From the desk of Owl P. Jackson, Esq.

October 12, 2022 by Owl P. Jackson, Esq. in Opinion with comments

As the season nears its end, we head to Rock Hill and the legendary Winthrop Gold course. On these hallowed grounds, “mozzarella stick” means something more than a mid-tier hors d’oeuvre: it’s part of the local flora. It’s on these O.B. laden fairways that the world’s best compete for one of the most important majors of the year—as well as the same exact tournament, except it’s just an A-tier. In my opinion, these are the top 10 storylines of the 2022 United States Disc Golf Championship and Throw Pink Women’s Disc Golf Championship.

1. Gannon Buhr has officially arrived

“You think that we connect—that the chemistry’s correct.”

Gannon Buhr took the outright lead heading into the final hole of the USDGC. After a safe drive, it was clear what he needed to do to win: execute a successful upshot and drop in for birdie. I wonder if the memory of hole 18 at the Las Vegas Challenge was running through his mind. There, in a similar situation, Gannon threw a great but ever so slightly too aggressive upshot that slid just past the pin, out of bounds. You know what happened next—playoffs, sand trap, head in hands, Gannon falls short. On the final hole of USDGC, Gannon came face-to-face with the opportunity for final hole redemption, and I found a nice full-circle story for me to write about.

Gannon threw the upshot and it appeared to slide right past the pin and over the ledge on the backside of the green. Not again! Somehow, when Gannon arrived, the disc was much closer than it had appeared to be—not that it would have mattered if he did actually slide off the back. I would have put money on Gannon to hit the putt from anywhere within a hundred feet…because that’s how he had been putting all day. It was the first Elite Series or Major win for Buhr, but this doesn’t feel like a one-time thing. This is the first of many.

2. Catrina Allen back on top

“Your words walk right through my ears, presuming I like what I hear.”

Catrina Allen had a full circle story of her own. She won the first event of the year, her opening tournament with her new sponsor, DGA. The fact that she came out firing with her new discs made it seem like it would be a season of domination from Cat. And, while not dominant, she did finish in the…