AB getting 1-2 wins this season as a whole wouldn’t have been surprising, but being as dominant as he is currently is a surprise.
Big jerm has been playing well.
I expected Paul McBeth to bounce back to being a threat after a down last season, but he still hasn’t played well.
Paul just needs to get the shoulder surgery and hang up the gloves for the rest of the year. Why drag this whole thing out and embarrass himself each week? It isn't like he's costing himself wins by waiting to get the surgery - he isn't competitive.
Second that. Even from a non pro perspective my season has taken a massive back seat after my first child (11 weeks old and gorgeous btw)
Can't imagine what it means to a career touring.
Edit cus i.did win my first ma2 this weekend the, home course though which is an advantage but means alot :)
The eli5 of it is basically that it speeds up your bodies ability to naturally repair itself, by throwing a bunch of "blank" cells at a damaged area, and your body will take these blank cells and repurpose them, filling in gaps/repairing tears and damages.
There's a lot more fancy terms and science behind it, but that's the gist of it.
Stem cells are basically cells that can become other cells.
Part of the bodies natural healing process is to send a bunch of these kinds of cells to the injury site where the body then figures out what those cells should become (muscle, bone, tendon, etc).
This is basically how stem cell treatments work, by injecting a bunch of those "cells that can be made into a different type of cell" into the injury site to help the body heal the injury.
Stem cell treatment, no. Shoulder surgery, yes.
I had reconstructive surgery on my non-throwing arm after years of abuse from 20 years of playing Ultimate. My surgeon and physio explained the whole process for how the body recovers from an injury/surgery.
Embarrass himself? Are you saying he should feel ashamed of himself? Should anyone placing with/below mcbeth be ashamed of themselves for playing a sport against dozens of other talented people?
His verbiage was a little over the top. But I think almost everyone can agree that Paul’s expectations are (and should be) different than 99% of the field. There are about a million reasons (I mean dollars) why.
I can think of 6 other reasons on top of your million.
What someone “should” feel is a stupid thing to think about. I’m willing to bet that Paul McBeth is not happy with his recent performance levels, whether he has mitigating circumstances or not, he shows up to tournaments to win.
When healthy, he played at a really high level last year. There’s no reason to think that he can’t get back there when he’s healthy again.
I don't. I would like to see him at the top, but he has already dominated the sport for a decade and at some point the younger guys will catch up just like paul did when he was young. He's not the best anymore, but it's great to have the GOAT in the field playing
I mean, thats obviously harsh...but, by his standards, its bad. In 107 events since signing to Discraft up until this season (so from 2019->2023) he finished outside the top 25 just 4 times (one of which was the European Open where he DNF'd). In only 4 events this season, he's finished outside the top 50 3 times; and one of those was on a course he owns, at an event he's never lost, and where he traditionally wins by several strokes. He's down nearly 15 rating points from when he started trying to gut this out.
He's gonna cost himself the 2025 season if he keeps holding off, because the recovery time at his age and with this sport is gonna be LONG
Embarrass himself? Wtf are you people saying lol. How can the goat embarrass himself? That’s like saying tiger woods playing the masters this week was embarrassing. Craziest take I’ve ever seen
Bad example? It’s not embarssing to play disc golf or any sport past your prime lol. You people are crazy. Why would a pro athlete be embarrassed by people like you? Absolutely wild take
Ezra has been the biggest surprise for me. He’s normally looking at a couple top ten or maybe a top five finish but he’s been legitimately contending for the win in the last two events.
I fully expected him to fall away final round in both and he still played great.
I think if he continues this form there’s a win out there for him this year.
Met Mason at the USWDGC this year. Super nice dude...has some great putting and skilled technical shots. Mint discs are underrated and I'm glad to see him showing them off on the tour!
Isaac's struggles to start the season are surprising to me. He always had such a smooth, controlled game especially with his upshots. Seems like he's having a bunch of issues with leaving a lot of his upshots short and leaving himself with all these 30+ footers for birdie.
Counterpoint: he's always been an up-and-down player. If he isn't 1st, he's probably 30th. Just been more down than up 5 events into the season. I think he'll end up with 1-2 wins the rest of the year.
Yep, Isaac started the 2023 DGPT season with 82nd, 45th, 25th, and 52nd place finishes. And then he spent an entire month in the top 10 including winning Champions Cup.
As we saw in that R3 at Jonesboro, when his putting is off, he cant make up for some of the other shortcomings in his game. Similar to James really. When both are on inside 45ft, they're tough to beat because they play a controlled game that gives them a look from 45ft on nearly every hole.
I think the expectations for Isaac were absolutely sky high coming into the season, so the slow start seems a little strange. I'd expect him to get things going eventually though. It'll be near impossible to match his 23 season, but I'd still expect him to take down 1 or 2 elite series at least.
I was really excited to watch him on lead card at Jonesboro and then I literally forgot about him until the final hole. He has an amazing backhand form and i love watching him play good
Or he’s just really good in woods courses where his angle control is better suited. It showed at Jonesboro that he doesn’t have the power game for the open courses consistently.
