The start of the home stretch.
September 3, 2025 by Justin Westfall in Preview
The Disc Golf Pro Tour is heading into the final stretch of the season with just one event remaining until the playoffs. The Discraft Great Lakes Open begins this Thursday, September 4th, in Milford, Michigan. As the final Elite+ event of the season, the tournament will consist of four rounds all played on the Toboggan course.
DGLO joined the PDGA National Tour in 2003 and has been played on nine different courses in seven different cities. The Great Lakes Open dates all the way back to 1983, although the earliest PDGA event page you can find is from 1984. The event itself actually began in 1982, as a memorial for a deceased hamster named Weenie. The 1st Annual Weenie Memorial was played on August 29th, 1982, and one year later Discraft stepped in to sponsor the event, and the name was changed to the Great Lakes Open. After falling off the National Tour schedule for several years, DGLO became a part of the DGPT in 2018 and has been a part of the schedule ever since. In 2021, Discraft hired Ledgestone Tournament Director Nate Heinold to run DGLO as well.
Last year, Gannon Buhr came into the final round with a five shot lead over Ricky Wysocki and Calvin Heimburg. With a comfortable lead, Buhr was able to play safe through most of the round while the field tried their best to catch up. Despite good rounds from Wysocki and Isaac Robinson, Buhr was able to coast in and win the event by two strokes. In FPO, Holyn Handley held a one shot lead on Kristin Lätt going into the final round. Lätt immediately got into trouble, taking double bogeys on holes 1 and 3. Despite some shaky putting, Handley shot a seven under par final round with just one bogey, and won by three strokes over Hailey King.
Past Winners
| PDGA Tier | MPO Winner | FPO Winner | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | DGPT+ | Gannon Buhr | Holyn Handley |
| 2023 | DGPT | Simon Lizotte | Ohn Scoggins |
| 2022 | DGPT | Calvin Heimburg | Natalie Ryan |
| 2021 | DGPT | Eagle McMahon | Kristin Tattar |
| 2020 | DGPT | Eagle McMahon | Paige Pierce |
| 2019 | DGPT | Paul McBeth | Paige Pierce |
| 2018 | DGPT | Paul McBeth | Sarah Hokom |
| 2017 | A | Ziggy Bierekoven | Krystal Fromm |
| 2016 | A | Reid Frescura | Catrina Allen |
| 2015 | A | Ben Callaway | Catrina Allen |
| 2014 | A | Tyler Horne | Catrina Allen |
| 2013 | NT | Ricky Wysocki | Sarah Hokom |
| 2012 | A | Jon Perry | Catrina Allen |
| 2011 | B | Tyler Horne | n/a |
| 2010 | B | Mike Raley | Des Reading |
| 2009 | A | Mike Raley | Elaine King |
| 2008 | A | Al 'Sugar' Schack | Angela Tschiggfrie |
| 2007 | NT | Cale Leiviska | Des Reading |
| 2006 | NT | Josh Anthon | Des Reading |
| 2005 | NT | Scott Martin | Juliana Korver |
| 2004 | NT | Cam Todd | Des Reading |
| 2003 | NT | Barry Schultz | Juliana Korver |
| 2002 | A | Shawn Sinclair | Leslie Herndon |
| 2001 | A | Scott Martin | Elaine King |
| 2000 | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| 1999 | A | Ken Climo | Juliana Korver |
| 1998 | A | Ken Climo | Elaine King |
| 1997 | A | Ken Climo | Elaine King |
| 1996 | A | Ken Climo | Anni Kreml |
| 1995 | A | Ken Climo | Becky Powell |
| 1994 | B | Jeff Malton | Elaine King |
| 1993 | B | Steve Kohman | Molly Morrow |
| 1992 | A | Dan Ginnelly | Sharon Jenkins |
| 1991 | C | Steve Wisecup | Elaine King |
| 1990 | C | Dan Ginnelly | Sharon Jenkins |
| 1989 | C | Slate Paul | Elaine King |
| 1988 | C | Joe Eagan | Elaine King |
| 1987 | C | Steve Wisecup | Elaine King |
| 1986 | C | Bob Huston/Kevin Stewart | Gail McColl |
| 1985 | C | Bob Harris | n/a |
| 1984 | C | Joe Eagan | n/a |
Four Things We’ll Be Watching
1. Fresh off his first win in over two years, Paul McBeth should bring a lot of confidence to a course he once mastered. In 2018, McBeth famously shot an 18-under par second round at the Toboggan and picked up his first of two career DGLO wins. Paul currently sits in sixth place in the DGPT standings and has a lot of room to improve this weekend. Second place Anthony Barela is currently 158 points ahead, and with a really strong close to the season, McBeth still has a shot to surpass him.
