Two Wins in One Weekend

Team Innova had our best finish so far this season at last weekend’s Play It Again Sports Jonesboro Open. Calvin Heimburg took 1st place in MPO, continuing his historic season of dominance. Kat Mertsch won her first ever DGPT event, beating teammate Hailey King in one of the closest finishes of the year. And Eveliina Salonen shot a 1024-rated final round, the best of the tournament. 

An Emotional First Win for Star Team’s Kat Mertsch 

Kat Mertsch has had the fire, determination, talent, and killer instinct of a Pro Tour winner since she first showed up on the scene in 2019; now she has the title to go with it. Kat took down the win at last weekend’s Jonesboro Open, beating teammate Hailey King in a one hole playoff. It was among the most exciting finishes in either division so far this year. This is Kat’s first DGPT victory, likely of many. It was hard to not feel emotional watching Kat accept her trophy. She wanted the win more than anyone else on tour and she made it happen. Her victory cry was one of a player who has devoted herself to disc golf and saw years of hard work be validated in a single moment. 

Hailey King and Kat Mertsch came out blistering on day one, shooting a -11 and -10 to get out to an early lead ahead of the field. With both players coming off 3rd place finishes at the Champions Cup, the stage was set for a battle between two women playing at the top of their game. 

On day two, Kat doubled down on her strong first round performance, shooting a -7 and moving into first place. Hailey King struggled on the front nine, but managed to reset and scrape together a respectable 3 down. On the final day, Hailey came out determined to make up for the slow start she had in round two. After shooting three down through the first four holes, Hailey was tied with Kat. The two remained neck and neck through hole 18 and beyond. Kat would ultimately win in a one hole playoff after a mistake from Hailey. 

Photo by DGPT

Kat led the field in Scramble percentage and only took one OB stroke for the event. This is her fourth top ten finish of the season, moving her into 10th place in the DGPT point standings. 

It was moving to see how much this win meant to Kat Mertsch. Disc golf is much more than just a job or a sport to Kat; she says she would not be here without disc golf. Now that she has seen herself take down a big event, Kat will have added confidence going forward. The first one…