Ohlman bests field at Kentucky Juniors Tournament

Youth disc golfers enjoy rainy day of action

By Troy Lyle

Two challenging courses and 36 holes weren’t the only obstacles the 25 disc golfers who entered the 3^rd Annual Kentucky Juniors Tournament on April 24 had to battle. Two thirds of the way through their second round the sky opened, forcing each youth to not only manage the short yet challenging River Hill Park course, but also the elements as well.

None seemed deterred and many of the younger kids reveled in the fun of a spring rain. That excitement didn’t let up as disc golfers and family alike crowded under a small gazebo to award prizes for each of the tournament’s six divisions. All participants took home numerous discs, with each golfer receiving player’s packs before their opening round that morning at Shillito Park. Each player pack contained two new discs and a mini disc marker.

In addition, as many as three new discs and a marker were given to each divisions top three finishers. All in all no golfer left with less than three new discs and a mini disc marker for participating in the tournament, which awarded more than $850 in prizes.

The Oisten family was the day’s big winners. Matt won the closest to the pin competition at Shillito and Andrew won it at River Hill. Both golfers took home $25 gift certificates to Phillip Galls.

The 25 youth golfers weren’t the only ones having fun Saturday. In order for the juniors scores to be rated by the Professional Disc Golf Association (PDGA), players with PDGA recognized rankings must participate in the tournament for the results to count.

“Individually, the kids did not have the eight required high-rated players needed to fairly rate the course, so 11 adults played just so the kids could get ratings,” said Lewis Willian, tournament organizer, golfer and Bluegrass Disc Golf Association (BDGA) representative.

Good thing Thad Highbaugh decided to be one of the 11. After struggling two holes prior, marking a six (+3) on #6, Highbaugh managed the lone hole in one for the day, acing #8 at River Hill with a beautiful, floating tee shot.

“Considering the rest of my day this was definitely the bright spot of my round,” he said.

Two of the tournament’s divisions ended in a tie, resulting in a sudden death playoff hole pitting Jordan Spaulding versus Dillon Nickel in the under 19 boys division, and long time rivals Jake Rickert versus Jacob Varner in the under 13 boys division.

Spaulding managed the playoff win with a birdie on #1 at River Hill.

“I chained out giving him the win,” said Nickel. Chained out refers to when a players disc grazes the hole’s chains—which are designed to trap, hold the disc and drop it in the basket— and skips off to one side or the other.

Rickert recorded his second BDGA win with a par on #1 at River Hill for his playoff.

“What can I say, he made his par putt and I missed mine,” said Varner.

For many of the youth golfers the junior tournament provided an excellent opportunity to tone up their games and hone in on such much needed practice, all the while testing their competitive spirit as they prepare for the 2010 Amateur and Junior Disc Golf World Championships to be held in Marion, Ohio on June 29.

When the new player rankings come out on May 4, Nickell is likely to be the world’s new number one disc golfer in the under 19 division, said Willian.

“The 1064 points he scored in an earlier Bowling Green A tier tournament should be enough to push him past the current under 19 leader from California,” he said. “Unless that kid has added points as well.”

Brittany Woodrum was the lone girl to compete against the boys that Saturday. She finished third in the under 19 boys division. Woodrum is the currently the number one under 19 female in the world. This is a constant source of pride for Willian, who in his own words, “got her started back in Winchester.”

Other than ties in the under 13 and 19 divisions, the next bit of drama occurred in the team competition. Anderson County beat East Jessamine by one stroke with a combined 510 to 511 score. The team competition tallied the best four scores from each schools participants for all 36 holes to determine the outcome.

Willian said he hopes more schools participate in future junior tournaments.

“I’d like to see lots of high schools involved,” he said. “And even some high school club programs develop out of this competition.”

When all was said and done Willian was pleased with the overall success of this year’s junior tournament, but noted he’d love to see even more juniors involved.

“If we could get more than 45 players we could move one of the tournament’s rounds to a bigger course,” he said, referring to the larger, more demanding courses offered at Veterans and Riney B Parks. “But the important thing is to make it fun for kids … then word-of-mouth will take care of increasing the size.”

Lexington Open upcoming

Up next for the juniors, and any and all local disc golfers, is the 12^th Annual Lexington Open, the biggest tournament sponsored by the BDGA. This year’s A-tier event plans to pick up right where last year’s left off with more than 200 golfers expected, many of which are some the highest ranked pros in the world. The tournament will kick off Friday, May 14, with double warm up tournaments set for Veterans, Shillitto and Riney B Parks.

The main tournament will be held Saturday and Sunday (May 15 & 16) with four rounds of play at the same three courses.

Drew Smith, Lexington Open organizer and BDGA president, said this year’s tournament should be one for the ages.

“We’ve got interest from all over the country and several local medias are planning to be present for the action,” he said. “So much so that we plan to start registering and organizing golfers for both Saturday and Sunday’s rounds as early as 5 am to fit everything in.”

“Not to mention there will be more than $5000 in plastic payout,” Willian said. “Plus a drawing for a traveling DISCathcer basket and many other prizes.”

If you’d like to learn more about disc golf or upcoming tournaments in the area visit www.bdga.com for more information.

Junior Tournament Results

Under 19 Boys

1. Jordan Spaulding 108, even par

2. Dillon Nickel 108, even par

3. Brittany Woodrum 130, +22

Under 16 Boys

1. Michael Ohlman 105, -3

2. Andrew Oisten 109, +1

3. Gabe McMichael 117, +9

Under 13 Boys

1. Jake Rickert 118, +10