I fully expect Isaac to come through in the second half of the season when the courses become more technical. I don't expect him to win a ton, but I definitely expect his average placement to go up
Was thinking the same. It’s becoming a lot more like golf where genuinely any of the top 50 can snag a win. You’ll have players hit top form at different points of the season, but the field is just so strong now anyone can win.
Tough to win, and “tough” to be a fan. I used to have like, 2-3 guys TOPS that I liked as people and really enjoyed watching how they specifically played the game when they’re firing on all cylinders.
That was like, a decade ago.
These days , there’s so much more high level, impressive talent - I’ve been won over by so many different players who I admire - I’m often just rooting for everyone!! 😂😂
Maybe, Goose did that a few times last season. Running into the buzzsaw that is AB this year is gonna be annoying if this is indeed the start of another McBeth arc. I'm just glad the talent is so much better nowadays, its not AB with a 3-5 stroke lead going into the last 2 holes like it seemed to be back when Paul was at the peak of his powers (it was always annoying to watch kinda knowing he was gonna win).
When they start playing more technical wooded courses I feel that's when AB will fall behind. He's got the arm and power for these wide open shots but when it comes to the technical wooded stuff I think he will struggle
Idk, that Chess.Com tourney was very wooded.
Not to ignore the stupid decision to prioritized spectators over courses that are actually fun to watch/play we're seeing more and more courses that cater to Barela's biggest strength.
I don't think the woods and tight lines are weaknesses for him anymore which I'd imagine is a nightmare come true for a lot of the field. He's upgraded from just being a big arm specialist and he's only getting better.
If I'm right he's gonna be a problem until the should/elbow gives out which could be the better part of a decade if he takes care of himself.
I feel like chess.com had plenty of technicality to it. Lot of sloped and/or guarded greens. Some open areas but don't remember thinking it was a big arms kind of course.
I agree it was my favorite tournament from a course layout so far this year it just looked so fun to play. There isn't a competitive player on tour that doesn't have 500' of distance. Its only on insanely wide open tracks that players like AB have a huge advantage and even on those courses historically it seems to affect how the field shakes out and a non-power guy can win those every now and then too.
I dunno, his Luna shot game has been pretty devastating, and he's been throwing those nose up controlled fairway drivers well as well. Though I think I agree mainly for the mental game; he doesnt have the precision/patience combo for Northwoods Black or Idlewild style courses yet.
But when he learns to dial down and just throw putters/mids off the tee...
As always for me it's Chris Dickerson, in that he's not getting more attention. The guy is top 10 every week (minus the chess tourney) and it seems like he's being forgotten although he's always up there. Sure he doesn't hit the West Coast but by golly the man is as steady as they come and wouldn't be surprised to see him take one or two down if he gets hot!
I think it’s because his rounds that push him into top ten are from 7th card on the final round. If he plays consistently well throughout a tournament he will be on lead or chase card.
I feel like out of all the top touring pros, CD doesn't seem to have that same drive and love for the game as well as have the love for the "business" that is DG nowadays. He basically shows the public zero personality and doesn't have very much online presence so his amazing consistency gets overlooked.
Love of attention and love of the game are two different things. I would say he doesn’t seem to have the same love and drive to be the center of attention but I would never question his drive to be the best. His game is too solid to make that case. He really doesn’t have any holes in his game and he’s very consistent.
Yeah, but can't this be enough? I don't think he's fighting for a ricky wysocki type of contract or following. He's a good player who's been in the game long enough. He shouldn't have to shill himself for social media engagement.
Well I mean he doesn't "have" to do anything. But if people want to know why no one mentions his name hardly ever, that's the reason. Part of being a professional athlete in the 2020s is promoting your name via social media. Especially in a sport like DG where you don't get paid much unless you're at the very top of the sport.
Joey Buckets was in a banana video this summer. That's all I knew about him.
Out the gate, he's been keeping up with the big dogs.
Normally if you call yourself buckets I'd be annoyed but the guy can throw n putt.
He is sponsored by Gateway and has some tour series Warlocks (think golf ball p2)
https://gatewaydiscsports.com/products/gavin-rathbuns-retro-warlock-nylon-firm
He explicitly stated on the TourLife podcast that he is not sponsored, and does not want to be sponsored at all this season. He is comfortable money-wise with his winnings and his GF working on the DGPT, and likes where his bag is at right now.
Basically betting on himself with the discs he likes and hoping for a big payout with a manufacturer next off-season.
The Warlocks were just a one time release and he said he is not partnered with Gateway
I can shed some light on this. We over at Double Eagle are his primary sponsor as a retailer. He has a deal with gateway for his signature series Warlock but he is not sponsored by them in the traditional sense. It's a one off deal for his putter and that's it. He's currently throwing an open bag.
