With the revered and feared Northwood Park serving as temporary host and Mother Nature throwing in a few wrinkles, the 2024 PDGA Champions Cup presented by Bushnell title was set up to come down to the wire.
But the leaders on top heading into Championship Sunday faced pressure from every direction along the way.
Eveliina Salonen and Andrew Presnell entered the woods of Northwood Park, dampened by storms throughout the week, and the best players in the world, fueled by the quest for a PDGA Major title, ahead of them.
Andrew Presnell has 11 A-Tier wins, 57 B-Tier wins and 97 starts at PDGA Majors and on the Elite Series.
On Championship Sunday at the 2024 PDGA Champions Cup, he'll make his debut on a final card at a Major for the first time.
Presnell emerged at the end of a wild and long day at Northwood Park in Morton, Illinois with a one-stroke lead. He entered Sunday six strokes back of the lead and used a strong finish to be the first player to tee off on Sunday's final card.
Eveliina Salonen took off on a stretch at Northwood Park surged her to the top of the leaderboard on Friday.
Six-straight birdies on holes 9-14, a run that gave her an 8.65 strokes-gained advantage on the rest of the field, puts Salonen ahead by two strokes heading into Championship Sunday at the 2024 PDGA Champions Cup presented by Bushnell.
Rachel Turton had just one bogey on Friday to turn in the hot round of the day. Photo: Danny Voss / PDGA
The difficulty of Northwood picked up a few notches on Friday — both on the physical and mental side.
Dark skies and lightning lingered in the Morton, Illinois area during Round 2 of the PDGA Champions Cup presented by Bushnell, forcing lengthy delays and even tougher conditions when the play resumed and continued into the night.
Casey White has a history of shooting well at Northwood Park as well as the PDGA Champions Cup.
He had the hot round again when those two entities collided on Thursday.
White birdied nine holes at Northwood Park and limited the damage to just two bogies to take a one-stroke lead after the opening day of the 2024 PDGA Champions Cup presented by Bushnell.
His previous lead at a PDGA Major: The 2022 Champions Cup. His previous hot round: Round 3 of the 2023 Ledgestone Open at Northwood, according to StatMando.
Hitting 20 out of a possible 22 fairways — including the four par 5s at the revised Northwood layout — Saarinen turned in the second-highest rated round of her career, unofficially at 1013, for a one-stroke lead in Morton, Illinois.
Battling a lingering finger injury, Valerie Mandujano battled through for a 4-under score and is tied with Missy Gannon, who capped off her 4-under round with an eagle on 18, and Holyn Handley.
Isaac Robinson is back to defend his Champions Cup title. Photo: Kevin Huver / DGN
It's been a wild 2024 season so far with one first-time PDGA Major champion already being crowned.
Now, on the famed Northwood track in Morton, Illinois, it's time crown two more Major champions.
Beginning Thursday, the best of the best hit the course for the 2024 PDGA Champions Cup presented by Bushnell — the first MPO PDGA Major of the year and second for FPO with Missy Gannon taking down the USWDGC Major title in March.
The PDGA Majors Committee has announced invitation criteria for the 2025 PDGA Champions Cup.
The invite criteria was designed to honor the champions from disc golf’s premier professional and amateur events. For 2025, the criteria has been updated to now include an additional two-year champions' exemption for the PDGA Professional Disc Golf World Championships (2022-2023), an additional six spots for DGPT event champions, and the champion of the Throw Pink Women's Disc Golf Championship
The rescheduling of the 2024 PDGA Champions Cup has not been without its challenges. While some of these challenges were unavoidable, others were not.
“We failed to properly assess the impact the Champions Cup rescheduling had on the newly announced DGPT Europe 2024 schedule of events. New practices are being put in place by the DGPT and the PDGA to ensure this does not happen again,” said PDGA Director of Operations, Doug Bjerkaas.
The Champions Cup is still moving to Northwood Park in Morton, Illinois. However, the event is now scheduled for April 25-28, 2024.
An unexpected and unfortunate event will alter the next chapter of one of disc golf’s most beloved properties.
Due to an infestation of the southern pine beetle, the International Disc Golf Center (IDGC) will undergo significant clearing of the pine trees on the property, resulting in a new future for disc golf in Appling, Georgia.
Beginning Thursday, the best players in the world return to the International Disc Golf Center for the second running of the PDGA Champions Cup presented by Bushnell, the first PDGA Pro Major of 2023.
For four days, 156 players will take on the on the famed, revered and updated W.R. Jackson course in Wildwood Park in Appling, Georgia. On Sunday, two PDGA Major champions will be crowned.
It's obvious what PDGA Majors mean to the players.
"To make your career go the next step, you need to win a Major," said the defending champion of the Champions Cup and 17-time PDGA Major* winner Paige Pierce.
Added another players with 17 Major wins, Paul McBeth: "Anytime there's a Major, there's an M next to the tournament, you know I'm gunning for it."
Hole 18 at W.R. Jackson will now finish in the field behind the IDGC, giving fans a perfect view of the action. Photo: Nathaniel Samsel / PDGA
In just a few weeks, the 2023 PDGA Champions Cup presented by Bushnell will look a little different for players and spectators with changes coming to select holes on The W. R. Jackson Memorial Course.
The PDGA Majors Committee has announced invitation criteria for the 2024 PDGA Champions Cup ahead of the first Elite Series event of 2023.
The invite criteria, which includes three additional international events, an expanded Euro Tour schedule, as well as the reintroduction of the MP40 and FP40 Masters World Champions, was designed to honor the champions from disc golf’s premier professional and amateur events.
PDGA Executive Director Joe Chargualaf presents the Champions Cup to Paige Pierce during the inaugural event. Photo: Conrad Meyer / PDGA Media
Champions Cup Heads Back to Georgia
Due to popular demand, the PDGA Champions Cup will be returning to W.R. Jackson and the International Disc Golf Center in Appling, GA, for its second edition, April 20-23, 2023.
Originally slated to move to the Toboggan course in Milford, MI, in July 2023, the Champions Cup will instead return to its Spring slot, two weeks after the Masters golf tournament wraps-up in nearby Augusta. DGLO will once again be run in the Summer of 2023 on the DGPT.
The PDGA Majors Committee has announced invitation criteria for the 2023 PDGA Champions Cup ahead of the first Elite Series event of 2022.
The criteria, which remains largely the same as the inaugural edition, was designed to honor the champions from disc golf’s premier professional and amateur events.
Invitations to the 2023 edition will be awarded to the MPO and FPO winners from all 15 DGPT Elite Series events, seven Euro Tour Events, four PDGA Majors and a handful of National Championships including Canadian Nationals, the Australian Disc Golf Championship, the Japan National Championship and the New Zealand National Championship.
Hailey King tees off at Smugglers' Notch, which will host the 2023 PDGA Professional Disc Golf World Championships. Photo: DGPT
PDGA Major Events are the premier national and international competitions for the sport of disc golf each year, featuring the world’s best disc golfers competing for World and National Titles in multiple skill, age, and gender-based divisions. These PDGA marquee events offer any city or town the chance to host an international sporting event in their community, drawing interest and attention to the location, and generating a significant economic impact for local businesses.