2. Following her win at the LWS Open at Idlewild, Ohn Scoggins sits comfortably in second place in the DGPT standings. Scoggins is 150 points ahead of third place Missy Gannon, and 170 behind leader Holyn Handley. Scoggins is the 2023 champion of this event, and could make a push for the DGPT points championship over this final stretch. To do so, she will likely need some help from Holyn Handley, who has averaged just a 955 rating in her past three events. And yet, if Handley can find a way to rebound over the final few events, she still has a chance to win Player of the Year among a crowded field. Some added length to the FPO layout for this year’s event should give Holyn a leg up on most of her competitors as well.
3. Last week, Gannon Buhr came up short in Idlewild for the first time since the European Disc Golf Festival. Despite the success he’s had this summer, Buhr might be feeling a little extra motivated after a one-stroke loss to Paul McBeth. Over the past two seasons, Gannon has won six of the seven DGPT+ events. Three of those wins were by five or more strokes, and while his 2024 DGLO win was only by a two-stroke margin, he led by five going into the final round. While scores will most likely stay close at the top, this also feels like a tournament that Buhr could win by seven or eight strokes if nobody in the field can string together four great rounds.
4. Several European players will return to the tour this week including Silva Saarinen. Silva has won two of her past three tour events and might be the current front runner in a very wide open Player of the Year race. A great performance this weekend would certainly help those odds and deliver some big time confidence going into the final leg of the season. Sitting in fourth place in the DGPT standings and having not played the last two DGPT+ events, Silva also has an opportunity to move up the leaderboard, and with strong playoff performances could even push Scoggins for her second place spot.
The Course
Originally designed in 2000 for the PDGA World Championships, Kensington Toboggan is a temporary course that sits on rolling hills used for sledding in the winter months. The Toboggan is a long course with lots of open shots and extreme elevation changes. The Toboggan has hosted the U.S. Amateur Disc Golf Championships since 2002 and began hosting the pro side of the Great Lakes Open in 2013.
As the distances and pars indicate, there are a number of changes to this year’s layout. Basket placements, tee positions, and OB lines have been altered throughout the course, and some more alternating pin positions have been added.
2025 MPO A: 11,041Feet Par 66
2024 MPO A: 10,882 Feet Par 65
2025 MPO B: 11,095 Feet Par 66
2024 MPO B: 11,002 Feet Par 65
2025 FPO A: 9,482 Feet Par 69
2024 FPO A: 9,119 Feet Par 68
2025 FPO B: 9,507 Feet Par 69
2024 FPO B: 9,169 Feet Par 68
Extended Forecast
Heavy winds for the opening rounds should ease up over the weekend with temperatures staying mild throughout.
Thursday: Partly cloudy with highs in the mid 60s. Winds 10 to 20 mph.
Friday: Cloudy skies with highs in the mid 60s. Winds 20 to 30 mph.
Saturday: Mostly sunny with highs in the mid 60s. Winds 10 to 15 mph.
Sunday: Mostly sunny with highs in the mid 60s. Winds 10 to 15 mph.