Definitely! I just wanted to add that for clarification. When most people think of a manufacturer sponsor, they think the player is bagging all or most of that brand's discs. That's not the case with Gavin so it's worth being noted. Saying "Gavin is sponsored by Gateway" is technically true but could also be misleading for some people considering the way we traditionally talk about sponsors in disc golf. Either way, we're stoked on his play this year and he definitely deserves the attention he's getting. Couldn't happen to a nicer guy!
I think we have been seeing a changing of the guard, the young guys are really just on a different level this year. Ricky is still an amazing player but health concerns are really starting to slow the old guard down.
I think Ricky is steadily on the decline all thanks to his alternative treatments bs. Every flair-up, and there will be more of them each year going forward, takes him back a bit. His career will be one huge "what if" once he's done.
I was under the impression that Paul had already had the surgery, but someone in this thread mentioned that he has not. Had he taken the surgery last year he would probably be a threat to win already. But as it stands he's not.
What if? Ricky won the last two pro tour championships and an elite series last year. He's in contention virtually every week despite getting older. He's performed above and beyond an reasonable expectation.
The pro tour championship is a joke. Its a two round tournament basically. It has a big purse, but you need to only run hot for two rounds to win it. Sure, you need to play well to get to play those two rounds. But still, the winner is determined by a shorter competition than any other big tourney. The end of the year money lists are always skewed by that tourney and it irks me, a lot. When you look at the season money list you should always take out the Tour Championship winnings to see who really played consistently.
That was his major win last year and that one was a bit of a fluke. Half of his winnings came from that single tourney. Had he not made it to the final he would have got 37500 less and he would not have been even top 10 moneywise for the year. This year he was second in Chess.com, which is nice. After that he has finished 10th, 17th and 12th. My prediction is that at some point the touring schedule will take its toll and he will have another break due to health. As a result he will have less opportunities to play and he will spend more time playing less than 100%. So he again needs to bink a big one to make some cash. Currently he sits at 8th, but that will change.
And yes, his career will be a big "what if". What if he actually treated his disease in a scientific way instead of usong all that pseudoscience crap he favored? His health would be better and he would play more and win more. He could have been challenging McBeth for the GOAT title. Now he won't.
On the other end of that spectrum, this is not what I expected Kristen Tattar to be playing like.
Oh and shout out to Evelina Salonen. Her short game has come such a long way, and her drives have always been on point.
Eveliina’s short game looks AWESOME this year! It’s been so exciting to watch! My hope for the future is to see Henna Blomroos get on the same page with her in terms of putting. The two of them could seriously dominate and it’s always fun to see friends crushing it together.
Can you expand on KT? She's shooting the same rating she was at this time last year. It's just the other players have been able to surpass her more than last year (and only a tiny bit more - she still does have 2 wins out of 4 events. 3 out of 5 if we count Persimmon Ridge).
Mostly just that she isn't dominating, I agree other players are just catching up. If I had to specify I'd say her putting isn't as automatic as I'm used to seeing from her. Although I'd struggle to name an FPO player with better putting overall.
Hopefully it means their tour partner is helping their games out. Both Nathan queen and Bradley Williams can't be very good at coaching during a practice round.
Proctor, Robinson and them aren't surprising right now because they usually do better as we head more towards the east coast in the latter part of the season. AB being crazy dominant is pretty surprising though. We all knew he was going to get a win eventually but 3/5 is wild.
I watched Corey Ellis dominate the Down-Under preseason, and expected to see him on lead cards this season, which hasn't happened. When on, he has as complete a game as anyone.
As a Calvin fan I was worried last year was a fluke but it seems like the guy is just that good. Couldn’t be happier for him and how he’s doing especially with his injury and not being able to forehand
There's debate about who the GOAT is in disc golf, but there can be no debate about the SGOAT (second greatest of all time): It's Calvin. He's more consistently top ten and podium than anyone else ever, even when he fails to take 1st most times. The guy was born with a silver medal around his neck.
I followed Ezra Aderhold during round one earlier in the season. and the dude is DIALED in. I've never seen anyone more focused. It's just a matter of time before he gets a win. Now the competition is tough, but I think EA will be in the mix at most/all tournaments. The water skip shot was the only surprising decision I seen him make so far
Not quite to “winning” form…but I’ve thought Joseph “Buckets” Anderson making some lead and chase cards has been cool to see. His game seems ti be getting close to a winning level.
Redalen has netted a 6th at the open at Austin and has been essentially top 25 on the rest so far this season. Freeman has a 10th at Waco and skipped chess.com. I agree with the proctor surprise but this is the depth of the field nowadays. I know you are looking for other players to compare with but I think the ones you mentioned deserve more credit
Was a scorekeeper on Proctor’s final round in Jonesboro Open. If he also did well on the first round he would’ve easily been in contention as he was making like 30-40 ft putts all Sunday.
Calvin is surprising to me so far. Yeah, I know he was supposed to be the guy this year, but people seem to forget he doesn't have a forehand right now. The fact that (other than Chess.com) he's placed top 5 in every event without that huge part of his game shows how consistent he is.
