The first newly minted MPO Elite Series winner of the season!

July 13, 2022 by Justin Westfall in Analysis with comments

To this point in the 2022 Disc Golf Pro Tour season, the only real adverse conditions players have faced were heavy wind, especially earlier in the year. The weather in northern Kentucky this past weekend went from hot and humid during the practice rounds to rainy and muddy once the tournament kicked off on Friday. With the FPO division getting a lightning delay early in round one, rain proceeded to fall throughout the weekend and was heavy enough at times that some players wondered if play might be suspended due to unsafe footing. Early in round one, U.S. champion Hailey King tweaked her hamstring and was forced to drop out of the tournament. And on Saturday, Anthony Barela dropped from the tournament as well after slipping on a teepad and injuring his back.

As you might expect on a heavily wooded track, putting was very important in the MPO division with six different players making 100% of their C1X putts in all three rounds. Of those six players, five of them finished inside the top 15. Putting did not play as big of a factor in the FPO division, where only two of the top six players in strokes gained putting finished inside the top 10. More important was getting through the woods and up to the greens; the top 3 MPO players from tee to green were also the top 3 finishers at the event. And in the FPO division, the top 6 players from tee to green all finished in the top 10 at the event.

Isaac Robinson

Simon Lizotte said that Isaac Robinson’s performance at Idlewild might be the most impressive thing he’s seen this season, after Robinson averaged 11-under par across three rounds in brutal conditions. The stats back up just how impressive Robinson played: he led the event in strokes gained putting with 100% C1X and connecting on 9-of-18 from C2. He carded just one bogey in each round and had five more birdies on the week than second-best Chris Dickerson. Isaac was also 3rd in strokes gained tee to green and led the tournament in OB rate with only two penalty strokes against him. Averaging the highest event rating of his career at 1064, Robinson now has three top 5s on the Elite Series in just four events played this year. Jumping on tour and performing the way Isaac has to this point should have raised some eyebrows,…