I don’t think I really played that bad yesterday, but I just hit all the trees out there,” she said. “Of course, it made me unhappy, and it made me doubt myself. But life presented me with the perfect opportunity to be kind to myself and still love myself even though by my standards I was not succeeding at all. So, I used that opportunity to stay kind and loving and do my best because I know I can play disc golf. Yesterday’s round makes this win taste a little bit sweeter.”
Gannon holds his nerve
At the end of the MPO field’s first round on the Monster, we saw two new names at the top of the leaderboard — Randon Latta from Florida and 18-year-old Californian Andrew Miranda, playing his first major. Chris Dickerson, Ricky Wysocki, and Paul McBeth all clustered within two strokes of Latta and Dickerson’s shared lead at 7-under-par. Most interest was focussed on McBeth, though, who came into the event only one major win away from Ken Climo’s record (17). Indeed, McBeth may have gone into round two with a lead had he not slipped on the hole 16 tee pad as a late afternoon rainstorm swept over the course. McBeth’s bogeys on holes 16 & 17 denied him a share of the lead.
Round two was interrupted by thunderstorms on the second afternoon in Tampere, and play was eventually suspended with five cards yet to tee off. With stop-and-start action dragging the day out, the PDGA eventually decided to suspend competition with the lead card still awaiting their tee shots on hole 1. The MPO field resumed in the fog early on the morning of what was to become a very long Saturday. It was here that Gannon Buhr caught fire, shooting a 9-under-par 58 to rise from a tie for eighth to a share of the lead with McBeth. Dickerson, Niklas Anttila, and Wysocki were all within two strokes. Saturday morning was probably the biggest test of the Disc Golf Network so far, as the streaming service had to cover multiple cards in two divisions at different venues simultaneously (as FPO had begun their third round at The Beast).
The MPO field then travelled the 12 miles to Nokia for the regularly scheduled third round, and Buhr continued his hot streak, shooting a bogey free 12-under-par 51 to pull three strokes clear of McBeth, who was again looking threatening before he dented his round with late bogeys.
“It just felt easy,” said Buhr. “I was extremely nervous on hole one – kinda shaky almost, but I put it in the bullseye and got the nerves settled there. When you are having a heater of a round like that, it’s tough to keep it going because you know you are shooting well. It has always been my dream to make the lead card on the final round here just because of the atmosphere.”
Ricky Wysocki showed he was building momentum also, hitting consecutive 60 foot putts on holes 10 & 11 to climb into outright third place, four strokes off the lead. “It was a long day to say the least,” said Wysocki. “I knew that over there (Tampere) was a survive type of course. 10-under was my number and I hit that. I was happy with that because the tournament is really won over here (Nokia) but you can really lose it over there.”
Wysocki got the fireworks started early on Championship Sunday in front of one of the biggest galleries to ever watch a round of disc golf. On hole 3, Ricky followed up a booming drive with threading an upshot that landed 25 feet out, setting up an eagle putt. Wysocki shot 7-under-par for the front nine but was matched by Buhr. McBeth was unable to match this pace and fell seven strokes adrift of the lead.
Buhr had an upshot roll out of bounds on hole 10. His par putt from the OB edge missed left: a spectator had intentionally coughed during his putt and was removed from the event. Wysocki’s birdie closed the Buhr lead down to just two strokes, a gap that would remain for much of the back nine, with Buhr fighting to keep it on hole 13 by draining a 45′ putt.
“That’s one of those putts I’m going to be watching for a long time,” said Buhr afterwards, “It was such a momentum booster for my round.”
Then, as if facing the fate-altering hole 16 holding a two stroke lead in a PDGA major wasn’t enough stress, a time violation warning was issued prior to the tee shots by a PDGA marshal. Gannon shook off the distraction, though, and landed in the circle on the island, his birdie part of a rare star frame from the lead card.
Ahead by two strokes with two holes to play, Buhr looked in total control, until he wasn’t. Wysocki ramped up the pressure by throwing a high, wide forehand on the 17th that came in hot onto the bullseye, hit with a thud, and stuck. Buhr followed Wysocki’s forehand hyzer line, but his disc flipped up and flew straight for a crucial second, fell slightly short, then hit a lamp post that kicked him to the circle’s edge. Gannon’s birdie putt hit the cage, stood up, and rolled out of bounds, and the ensuing bogey meant the pair stood on the hole 18 tee tied at -34.
Wysocki chose a forehand but threw slightly low to a restricted lie. Buhr threw a high stalling backhand that landed in bounds with a clear run to the basket. Pushing off from inside the branches of a tree, Wysocki threw his approach too straight, hit the scoreboard, and dropped out of bounds. Knowing that Wysocki might still make the putt from where his disc was marked and that he needed a birdie to win, Buhr put his upshot at the base of the basket to remove any doubt.
“It’s absolutely crazy,” Buhr said afterwards. “Coming into the day with a decent lead, I knew it was going to be a little tough to fend off the two scariest players in the world to fend off in Ricky and Paul. I’ve never been more nervous in my entire life at a tournament. The USDGC doesn’t even compare to what just happened here.”
When asked about his upcoming plans Buhr was definite. “I’ve gotta win the world championship,” he said. “It’s the number one thing on my mind.”
The 2024 European Open has been the full dress rehearsal for the World Championships coming to Finland in 2025. It’s fair to say that the event passed its first test with flying colors given the challenges it faced with the weather. If this weekend was anything to go by, the first World Championships to be held outside the USA is going to be, as Gannon Buhr would put it, “fully sick.”