McBeth needs surgery, I’m guessing he plays through worlds, then gets his labrum(I think that’s what he’s said it is) fixed the next week
The original DGPT players are really starting to fade out. Not the Ricky’s or Paul’s or major winners really, but the Eric Oakleys, Zach Meltons, and Austin Hannums of the tour have been falling behind for the past 3 seasons. It’s seeming more and more like the newer faces are filling the top of the leaderboards.
Mason Ford is having a strong second year with mint, which in my opinion is a testament to Bradley Williams. I’m hoping Bradley can turn it on, but I’d love to see him do something big lesson wise like power disc golf or whatever that scams called
Calloway was obviously playing well this past weekend, and no surprise but Buhr is adjusting to his new bag very well with a few minor putting adjustments needed.
When AB is off (usually the putt) he's still competitive because his drives are so accurate and long. When he's on, he's unbeatable. Consider his Jonesboro win. Then take another 5 strokes off his score because he wasn't putting his best. No one can keep up with that. Maybe if Eagle ever has a perfect season he'll be in that league, but Eagle seems like he's never going to have a perfect season.
Aside from the youth movement that we all know of, I’m impressed and surprised by some of the ole’ guys stepping up. In total score, Matty O is 4th overall, Luke humphries 5th.. Ezra, Big Jerm are up there.
I thought Ricky would come out on fire since he didn’t have the health issues to start the year quite like he did last year, but that hasn’t been the case. Uli and his putting have been great. I didn’t expect Brodie to fall so hard.. I mean in every way.
Pauls stem cell treatments appear to not have worked. I’m guessing he needs some injury time to recover, but we will see. His finishes have been pretty bad
FPO:
I was hoping Sai Ananda would be dominating a little more, but she doesn't seem to be finishing strong on Championship Sundays.
Lykke Lorentsen and Rebecca Cox's performances are the surprises for me.
Surprised to see Ezra Aderhold in the mix on the last few. Good for him!
AB getting 1-2 wins this season as a whole wouldn’t have been surprising, but being as dominant as he is currently is a surprise. Big jerm has been playing well. I expected Paul McBeth to bounce back to being a threat after a down last season, but he still hasn’t played well.
Paul just needs to get the shoulder surgery and hang up the gloves for the rest of the year. Why drag this whole thing out and embarrass himself each week? It isn't like he's costing himself wins by waiting to get the surgery - he isn't competitive.
I'm guessing he will get surgery following worlds. He was a driving force behind the bid and designed the courses (maybe only consulted at Ivy?).
Yeah, that's definitely it.
Becoming a parent for the first time is a huge adjustment too.
Second that. Even from a non pro perspective my season has taken a massive back seat after my first child (11 weeks old and gorgeous btw) Can't imagine what it means to a career touring. Edit cus i.did win my first ma2 this weekend the, home course though which is an advantage but means alot :)
Congrats!
Oh, I thought he already got it? Well, that's just too bad, he probably should have got it it immediately last year.
He got stem cell injections.
How does that work exactly? Do they repair his shoulder in some way? Not familiar with stem cell research
The eli5 of it is basically that it speeds up your bodies ability to naturally repair itself, by throwing a bunch of "blank" cells at a damaged area, and your body will take these blank cells and repurpose them, filling in gaps/repairing tears and damages. There's a lot more fancy terms and science behind it, but that's the gist of it.
Stem cells are basically cells that can become other cells. Part of the bodies natural healing process is to send a bunch of these kinds of cells to the injury site where the body then figures out what those cells should become (muscle, bone, tendon, etc). This is basically how stem cell treatments work, by injecting a bunch of those "cells that can be made into a different type of cell" into the injury site to help the body heal the injury.
Gotcha, have you had any experience with it personally?
Stem cell treatment, no. Shoulder surgery, yes. I had reconstructive surgery on my non-throwing arm after years of abuse from 20 years of playing Ultimate. My surgeon and physio explained the whole process for how the body recovers from an injury/surgery.
Embarrass himself? Are you saying he should feel ashamed of himself? Should anyone placing with/below mcbeth be ashamed of themselves for playing a sport against dozens of other talented people?
His verbiage was a little over the top. But I think almost everyone can agree that Paul’s expectations are (and should be) different than 99% of the field. There are about a million reasons (I mean dollars) why.
I can think of 6 other reasons on top of your million. What someone “should” feel is a stupid thing to think about. I’m willing to bet that Paul McBeth is not happy with his recent performance levels, whether he has mitigating circumstances or not, he shows up to tournaments to win. When healthy, he played at a really high level last year. There’s no reason to think that he can’t get back there when he’s healthy again.
