I need to breakout the thesaurus for this trip.  I simply don’t know enough superlatives and synonyms for the word beautiful.  If you’ve ever been to Lake Tahoe, you know what I’m talking about.  If you haven’t had the pleasure, I’m sorry that my words and photos can’t do it justice.  I’ve been to a fair number of places in my 51 years.  I’ve seen the Alps from an airplane; I’ve hiked and golfed in the mountains of New Mexico; I’ve sipped wine with my wife  in Napa, Sonoma, and Alexander valleys;  I’ve ridden the longest free ferry in the world to the town of Nelson and back in British Columbia, I’ve built churches and homes for wonderful warm-hearted souls living  in the dumps of Reynosa, Mexico;  I’ve been on lots of beaches including Bermuda and several islands in the Gulf of Mexico; and  I’ve spent quite a lot of time in my favorite place in the world – Bear Spring Camps on Great Pond in the Belgrade Lakes region of the state of Maine.  But oh boy, Lake Tahoe is in a class all by itself.  God put a huge thumbprint in the earth, surrounded it with mountains and filled it with crystal clear blue water.  Sure the tourist trapism of the casinos and the plethora of gee-gaw shops is rather much, but it doesn’t take much at all to simply lift your eyes towards the lake and surrounding snow-capped mountains to have the tawdry trappings of man simply fade away as the majesty of God’s splendor grips you so hard you quite literally have to remember to breath.  I’d heard the phrase “breath-taking” before, but I don’t recall ever really knowing what that meant until I drove from Reno through the mountains and suddenly had the vista of Lake Tahoe and the snow-capped mountains laid out before me.

Add in the sunny skies with temperatures in the high 60s, not enough humidity to even measure, great tournament administration by Russ Wey, Jenny Knisley and crew, and beautiful disc golf courses covered with majestic pines, and the players at the King of the Lake NT are enjoying a real treat.

Taking the early lead in the Mens Open division was Nick Gagne from Sidney, Maine who shot a ten under par 48 on the Lake of the Sky course in Tahoe Vista.  Right behind him shooting 49s, were Tim Skellenger of Portland, Oregon and Shasta Criss of Aptos, California.  Tied for fourth in MPO shooting even 50s, were Devan Owens of Owassa, Oklahoma and Rickey Wysocki of Medina, Ohio.

In the Ladies Open division Sarah Hokom of Charlotte, North Carolina went on a tear on the front nine and carded a 59, two strokes ahead of Catrina Allen of Phoenix, Arizona who shot a 61.  In third place a stroke further back,  is Des Reading of Wimberly, Texas who shot a 62, and in fourth is Katherine Manley of Grass Valley, California who shot a stroke further back at 63.

The huge Pro Masters division of thirty-one competitors is being led by Jay Reading of Wimberley, Texas with a superb eight-under score of 50.  Mike Loya of Grass Valley, CA is a stroke back at 51, and four California players – Jason Tyra of Grass Valley, Matthew Scott of Santa Cruz, Patrick Brown of San Francisco,  and Andre Riofrio of Truckee, are all tied for third with a score of 54.

Tomorrow’s top card for the Pro Grandmasters is filled with California players.  In the lead are Ken Halvorsen of Nevada City and Doug Werner of Fremont, having both shot a three-under 55.  David Malolepsky of Concord and David Rooney of Truckee are tied for third place five throws back at 60.

Tomorrow the MPO and FPO divisions will first play the Turtle Rock Course and then move to Zephyr Cove for their second round.  The MPM and MPG divisions will play the opposite.

For full scores from the King of the Lake see:  King of the Lake

Andrew “Big Dog” Sweeton