(Recap and photos via NADGT)

New World Sports Complex in Jacksonville, Florida provided a beautiful venue to host the 2023 National Amateur Disc Golf Tour Finale.

Wait a minute - a Finale in February? Yes, the NADGT is giving aspiring amateurs the opportunity to play on the Disc Golf Pro Tour in 2024. With the DGPT kicking off this month in Florida, the NADGT Tour Finale winners can go directly on tour.

This event was four rounds on the NADGT par 65 championship course. The course tested the players' skills and provided some close finishes in each division. The weather was perfect except for the final round where each division saw intermittent rain and swirling wind.

MPO

Lucas Carmichael came into the final round with a three stroke lead over Corbin Milchesky. Corbin came out on fire, carding birdies on five of the first six holes. After shooting over par on the front nine, Lucas carded a birdie on the tenth hole as Corbin made his first bogey of the day. With Lucas only two behind with eight holes to play, he started to fall behind and shot seven over par on the next 4 holes. Corbin pulled away on hole 16 with a birdie and was able to finish stress-free and took the title. Corbin accepted the $4000 cash, the DGPT pro exemption, and has turned professional. We look forward to seeing him on the DGPT tour this year.

Tying for 2nd in MPO, Broden Barlow and Jonathan Jurries both earned berths to play on the DGPT with Barlow declining the cash portion of his prizes. Ryan Monn finished in solo fourth and also decided to maintain his amateur status. Lucas dropped into a tie with Cooper Johnson for fifth place.

FPO

Eliezra Midtlyng was the heavy favorite coming into the tournament and had a one stroke lead over Ann Deputy at the start of the final round. Ann took the lead on hole 6 and maintained that lead through the front nine. On the back nine, Ann gave her lead back to Eliezra. As they traded strokes back and forth it eventually came down to the final hole. With Eliezra's approach finding OB near the green, Ann needed to make a 29-foot putt to force a playoff. She made a great bid but missed to the right of the chains and Eliezra tapped in to claim the title.

Kimberly Dickerson played solid all week and held on to third place to get a spot in a future DGPT event, while Lillianne Waite played hot from the 3rd card and jumped into 4th place to grab that last cash and turn professional.

Age Protected

In the FP40 division, Brenda Wiltgen won the title and accepted the cash prize. She has had a long run with the NADGT and is ready for that next step into professional play.

Dan Vassar was the wire-to-wire champion in the MP40 division, besting a small but skilled field of players. Dan was the clear favorite and has accepted the $1100 cash. Dan looks to be a competitive MP40 player and with the Masters Worlds coming to his home state of Minnesota in 2025, he will be a name to watch.

In MP50, Rad Roberts held a comfortable 7-throw lead going into the finals over John Taymon. John shot an amazing -4 on the front nine in the rain and cut the lead to only two strokes. Rad then found his stroke on the back nine and played steady to claim the title over John by 4 throws. Rad declined the $1800 in cash to try and make another run at Am Worlds where he was a runner up in 2023. After 41 career wins, Taymon has decided to take that next step and he also has turned professional. All players who declined cash were rewarded with full merchandise certificates from the NADGT.

Moving Forward

The NADGT has decided the age-protected divisions will move back to competing for cash at the National Championships in Austin, Texas, as they have done in previous years. The MPO and FPO Finale will stay in Florida for the NADGT 2024-2025 season.

In total, 18 players claimed their cash prizes and became new professional players, we know they'll have success in 2024. Now the next crop of players can focus on qualifying at 2024 NADGT events for the Junior Nationals in Colorado this summer and for the NADGT National Championships in Austin, TX this November. But if your goal is to make the move from amateur to professional, you can play in one of the NADGT Premier Tour A-tier events where the top 5 finishers get to punch their ticket directly to the Tour Finale in Florida.

Keep an eye out for post-produced coverage on the Disc Golf Network.