From the desk of Owl P. Jackson, Esq.
March 5, 2025 by Owl P. Jackson, Esq. in Opinion, Recap
Last week, in one of nature’s greatest migrations, men and women from around the world loaded into conversion vans to escape their snowy homes. Where were they all headed? To the home of the gods—Brooksville, Florida. So, let’s join them! Just be careful not to trip on any boundary ropes. In my opinion, these are the top 10 storylines of the 2025 Supreme Flight Open.
1. Ezra Robinson gets his win
“It’s best to take your time.”
This has felt inevitable for a couple of years now. Ezra Robinson was the highest rated player in the world without a DGPT Elite or Major win. He’s been close. Last season, Ezra finished 3rd at Champions Cup, 2nd at Beaver State Fling, 2nd at Ledgestone, and 2nd at Idlewild. He even rattled off three straight 2nd places at the Tour Down Under earlier this year. Finishing the Supreme Flight Open with a blistering 12-under course record and a 6-stroke victory over second place, Ezra was finally able to get over the hump.
Ezra talked about the moment he knew he had finally done it, saying, “If we can pure 16—and I did—I was like, ‘Okay. We’re going!’ It’s a dream come true.”
In the immortal words of Nate Perkins, “The Peach Pirate has taken over the ship!”
2. Three-way FPO battle
“Distance means nothing to me.”
Holyn Handley, Eveliina Salonen, and Ella Hansen: in a thrilling final round, FPO came down to an overtime battle between three of the best overall throwers in the women’s division. Each of them had opportunities to win during the multiple treks up and down the stellar 18th hole, but it was Ella Hansen who clutched up with back-to-back eagles.
Throughout much of the final day, it felt more like a battle between Holyn and Eveliina, but Ella was always there in the background. “Definitely a couple mistakes, bad breaks towards the beginning,” she remembered, “but I was able to settle in and execute for the most part.” I hope we get to see more of this type of battle in FPO this year, especially once Kristin returns.
3. Discraft Dominance
“I’ve been between myself for days.”
Discraft was all over your screens and the top 20 this weekend. Other than Calvin on day one’s feature card, every single top card player was part of Team Discraft. The newest team members paid off quickly, with Ezra Robinson finishing in 1st and Ricky “the artist formerly known as Sockibomb” Wysocki finishing in 4th. Anthony Barela and Paul McBeth fell behind early in the final round but were able to finish 2nd and 3rd, respectively. But it wasn’t just lead card. High finishers also included Adam Hammes (T-9th), Austin Turner (T-9th), Chris Dickerson (11th), Corey Ellis (T-15th), Aaron Gossage (T-15th), Cale Leiviska (T-20th), and Luke Taylor (T-20th). If you weren’t doing the math, that’s 11 players inside the top 20.
4. Gannon misses the top 10
“I’m the calm before the storm.”
After a nine-win season, what do your 2025 goals even look like? In multiple interviews this offseason, Gannon mentioned three things on his to-do list: a Worlds win, the ratings record, and not missing the top 10. One of those goals is already out the window, with Buhr’s T-12th finish already equaling last year’s outside-the-top-ten finish total. His event rating of 1040 won’t help him reach his goals either. Worlds, however? Still very likely.
Unfortunately, Gannon is dealing with a neck injury: “I can’t really turn my head right without pain at the base of my neck. Someone help. I’ve had this problem for only a few months but it’s only gotten worse even after doing exercises I was given.” Could this be a long-term problem?
5. Olympus
“Unfortunately, without you, it will never snow in Florida.”
Wow, do I love this course! A couple of reasons why:
- The holes are interesting on camera. Elevation goes a long way in that department—especially around the green, a notoriously boring part of disc golf. Plus, who doesn’t like to throw off a hill?
- A double digit under par round means that you were absolutely shredding. That feels right to me.
- The ending stretch can see 4-stroke swings on every hole and 18 will be an iconic finisher with a few more years of pro tour history.
- The most important reason is that this course is instantly recognizable—not looking like anything else we see on tour all year. Who knew plant life was so important?
6. FPO shoutouts
“Days go by; Feelings, they go on.”
As entertaining as the FPO finish was, almost the entire rest of the field was irrelevant—that is, other than two players who deserve a shoutout. Kat Mertsch put down a final day, -8 hot round to earn fourth place. And welcome back, Macie Velediaz! The new mom looked excellent all weekend and finished in 5th. After those 5, however, no one else was even close to sniffing contention.
7. MPO shoutouts
“Conversation cuts like glass.”
Jake Monn (T-6th) had his best tournament yet…although DGA is sorta Discraft. So, let’s highlight some non-Discraft players. Fans will be very glad to hear the crush boys, Simon Lizotte and Eagle McMahon, finished T-6th and T-12th. And Calvin Heimburg…*sigh*—you, sir, are the most exhilarating and electric, yet frustrating person to cheer for. How many final day broadcasts this year will begin something like “…and Calvin Heimburg is charging from the fifth card! 8 down through the first nine holes!”?
8. Missing cash
“I’m the second before the crash.”
I say this every single year, but it is getting harder and harder to cash. And yet, it is hard to ignore when the big names fall short.
- Uli, Bradley Williams and Niklas Anttila fell just short (T-45th).
- Have we witnessed the demise of early season Luke Humphries (T-54th)? He is normally a shoo-in for a 6th place in early March.
- And can someone please explain to me what happened to Kevin Jones? He was a top-6 guy coming out of the pandemic. He finished in T-80th, ahead of only 27 people and I’ve never heard of 23 of them.
- Sarah Hokom and Kona Montgomery fell just short of the cash line in FPO.
- And in case someone out there is wondering how the “Lynds Battle” ended up, they both missed cash.
9. Way-too-early predictions
“I’m the hero of the year.”
Based off what I’ve seen in three days of tournament play…
- Discraft will have 9 unique winners between MPO and FPO.
- Eagle will only lose to Simon one more time.
- Calvin wins a major.
- There will be no more first-time winners this season.
- Points champions will be Gannon Buhr and Eveliina Salonen.
10. It’s good to be back.
“It only makes me want to see you, longer.”
The offseason scuttlebutt was filled with a lot of doom and gloom rumors—disc golf is dying, companies are going bankrupt, no one can afford to tour anymore. But disc golf is back. It’s good to be back. Just—please—do something about the backups!
Thanks for reading, everyone! Let me know the storylines I missed. See you in WACO.