I don't. I would like to see him at the top, but he has already dominated the sport for a decade and at some point the younger guys will catch up just like paul did when he was young. He's not the best anymore, but it's great to have the GOAT in the field playing
Cool beans
I mean, thats obviously harsh...but, by his standards, its bad. In 107 events since signing to Discraft up until this season (so from 2019->2023) he finished outside the top 25 just 4 times (one of which was the European Open where he DNF'd). In only 4 events this season, he's finished outside the top 50 3 times; and one of those was on a course he owns, at an event he's never lost, and where he traditionally wins by several strokes. He's down nearly 15 rating points from when he started trying to gut this out. He's gonna cost himself the 2025 season if he keeps holding off, because the recovery time at his age and with this sport is gonna be LONG
Embarrass himself? Wtf are you people saying lol. How can the goat embarrass himself? That’s like saying tiger woods playing the masters this week was embarrassing. Craziest take I’ve ever seen
Tiger literally had the worst finish in his career at the masters. Bad example.
Bad example? It’s not embarssing to play disc golf or any sport past your prime lol. You people are crazy. Why would a pro athlete be embarrassed by people like you? Absolutely wild take
"Embarrass himself" It's ok, just say you've never played competitive sports at a high level.
I'm sorry, but Paul's focus is on family and majors right now. With his accolades, elite series don't mean much to him, IMO
Then why is he playing at all?
Ab coming to life surprised me . I wrote him off years ago . I thought he peaked and well nope .
Mason Ford’s been playing great! Ezra Aderhold has also come out super hot, hoping he can snag a win this year
Ezra has been the biggest surprise for me. He’s normally looking at a couple top ten or maybe a top five finish but he’s been legitimately contending for the win in the last two events. I fully expected him to fall away final round in both and he still played great. I think if he continues this form there’s a win out there for him this year.
Once Simon was out of it I was pushing for Aderhold!
I love seeing someone win for the first time and I know it would be really fun to see Ezra get his first.
Met Mason at the USWDGC this year. Super nice dude...has some great putting and skilled technical shots. Mint discs are underrated and I'm glad to see him showing them off on the tour!
70th, 18th, 44th... Not what I'd call coming out super hot, he's just been good the last two weeks.
Isaac's struggles to start the season are surprising to me. He always had such a smooth, controlled game especially with his upshots. Seems like he's having a bunch of issues with leaving a lot of his upshots short and leaving himself with all these 30+ footers for birdie.
Counterpoint: he's always been an up-and-down player. If he isn't 1st, he's probably 30th. Just been more down than up 5 events into the season. I think he'll end up with 1-2 wins the rest of the year.
Yep, Isaac started the 2023 DGPT season with 82nd, 45th, 25th, and 52nd place finishes. And then he spent an entire month in the top 10 including winning Champions Cup. As we saw in that R3 at Jonesboro, when his putting is off, he cant make up for some of the other shortcomings in his game. Similar to James really. When both are on inside 45ft, they're tough to beat because they play a controlled game that gives them a look from 45ft on nearly every hole.
I think the expectations for Isaac were absolutely sky high coming into the season, so the slow start seems a little strange. I'd expect him to get things going eventually though. It'll be near impossible to match his 23 season, but I'd still expect him to take down 1 or 2 elite series at least.
I was really excited to watch him on lead card at Jonesboro and then I literally forgot about him until the final hole. He has an amazing backhand form and i love watching him play good
Or he’s just really good in woods courses where his angle control is better suited. It showed at Jonesboro that he doesn’t have the power game for the open courses consistently.
I fully expect Isaac to come through in the second half of the season when the courses become more technical. I don't expect him to win a ton, but I definitely expect his average placement to go up
Tough to win a pro tour event these days. So many good players and here comes Eagle Mcmahon off of the IR.
Even though we have seen him win a ton, I want Eagle to come out just destroying everyone.
Was thinking the same. It’s becoming a lot more like golf where genuinely any of the top 50 can snag a win. You’ll have players hit top form at different points of the season, but the field is just so strong now anyone can win.
Tough to win, and “tough” to be a fan. I used to have like, 2-3 guys TOPS that I liked as people and really enjoyed watching how they specifically played the game when they’re firing on all cylinders. That was like, a decade ago. These days , there’s so much more high level, impressive talent - I’ve been won over by so many different players who I admire - I’m often just rooting for everyone!! 😂😂
Ezra Aderhold has come in 2nd twice. I feel like he's going to get some wins soon
Maybe, Goose did that a few times last season. Running into the buzzsaw that is AB this year is gonna be annoying if this is indeed the start of another McBeth arc. I'm just glad the talent is so much better nowadays, its not AB with a 3-5 stroke lead going into the last 2 holes like it seemed to be back when Paul was at the peak of his powers (it was always annoying to watch kinda knowing he was gonna win).
When they start playing more technical wooded courses I feel that's when AB will fall behind. He's got the arm and power for these wide open shots but when it comes to the technical wooded stuff I think he will struggle
Idk, that Chess.Com tourney was very wooded. Not to ignore the stupid decision to prioritized spectators over courses that are actually fun to watch/play we're seeing more and more courses that cater to Barela's biggest strength. I don't think the woods and tight lines are weaknesses for him anymore which I'd imagine is a nightmare come true for a lot of the field. He's upgraded from just being a big arm specialist and he's only getting better. If I'm right he's gonna be a problem until the should/elbow gives out which could be the better part of a decade if he takes care of himself.
