As the players began to arrive into Franklin County, Texas, they were full of excitement and anticipation for a great weekend of competitive disc golf. This event is one of the few big doubles tournaments we see throughout the season, and there truly couldn’t be a more picturesque and inviting environment for the Championship to be held. Not only do players get to unwind in a calming and beautiful country setting, they are able to enjoy some of the most challenging, scenic and highly-regarded courses in the country. Selah Ranch and Trey Deuce Ranch play host to two courses each; all designed by world renowned course designer, John Houck. John was the visionary behind this event, and we are happy to say it is still as strong as ever, now in its 25th annual rendition.

Straightline Discs is here to run the event this year, and they have spared no expense to ensure that all competitors have an incredible time, both on and off the courses. If you haven’t heard yet, certain areas of Texas have received more than their total average annual rainfall in just the month of April and May. This transposes into a state of emergency, washed out highways and bridges, and flooding of biblical proportions. Selah and Trey Deuce are both at a relatively low elevation, which has made them prone to the worst type of situation for any disc golf tournament; flooding. Both teams at the ranches have been hard at work for the better part of the month to get the courses back into playable conditions, and as soon as the Straightline Team was on premises, they bent over backwards to make sure that all players would be able to compete on these world-class courses.

Play began yesterday morning, and almost simultaneously, so did the pending storms. That’s right; Texas has still not seen the end of the rain. Over at Selah, there was a small rain delay during the first round while Trey Deuce was barely halted at all. Miraculously, all players were able to finish both rounds of golf. If you remember, this event has a nasty history of being plagued by inclement weather, and this year we started off better than expected.

And then came this morning. Players were set to tee off for their third round at 8:30 am, but before the sun even rose a massive lightning storm was growing to the west, headed straight for Mt. Vernon. As the wind and rain built, loud cracks of lightning were heard and everyone knew that it would be a long morning. After nearly a four and a half hour delay, the players were able to once again trek out onto the courses, ready to begin the third round. These tracks had already undergone a serious amount of brutalizing conditions, so it was amazing to see how well they held up after the storm. As the sun poked out just before the last putts went in, a game plan had to be put in place for how and when to handle the fourth and final round, which was originally scheduled to take place that same afternoon. With so little daylight left in the day, it was decided to move the last round to Sunday morning.

The rain and soggy conditions didn’t seem to affect some of the groups, as there were plenty of hot scores being turned in. Our leaders in the Advanced division are Team Aced and Confused, sitting at a total of 174. Close behind them is the North Dallas Baggers just one throw back. Anything can happen on these difficult courses, so it is certainly still anyone’s game.

Be sure to check back in tomorrow as we wrap up the 25th Annual Amateur World Doubles Championships. We will be live scoring the final Advanced Men’s round on pdgalive.com as they vie for the title. For high-res photos of the weekend, check out the photo gallery page of the Optic Herald, who has been out here covering the event. Full results can be found on the events page at pdga.com. As the saying goes, everything is bigger and Texas and this event is no different.