It seems that no matter where you travel during the disc golf tour, events are plagued by weather issues at all times of the year. The 9th Annual Ed Headrick Disc Golf Hall of Fame Classic presented by REC TEC Grills was no different, as Hurricane Michael almost created a huge issue. Players were supposed to check in on Thursday morning, but with extreme weather conditions afoot, the PDGA had to push things back a bit to ensure everyone’s safety.

Lucky, the show still went on, and 88 of the sport’s top players took to the W.R. Jackson course to see if they could best the rest of their competition. For some, it was an emotional end to a long year – let’s see what happened.

A Challenge On Every Tee

Established in 2007, the W.R. Jackson course at the International Disc Golf Center in Appling, Georgia is a test for all skill levels. Wooded shots, changing elevation, and nearly 10,000 feet in some layouts make this track an appropriate spot for a tournament worthy of the name Ed Headrick. Although in the past the event was on a more sporadic timeline, it’s now an annual part of each tour season.

Given that this event marks the finale of the National Tour, the pressure was on to capture as many series points as possible and end the second to last 2018 event on a solid note. Day 1 saw Ricky Wysocki do just that with a hot round of -9 and many players right on his tail. It also was a good day for Catrina Allen who has worked hard this season to make her way back up to the top of the leaderboard. She was the only FPO player to land under par after Friday’s play.

The Champions Return

There’s something about having a world title under your belt that really lets you push your skills on the course, and Saturday’s rounds proved that to be true more than ever. Coming off his fresh win at the USDGC, Paul McBeth was eager to reside in the number one spot yet again. But so was current World Champion Gregg Barsby, and both of them put up hot rounds of 57.

Not wanting to let her moment in the spotlight slip away, Paige Pierce also improved during round two and tied with Allen at 69, allowing both of them to share the hot round accolades of the day. Although it was a valiant effort, Pierce failed to capitalize during round three and allowed Allen to shoot the lowest score yet again. She came in 8 strokes behind Catrina’s first-place finish to land in second, with Sarah Hokom rounding out the top three.

Sunday’s finish was a nail-biter for the men’s side of things as it was clear that the race was really only between McBeth and Barsby. Michael Johansen and Eagle McMahon both shot clean rounds to try to catch up but ended tied for third along with JohnE McCray. A bogey on hole 5 pushed Barsby out of it, as he placed second with only one more stroke than winner McBeth.

Check out the final standings for the NT here.

Next weekend we have the Disc Golf Pro Tour Championships and then the season is officially over – where did the time go?! We’d love to know who you are rooting for to take home the DGPT win. Be sure to let us know in the comments below!