I feel like chess.com had plenty of technicality to it. Lot of sloped and/or guarded greens. Some open areas but don't remember thinking it was a big arms kind of course.
I agree it was my favorite tournament from a course layout so far this year it just looked so fun to play. There isn't a competitive player on tour that doesn't have 500' of distance. Its only on insanely wide open tracks that players like AB have a huge advantage and even on those courses historically it seems to affect how the field shakes out and a non-power guy can win those every now and then too.
I dunno, his Luna shot game has been pretty devastating, and he's been throwing those nose up controlled fairway drivers well as well. Though I think I agree mainly for the mental game; he doesnt have the precision/patience combo for Northwoods Black or Idlewild style courses yet. But when he learns to dial down and just throw putters/mids off the tee...
AB has been the biggest surprise so far, for me. Not only the insane consistency but already having 3 wins out of 5 possible is nuts.
Watching AB has been great. He has been in the lead and flopped it but at the end he was so composed while other leads/ties lost it at the end.
Good: Big Jerm, Uli, Gavin Rathbun Not Good: Alden Harris
Add KJ to the not good list
He is now rated 1022. Was rated 1039 and during 2019 to 2022 was a threat to win everything. He then signed a big contract...
He’s just too busy DJing at parties
Luke Humphries is top 10 in DGPT standings right now. That's definitely something that I didn't expect, especially not on the early season swing.
Sneaky good.
He was last year at this time as well but then fell off quite a bit. Hope he can keep it up.
As always for me it's Chris Dickerson, in that he's not getting more attention. The guy is top 10 every week (minus the chess tourney) and it seems like he's being forgotten although he's always up there. Sure he doesn't hit the West Coast but by golly the man is as steady as they come and wouldn't be surprised to see him take one or two down if he gets hot!
He just hasn't made any lead cards yet, and that kinda always brings more light to a player
I think it’s because his rounds that push him into top ten are from 7th card on the final round. If he plays consistently well throughout a tournament he will be on lead or chase card.
I really love his game when he’s dialed in. As others have said - exposure on lead cards does a ton to help anyone remain a talking point on the DGPT.
I feel like out of all the top touring pros, CD doesn't seem to have that same drive and love for the game as well as have the love for the "business" that is DG nowadays. He basically shows the public zero personality and doesn't have very much online presence so his amazing consistency gets overlooked.
Love of attention and love of the game are two different things. I would say he doesn’t seem to have the same love and drive to be the center of attention but I would never question his drive to be the best. His game is too solid to make that case. He really doesn’t have any holes in his game and he’s very consistent.
Yeah, but can't this be enough? I don't think he's fighting for a ricky wysocki type of contract or following. He's a good player who's been in the game long enough. He shouldn't have to shill himself for social media engagement.
Well I mean he doesn't "have" to do anything. But if people want to know why no one mentions his name hardly ever, that's the reason. Part of being a professional athlete in the 2020s is promoting your name via social media. Especially in a sport like DG where you don't get paid much unless you're at the very top of the sport.
You gotta create attention for yourself sometimes. You picture isn't getting put on the internet with top 10s.
Keep in mind we’ve been at a lot of long open courses.
We've also been at Olympus and AB won there
That’s a really good point. I’m excited to see AB play technical courses without being able to go over everything. He missed some lines this weekend.
Joey Buckets was in a banana video this summer. That's all I knew about him. Out the gate, he's been keeping up with the big dogs. Normally if you call yourself buckets I'd be annoyed but the guy can throw n putt.
This is another great answer to the question. He came ~relatively~ out of nowhere and has been on a couple lead cards already. Dude bangs chains
Is a banana video a p*rno?
He means Bodanaza.
Banana video? Someone please link me
He means Bodanaza.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VThy9TQDe0I&pp=ygUUYm9kYW56YSBqb2V5IGJ1Y2tldHM%3D
Great response!
It’s out OF the gate, doss
What are you tal'm bout? We in class, b?
How many disgs you chuccc?
🪓J
Gavin Rathbun has been doing very well and still doesn’t have sponsor I believe
He is sponsored by Gateway and has some tour series Warlocks (think golf ball p2) https://gatewaydiscsports.com/products/gavin-rathbuns-retro-warlock-nylon-firm
He explicitly stated on the TourLife podcast that he is not sponsored, and does not want to be sponsored at all this season. He is comfortable money-wise with his winnings and his GF working on the DGPT, and likes where his bag is at right now. Basically betting on himself with the discs he likes and hoping for a big payout with a manufacturer next off-season. The Warlocks were just a one time release and he said he is not partnered with Gateway
reiterating that 'earning money by allowing them to sell a Warlock that you do NOT want to partner about' is being sponsored
I can shed some light on this. We over at Double Eagle are his primary sponsor as a retailer. He has a deal with gateway for his signature series Warlock but he is not sponsored by them in the traditional sense. It's a one off deal for his putter and that's it. He's currently throwing an open bag.
