From GOLD medals in Chengdu to DGLO titles in Michigan
September 11, 2025 by Kingsley Flett in Analysis, Recap
The most hectic season in Disc Golf history is gradually becoming less hectic as the air cools, the leaves start turning red, and we had into the final month of the Disc Golf Pro Tour. At the Discraft Great Lakes Open, hosted at the Kensington Metropark, the venue for next year’s Pro Worlds, the tournament was tightly contested in both divisions. In the end, the Gannons produced the goods when it mattered, with come from behind single stroke wins on the Toboggan course.
Here’s my top 10 storylines from this past weekend in Milford, Michigan.
1. Buhr Keeps on Winning
Gannon Buhr is, yet again, putting together one of the all-time great seasons in disc golf. When considering, too, that Buhr is still three months younger than Paul McBeth when McBeth won his first Elite Series event (the 2011 Memorial Championship), it’s clear that he is on the path to a career that will have him in the GOAT conversation. He’s already halfway to Ricky Wysocki’s record of 24 DGPT wins and isn’t yet drinking age.
Buhr’s game seems to suit the four round tournaments on which big reputations are made. Last year, he won all of the DGPT+ events, and this year he was one cowboy hat shy of taking out all four again. Add in the win in a certain five-round tournament in Finland, and it’s clearly been Buhr’s year so far.
This week, he won in typical fashion – a slightly slow start, then hang with the leaders for the following rounds before getting his nose in front with the finish in sight and staying there.
Buhr’s roller shot off the tee on 18 decided the win with some panache, too, putting him in a perfect place to control the outcome. From there, he opted to lay up and tap in for the win over Ricky Wysocki, Calvin Heimburg, and Jake Hebenheimer, all tied for second, one stroke back.
2. It’s Missy Time
Some catchphrases in disc golf just roll off the tongue and ‘Big Money Missy’ is one of them. The 2023 and 2024 Pro Tour champion seems to be coming into form at the right time of the year yet again. Missy finished round one four strokes back of Paige Pierce and Holyn Handley, whittled that down to three strokes off Handley in round two, then was only two strokes behind Handley at the start of the final round.
A stretch of pars and then a double bogey on hole 10 from Handley saw Missy leap to a three stroke lead with four holes to play, before another two stroke swing on hole 15 took the gap down to one stroke in the final holes, with Silva Saarinen sitting three strokes back in the clubhouse waiting on any slip ups from the top two.
Slip ups from the lead pair is exactly what Silva got. The final holes had more doors opening and closing than a Seinfeld episode with Handley and Gannon both racking up three OB penalties. It was a second OB stroke from Handley on the approach to basket 18 that decided matters, ensuring the win for Missy and dropping Handley back to third behind Saarinen.
3. Silva’s Final Round
Silva Saarinen has been a fixture on the Pro Tour this year, playing most of the DGPT events in the USA and Europe unlike many of her European counterparts who tend to cherry pick their schedule a little more. That consistency paid off with her breakthrough win at the Preserve Championship this year. At DGLO, Silva started slow but then steadily climbed from ninth to fifth before unleashing in the final round. Saarinen hit 19 of 21 fairways on Sunday on her way to a course record 10-under from the chase card. 90% fairway hits is no mean feat on a breezy morning at Toboggan. It’s a performance to file away in the memory bank come the World Championships next year.
4. Vintage Paige
Ah, it warms the heart to see past champions still in the mix for Elite Series wins after almost two decades on tour. Paige Pierce shot to a share of the lead in round one on the strength of 100% C1X putting and 75% from circle 2. But for a double bogey on the par five hole 15, Pierce would have gone into round two with something for the others to chase. A birdie drought cast her adrift in round two, though. Pierce seemed to rush her putts, missing 5 from C1X (down to 50%) and hitting none of her eight attempts from circle 2, creating a gap she couldn’t bridge.
“It feels really good to just rip shots,” Pierce said after her first round. “I was throwing freely and confidently. Some vintage Paige stuff.”
