Brinster Leads EO
Brinster Leads EO
Round 1 of the 2013 European Open was played on Thursday under very challenging conditions. What was only a strong wind during Wednesday’s President’s Cup turned into a cold light drizzle in the morning and steady rain in the afternoon on Thursday. The last groups were able to finish their rounds in beautiful sunny weather, as the ever-changing climate at Nokia pushed the round lengths up to 5 hours.
Despite the conditions, the first round saw some phenomenal play from USA’s Steve Brinster who finished Round 1 with a preliminary 1081 rated ten under par round. Finnish player Jalle Stoor also brought his A-game to the course today and now stands in 2nd place with -9. The third best to finish at ”the Beast” course today was the reigning World Champion Paul McBeth (-7). Jeremy Koling fought back after a shaky mid-round and finished at -5 to be the last to make it to Friday’s top card.
There was a hard fight for the spots in the second card. With six players finishing Round 1 at -4, anything can happen on Friday, and the group to start chasing the lead card are Karl Johan Nybo, Will Schusterick, Ricky Wysocki, Calle Ulvinen, Nikko Locastro, and Arttu Sikanen.
In the women’s division, Paige Pierce took a convincing lead with a score of four over par. Catrina Ulibarri is in second place at 11 over, Valarie Jenkins at 13 over, and Natalie Holloköi at 17 over. Ellinoora Heikkilä and Jessie Westphal are chasing the leading four, only one stroke behind Holloköi.
More rain expected for Friday
The European Open week continues on Friday with more rain expected during the 2nd Round. Day 2 will show who has what it takes to play consistently on ”the Beast”. Some players – among them Germany's Simon Lizotte, for example – will certainly be hungry for better results, so we are expecting another great day of disc golf in Nokia.
Check out complete first round results, preliminary round ratings, and Friday Tee times.
Live scoring and hole by hole scores:
Additional information and coverage can be found at the European Open website at OpenDiscGolf.com
Article by: Annariikka Marttinen