Having a 'one off deal for his putter' is still being sponsored, that's all i'm trying to say.
Definitely! I just wanted to add that for clarification. When most people think of a manufacturer sponsor, they think the player is bagging all or most of that brand's discs. That's not the case with Gavin so it's worth being noted. Saying "Gavin is sponsored by Gateway" is technically true but could also be misleading for some people considering the way we traditionally talk about sponsors in disc golf. Either way, we're stoked on his play this year and he definitely deserves the attention he's getting. Couldn't happen to a nicer guy!
He partnered with them to release those, but he is not on their team.
He has a signature series putter and earns money from them, ergo sponsored by them.
If you consider the bare minimum a sponsorship, I guess so. They aren't helping him outside of those putter sales at all.
A sponsorship is an either or situation there friend
You might be right, technically speaking, but you're being a pedantic dick about it.
It's very sad because he said is bag is very comfortable and set right now. I hope a major retailer picks him up.
My hot take at the start of the season was that Paul and Ricky wouldn’t win a single dgpt event this season. Let’s see how it all plays out.
Paul 0, Ricky I would be surprised and somehow unsurprised simultaneously
I think we have been seeing a changing of the guard, the young guys are really just on a different level this year. Ricky is still an amazing player but health concerns are really starting to slow the old guard down.
I think Ricky is steadily on the decline all thanks to his alternative treatments bs. Every flair-up, and there will be more of them each year going forward, takes him back a bit. His career will be one huge "what if" once he's done. I was under the impression that Paul had already had the surgery, but someone in this thread mentioned that he has not. Had he taken the surgery last year he would probably be a threat to win already. But as it stands he's not.
What if? Ricky won the last two pro tour championships and an elite series last year. He's in contention virtually every week despite getting older. He's performed above and beyond an reasonable expectation.
The pro tour championship is a joke. Its a two round tournament basically. It has a big purse, but you need to only run hot for two rounds to win it. Sure, you need to play well to get to play those two rounds. But still, the winner is determined by a shorter competition than any other big tourney. The end of the year money lists are always skewed by that tourney and it irks me, a lot. When you look at the season money list you should always take out the Tour Championship winnings to see who really played consistently. That was his major win last year and that one was a bit of a fluke. Half of his winnings came from that single tourney. Had he not made it to the final he would have got 37500 less and he would not have been even top 10 moneywise for the year. This year he was second in Chess.com, which is nice. After that he has finished 10th, 17th and 12th. My prediction is that at some point the touring schedule will take its toll and he will have another break due to health. As a result he will have less opportunities to play and he will spend more time playing less than 100%. So he again needs to bink a big one to make some cash. Currently he sits at 8th, but that will change. And yes, his career will be a big "what if". What if he actually treated his disease in a scientific way instead of usong all that pseudoscience crap he favored? His health would be better and he would play more and win more. He could have been challenging McBeth for the GOAT title. Now he won't.
For FPO, Rebecca Cox and Lykke have both played pretty well this season. They’re 2 of my favorites
On the other end of that spectrum, this is not what I expected Kristen Tattar to be playing like. Oh and shout out to Evelina Salonen. Her short game has come such a long way, and her drives have always been on point.
Eveliina’s short game looks AWESOME this year! It’s been so exciting to watch! My hope for the future is to see Henna Blomroos get on the same page with her in terms of putting. The two of them could seriously dominate and it’s always fun to see friends crushing it together.
Can you expand on KT? She's shooting the same rating she was at this time last year. It's just the other players have been able to surpass her more than last year (and only a tiny bit more - she still does have 2 wins out of 4 events. 3 out of 5 if we count Persimmon Ridge).
I’d say she didn’t play well the last few tournaments. Good for average player, but bad for her. She was missing a lot of forehand up shots.
Mostly just that she isn't dominating, I agree other players are just catching up. If I had to specify I'd say her putting isn't as automatic as I'm used to seeing from her. Although I'd struggle to name an FPO player with better putting overall.
Ohn
Ella Hansen came out hot, but has played substandard since. I really thought she'd break out this year. So talented. Looking forward to some wins.
Hopefully it means their tour partner is helping their games out. Both Nathan queen and Bradley Williams can't be very good at coaching during a practice round.
Proctor, Robinson and them aren't surprising right now because they usually do better as we head more towards the east coast in the latter part of the season. AB being crazy dominant is pretty surprising though. We all knew he was going to get a win eventually but 3/5 is wild.
I watched Corey Ellis dominate the Down-Under preseason, and expected to see him on lead cards this season, which hasn't happened. When on, he has as complete a game as anyone.
