The EDGF is also a preview of a second European major in 2025.
July 24, 2024 by Justin Westfall in Preview with comments
Photo: European Disc Golf Festival.
Fresh off the European Open, the Disc Golf Pro Tour now makes its way to the country of Estonia, the homeland of world #1 Kristin Tattar, for the first time. The European Disc Golf Festival, the final DGPT Euro Elite series event of the season, begins this Friday, July 26th, in Tallinn, Estonia. This event will be played on the Rockstar layout at the Tallinn Song Festival Grounds, the same venue that was utilized for the 2023 European Disc Golf Championship. For the second week in a row, the event will serve as a preview for a 2025 Major: The EDGF will replace the European Open in 2025 as Finland will instead be hosting the 2025 World Championships.
The Tallinn Song Festival Grounds host the Estonian Song Festival, a massive cultural event held every five years in the capital of Estonia. This festival is one of the largest amateur choral events in the world, bringing together tens of thousands of singers from across the country and roughly 100,000 spectators. The event features performances of traditional Estonian songs and is a powerful symbol of national identity and unity. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic delaying the planning process, the next festival was moved from 2024 to 2025 and will take place two weeks before the 2025 EDGF.
Four Things We’ll Be Watching
1. Kristin Tattar will be playing in front of a home crowd this weekend, which she has not done since the 2023 European Championship at this venue. That event was filled with highs and lows for Tattar, who shot a 1055-rated second round, the highest of her career and 5th highest all-time by an FPO player. In the final round, however, Tattar nearly gave away a 16-stroke lead and was filled with emotion as she walked down the 18th fairway to receive the trophy from Alar Karis, the President of Estonia. Last week’s European Open played out in oddly similar fashion, with Tattar shooting a blistering opening round followed by an abysmal performance in round 3. In both cases, Tattar was able to persevere and come out the victor. The Estonian crowd will certainly hope to see Tattar put together three solid rounds this weekend and grab her fifth Elite series win of the year, which would match her career high.
2. Coming off his win at the European Open, Gannon Buhr will look to keep it rolling in Tallinn this weekend. Buhr is now the clear front-runner for Player of the Year over Anthony Barela, who will not be playing in this event. An opportunity to pick up his fifth Elite/Major win of the season this weekend would only widen that gap. His closest competition once again could be Ricky Wysocki, who has now shot a course record on three consecutive weekends on three different courses. Wysocki was two strokes clear of a course record that has stood at the Beast for several years before taking a bogey on the final hole to come up just short in his attempted comeback to wrest the European Open title from Buhr. Both players have the skillset to perform well on the Rockstar, but Wysocki’s scrambling abilities could give him a slight edge on the more wooded holes.
3. Several players will be eyeing a bounce back this weekend, starting with Calvin Heimburg, who averaged just a 997 rating on the Monster at the European Open. Heimburg was able to shoot 20-under par on the Beast to keep his cash streak alive and finish tied for 23rd. The mix of open holes and some low-ceiling woods shots on the Rockstar should favor his style of golf. Simon Lizotte finished tied for 36th last week and averaged a 1021 event rating, his lowest at a Major since the 2022 USDGC. Lizotte should feel right at home on some of the wooded par 3s this weekend and should be able to place his hyzers in the fairway on the open holes. Perhaps the biggest disappointment last week was Eagle McMahon, who finished tied for 61st and averaged just 1007-rated golf. That would be a career-low at a Major for McMahon, had he not averaged 990 in his first event back from surgery at the Champions Cup earlier this season. Hopefully all three of these players can get something going in Tallinn, but plentiful OB and the possibility of bad kicks in the woods could lead to even more frustrating rounds.
4. Silva Saarinen has now podiumed in nine consecutive events and had a great opportunity to pick up her first Major win last week. Saarinen finished in 2nd at the 2023 European Championship and was the only player in the field who did not record a round over par. She currently ranks 20th in OB rate and 39th in fairway hits, so keeping the disc in bounds will likely be her key to success this weekend. Eveliina Salonen finished in 3rd at the 2023 European Championship but is coming off a rough conclusion to the European Open. Salonen gave up a three-stroke lead going into the final round and failed to birdie over the final 25 holes of the tournament. Big numbers can accumulate very quickly on this track if the putting woes and OB strokes continue to plague her. Missy Gannon picked up her second consecutive 3rd place finish at the European Open and will be playing in Estonia for the first time. Gannon has a great opportunity to earn her 4th win of the season on a course that demands accuracy but doesn’t require too much distance off the tee. She currently leads the division in fairway hits by a sizable margin and has the 7th best OB rate.
The Course
Designed by Seppo Paju, the Rockstar course has been upgraded from last year’s European Championship layout. The course plays around the Tallinn Song Festival Grounds, starting with an opening tee shot from the large amphitheater that seats 15,000. The park-style course offers a strong mix of open shots as well as tight gaps that players must execute through the more wooded holes on the perimeter of the festival grounds. The round concludes with a big downhill tee shot playing back towards the amphitheater. Accuracy is the key to scoring low on this course, every hole is lined with OB which can make a tree kick on the wooded holes even more punishing. Expect to see a few big numbers but also some very hot rounds.
MPO: 8,819 Feet/2,688 Meters Par 60
FPO: 8,353 Feet/2,546 Meters Par 64
Extended Forecast
Good conditions for the opening two rounds with rain and heavier winds coming into play on championship Sunday.
Friday: Partly cloudy with highs in the mid 70s. Winds 5 to 10 mph.
Saturday: Mostly cloudy with highs in the mid 70s. Winds 5 to 10 mph.
Sunday: Light rain early then cloudy with showers in the afternoon, highs in the upper 60s. Winds 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 70%.
Justin Westfall
TAGGED: Disc Golf Pro Tour (DGPT), European Open
PLAYERS: Calvin Heimburg, Eagle McMahon, Gannon Buhr, Kristin Tattar, Missy Gannon, Ricky Wysocki, Silva Saarinen, Simon Lizotte
Source link : https://discgolf.ultiworld.com/2024/07/24/2024-european-disc-golf-festival-preview-dgpt-heads-to-estonia-for-the-first-time/
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Publish date : 2024-07-24 07:00:00
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