A warm yet humid weekend greeted 145 players in Örebro, Sweden as this year’s Swedish Championships were held across three days of play. Unlike tournaments in the United States, European disc golf tends to offer different ways of matching up competitors and provided all in attendance with the experience of getting to play with those in other divisions. Let’s check out how the weekend went!
The Details
This year’s event was held at Hästhagens Disc Golf Course, located just outside the town of Örebro. An 18 hole layout that features park style golf with some elevation and wooded areas to contend with, it’s been a staple in the Swedish disc golf community since 1982.
With 7 different divisions all competing for their own claim at being a champion, tournament directors decided to shake things up a bit. Friday was the first day of competition, and each player completed two rounds with cards crafted by mixing all of the divisions.
Two rounds again on Saturday, this time organizing players by division, gave those in attendance the chance to see how they fared and who their biggest competition would be. Sunday’s round hosted the top 72 players to see who would be named the best in each class.
Scores Were Hot!
Summer in Sweden can be hot enough, but the scores for many competitors at this year’s championship event were equally as toasty. The men’s open division saw a super close race, as winner Henric Hagman bested the rest with a total 40 down across the event. Falling just one stroke behind, Linus Carlsson took home second place, with Johannes Högberg coming in third with a -37 for the event.
Even more surprising was the spread of scores among the women’s open field, as it seemed that the race was really for second place. Sofie Björlycke, a 925-rated player who has carded 20 wins out of 51 events ever played, shot a +9 over three days while her rivals landed in the 40 over and up ballpark. Linda Emanuelsson just barely edged out Hanna Hugosson to take home second place, with scores of +41 and +43 respectively.
Let’s Hear It For The Kids
The 2018 Swedish Championships also hosted several junior divisions and just like many of the other players, a few rose to the challenge and completely crushed their card mates. A playoff in the Junior <18 field saw Erik Persson and Simon Kappling charge for the win and resulted in Erik taking home first place.
The Junior <18 Girls field was equally as impressive, with a 96 stroke difference between first and second place! Matilda Ringbom shot some incredible rounds, with her best being unofficially rated at 983, to become the champion in her division over Dararat Sirirat.
Other divisions saw close calls as well, with a few players showcasing their skills and demonstrating just how exceptional they really are. It’s not often that we get to experience European disc golf, so the chance to witness some of the impressive play that’s happening across the world is a true gift! Congratulations to all of the winners at the 2018 Swedish Championships!
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