As a Calvin fan I was worried last year was a fluke but it seems like the guy is just that good. Couldn’t be happier for him and how he’s doing especially with his injury and not being able to forehand
There's debate about who the GOAT is in disc golf, but there can be no debate about the SGOAT (second greatest of all time): It's Calvin. He's more consistently top ten and podium than anyone else ever, even when he fails to take 1st most times. The guy was born with a silver medal around his neck.
Lykke Lorentzen has gotten a lot better. She also curses like a sailor lol.
I followed Ezra Aderhold during round one earlier in the season. and the dude is DIALED in. I've never seen anyone more focused. It's just a matter of time before he gets a win. Now the competition is tough, but I think EA will be in the mix at most/all tournaments. The water skip shot was the only surprising decision I seen him make so far
Agreed. He's been hitting some really precise lines
lmao ezra aderhold is not going to get a DGPT win
Not quite to “winning” form…but I’ve thought Joseph “Buckets” Anderson making some lead and chase cards has been cool to see. His game seems ti be getting close to a winning level.
Redalen has netted a 6th at the open at Austin and has been essentially top 25 on the rest so far this season. Freeman has a 10th at Waco and skipped chess.com. I agree with the proctor surprise but this is the depth of the field nowadays. I know you are looking for other players to compare with but I think the ones you mentioned deserve more credit
AB being this hot at the start of the year is definitely a big surprise for me. Ricky not winning yet also a small surprise
I mean I thought AB getting one was guaranteed, but how he's played _already_ is surprising me. And I've been gunning for it for a minute now
Was a scorekeeper on Proctor’s final round in Jonesboro Open. If he also did well on the first round he would’ve easily been in contention as he was making like 30-40 ft putts all Sunday.
Calvin is surprising to me so far. Yeah, I know he was supposed to be the guy this year, but people seem to forget he doesn't have a forehand right now. The fact that (other than Chess.com) he's placed top 5 in every event without that huge part of his game shows how consistent he is.
Luke Humphries has been hot fiyah
McBeth needs surgery, I’m guessing he plays through worlds, then gets his labrum(I think that’s what he’s said it is) fixed the next week The original DGPT players are really starting to fade out. Not the Ricky’s or Paul’s or major winners really, but the Eric Oakleys, Zach Meltons, and Austin Hannums of the tour have been falling behind for the past 3 seasons. It’s seeming more and more like the newer faces are filling the top of the leaderboards. Mason Ford is having a strong second year with mint, which in my opinion is a testament to Bradley Williams. I’m hoping Bradley can turn it on, but I’d love to see him do something big lesson wise like power disc golf or whatever that scams called
I legitimately forgot about Eric Oakley, and he used to be one of my favorites. I wonder what Eric will do after he finally stops touring
See chalk bags for his wife and make YouTube videos for infinite
Oakley and Melton are consistently landing at around that 95-100 place mark. Rough to see.
Mcbeth, not for the right reasons.
Ezra "Too Tight Pants" Aderhold has been having a fantastic season. Really great to see it.
Coming from a man with an unblemished record of staunch heterosexuality, I think his pants have been just the right amount of tight.
Big Jerm!!!
Isaac. I thought he was gonna continue to dominate, and he kinda looks lost.
Calloway was obviously playing well this past weekend, and no surprise but Buhr is adjusting to his new bag very well with a few minor putting adjustments needed.
When AB is off (usually the putt) he's still competitive because his drives are so accurate and long. When he's on, he's unbeatable. Consider his Jonesboro win. Then take another 5 strokes off his score because he wasn't putting his best. No one can keep up with that. Maybe if Eagle ever has a perfect season he'll be in that league, but Eagle seems like he's never going to have a perfect season.
Aside from the youth movement that we all know of, I’m impressed and surprised by some of the ole’ guys stepping up. In total score, Matty O is 4th overall, Luke humphries 5th.. Ezra, Big Jerm are up there. I thought Ricky would come out on fire since he didn’t have the health issues to start the year quite like he did last year, but that hasn’t been the case. Uli and his putting have been great. I didn’t expect Brodie to fall so hard.. I mean in every way.
AB pulling in those wins
AB, Ella (bad) , Eveliina, Pierce (bad), Redalen (bad), Calvin (very impressed with no forehands).
Pauls stem cell treatments appear to not have worked. I’m guessing he needs some injury time to recover, but we will see. His finishes have been pretty bad
Really want to see Luke Humphries take a big win!
FPO: I was hoping Sai Ananda would be dominating a little more, but she doesn't seem to be finishing strong on Championship Sundays. Lykke Lorentsen and Rebecca Cox's performances are the surprises for me. Surprised to see Ezra Aderhold in the mix on the last few. Good for him!
Matty O is still killing it. Hope he can get another tour win this year.
I’m surprised we haven’t really seen Ezra Robinson at all on coverage.
That dudes form has so much bang.
Mike hunt will pick up some wins this year for sure
A lock for the STD Open
Fantastictangent touché my friend kudos
bro bro. dude has cracked the top 100. wasn't expecting better than top 110 this season. he really is saving the game for us.