The Florida sunshine welcomes the start of the Tour once again in 2025.
February 27, 2025 by Justin Westfall in Preview
After a lengthy offseason, the 10th Disc Golf Pro Tour season kicks off this Friday, February 28th, in Brooksville, Florida. The Discraft Supreme Flight Open (formerly the Chess.com Invitational) will lead off the season for a second year, hosted at the Olympus Disc Golf Course.
Last year, Anthony Barela, looking to claim his first career DGPT win, came into the final round with a one-stroke lead over Ricky Wysocki. Barela got out to a good start while Wysocki struggled. Sitting at even par through twelve holes, Wysocki found himself facing a six-stroke deficit to Barela. With just six holes to play, Wysocki rattled off four birdies in a row, and a late double-bogey for Barela on hole 17 suddenly put his win in jeopardy. With a two-stroke lead on the final hole, Barela was able to put his second shot in the circle and lay up for the win. He would go on to have a terrific season, posting three more wins. Despite having no wins prior to last season, Barela is now the 7th winningest MPO player in DGPT history.
In the FPO division, Ella Hansen and Holyn Handley came into the final round tied for the lead with both players eying their first career DGPT win. Eveliina Salonen sat two-strokes back, after an eagle on hole 18 the previous day earned her the final spot on the lead card. The Finn would go on to shoot a 1028-rated final round, taking home her third career DGPT win and first since the 2020 Waco Annual Charity Open, an event that was shortened to two rounds due to the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. The win kicked off a career year for Salonen, who won another DGPT event in Copenhagen and two Majors including the World Championships.
Four Things We’ll Be Watching
1. If last year’s event was any indication, getting a win this weekend could be a sign of a great season to come. Last year’s winners Anthony Barela and Eveliina Salonen each went on to have career seasons, combining for eight wins. Other top finishers had great seasons as well. Three of the top-four MPO finishers combined for 16 wins in 2024, while the top-four FPO finishers combined for 14 wins. It may be just one event, but hyping up whichever players get out to a hot start this weekend may not be an overreaction.
2. Both Salonen and Barela’s games set up well for Olympus, and each player has a great opportunity to begin their 2025 season the same way they did last year. With Kristin Lätt (née Tattar) set to begin her season in Waco, Salonen may well be the favorite given her power and gap hitting abilities. Fans will surely be anxious to see how Eveliina’s putt looks after a long offseason. If the Finn looks even mildly confident on the greens, expect another great performance. While Salonen hasn’t played since last year’s tour championship, Barela is already 0-2 in 2025, squandering leads at both the Memorial Championship and Shelly Sharpe Memorial, both off-tour warmup events. While AB had several strong finishes to secure victories last season, he has still shown plenty of shakiness down the stretch as well. If he wants to take the next step and be in the conversation for world #1, Barela needs to find a way to limit late tournament mistakes. He should have a great opportunity this weekend to begin turning that page if he can stave off the likes of Gannon Buhr and Ricky Wysocki, and get a bit of revenge for the A-tier losses that began his year.
3. 2024 Player of the Year and world #1 Gannon Buhr will undoubtedly be the center of attention this weekend. Buhr won the Memorial Championship for a third consecutive year last month and has won six of the past seven tournaments he has played. The Iceman has felt unstoppable over that span, with Ricky Wysocki being the only player to consistently keep pace with him. With a fresh set of discs and a new sponsor in Discraft, Wysocki is surely eyeing some major revenge in 2025 after coming in 2nd place to Buhr five times last season. With a win at the Shelly Sharpe Memorial just two weeks ago, it appears Wysocki has already dialed in his new bag and should be ready to go come Friday.
4. Coming off her second career Player of the Year award, Missy Gannon might be eying some revenge of her own this weekend. Gannon led last year’s event going into the final nine before several late mistakes cost her a chance at the win. The same goes for Holyn Handley after a rough final round cost her the win here last season. Handley continued to improve and eventually earned her first DGPT win last June and three total on the season. Still a relatively new player having joined the PDGA less than five years ago, Handley could potentially take another big step forward in her career this season.
The Course
The Olympus Disc Golf Course is a favorite among Floridians and was purchased in 2023 by 6-time PDGA world champion Paul McBeth and San Diego Padres pitcher Dylan Cease. Formerly known as the Gran Canyon, this course plays host to a popular A-Tier, Throw Down the Mountain, each spring. Built on the grounds of a former limestone quarry, Olympus provides a unique mountain disc golf experience right in central Florida. With lots of elevation changes and a layout that extends beyond 10,000 feet, this track is both technically challenging and physically demanding to traverse.
This year’s layout has seen several changes including modified OB lines, changes in basket placement, and even an adjustment to the MPO par. Overall, though, the course is very similar to last year’s event and still concludes with an iconic finishing hole: a large downhill tee shot must be placed in bounds, before playing back uphill to a relatively small green that’s surrounded by OB. Plenty of danger and an eagle opportunity in the FPO division make for a very exciting finish.
2025 MPO: 10,197 Feet Par 65
2024 MPO: 10,281 Feet Par 66
2025 FPO: 9,410 Feet Par 68
2024 FPO: 9,421 Feet Par 68
Extended Forecast
A beautiful weekend to kick off the season with warm temperatures and low winds
Thursday: Mostly sunny with highs in the upper 70s, winds 5 to 10 mph.
Friday: Mostly sunny with highs in the mid 70s, winds 5 to 10 mph.
Saturday: Mostly sunny with highs in the lower 70s, winds 5 to 10 mph.
Sunday: Sunny with highs in the mid 70s, winds 5 to 10 mph.