5. Vintage Paul
With an 11-under par 55 that was third best round for the tournament, Paul McBeth shot out to a two stroke lead in round one. Just like vintage Paige, vintage Paul was putting 100 percent from C1X, kept a clean sheet, and hit 95% of fairways off the tee.
“My putting was solid,” said McBeth after the round. “I felt like hole 16 was my only true miss today. Otherwise, I was in control and made all the ones I needed to.”
McBeth was still two strokes back after round two, but then cooled in round three, missing four fairways, going OB once, and missing two C1X putts. He dropped to a tie for 4th place and only three strokes off the pace. Trying to close that gap in the final round sent him OB twice as he came off the boil and slid to 6th.
6. Same Old Ricky
Unlike many of his contemporaries from a decade ago who have been pushed down near, or over, the cut line by the flood of new talent, Ricky Wysocki continues to grind and compete, consistently putting himself in winning positions. On the DGPT this year, Wysocki has had 11 top ten finishes and four podiums, three of them second place finishes. The second places, to Buhr at the Kansas City Wide Open, to Niklas Anttila at the Ale Open in Sweden, and this past weekend to Buhr again, add up to 6 strokes in total.
After a slow start and slipping to 9th place after round two, Ricky came alive in round three with the second best round of the tournament. Wysocki’s 12-under par 54 included the shot of the tournament, too, on hole 15.
“I threw my tee shot to the perfect spot. I couldn’t have dropped by disc in a better spot,” said Wysocki after the round. “It allowed me to go full rip on my second shot. I threw my Nuke and flexed it around the corner. It caught the perfect glide, and it looked like it was going to go in for a second.”
Of finishing the round with an eagle and two birdies in the last four holes, Wysocki said, “I really wanted to close the round out. I’ve had a lot of rounds this year where I’ve had the round made and stumbled on the way in.”
While Wysocki hardy stumbled in the final round, equalling the 9 under par rounds of the top three finishers, he fell just short again. Ricky’s chance to draw level with Buhr and put some pressure on for the last hole was squandered when his 25 foot putt on hole 17 nose dived early and hit the cage. Wysocki’s quest for a big win this year continues, and I wouldn’t rule him out.
7. Hebenheimer Has His day
An 11 year pro out of Jefferson Cty, Missouri, Jake Hebenheimer had his best DGPT finish since a 3rd place in the 2022 Dynamic Discs Open. Hebenheimer climbed from 8th to 6th place after round two, then into 4th after shooting 10 under par in the third round. Jake’s solid play continued in the final round, where he was in contention until an OB penalty on hole 16 was enough to drop him a couple of strokes back. A birdie on the final hole was only enough to secure a tie for second with Wysocki and Calvin Heimburg.
8. Calvin’s Putt Deserts Him in the Final Round
After taking the lead in round two and going into the final round with a two stroke advantage, Calvin Heimburg missed four birdie putts from inside the circle on championship Sunday. Calvin’s C1X percentages were 100%, 86%, and 100%, respectively, as he only missed one circle one putt in the first three rounds. If that’s not the story of his tournament, then I’m not sure what is.
9. The Nose Angle Open
If the nickname for the OTB Open in Stockton is the “Low Ceiling Open,” where the ability to throw low and long is at a premium, then DGLO’s nickname might be the “Nose Angle Open.” So many drives require players to hit a precise landing zone from an elevated pin with cross winds only making that job harder. Even a disc angle master like Niklas Anttila threw out of bounds 11 times over the four days, including a painful five times in the final round. So to prepare for the Worlds next year, maybe practice throwing off a nearby building.
10. The World Championships Rehearsal
The longest-running stop on the Disc Golf Pro Tour and home to one of the oldest continually running elite tournaments will be playing host to the 2026 World Championships. Using the venerable Toboggan course, which was initially built for the 2000 World Championships, and the lengthened Black Locust South layout, the 2026 Worlds is going to be a test of precision and angle control. Refer to this past weekend’s DGLO when building your form guide next August.
Thanks for reading. Looking forward to telling more stories in the run to Lynchburg.
