Today I started off doing the commentary for the lead card in Open, which included Avery Jenkins, Josh Anthon, Matt Orum and Dave Feldberg. They played Cliff Drive. It is a fairly open course, for the most part, with a lot of elevation and OB on every hole. Tough! The galleries are already forming to see who is going to claim the 2009 World Champion title. It’s a tough call at this point. In fact, several divisions are still neck and neck which makes for exciting and mentally challenging Semi-Final and Final rounds. (Clockwise from top left: Jenkins, Orum, Feldberg, Anthon)
The Player’s Party and PDGA Banquet took place this evening at a favorite local hangout called Grinders. It was a festive atmosphere outdoors with Frisbees flying everywhere.
I want to touch on a few of the awards for now - Liz Lopez won “Female Rookie of the Year” with Paul McBeth taking the honors of “Male Rookie of the Year”. Liz started her speech recognizing the talent of all the other candidates for the Rookie award. Paul’s speech got some laughs. He started by saying, “I’d like to thank everyone who has given me rides to tournaments before I could drive”. “Female Player of the Year” went to Valarie Jenkins. It’s always a pleasure to hear her promoting the sport to women, which she reiterated tonight in her acceptance speech. Dave Feldberg won “Male Player of the Year”. He reminisced about he and Avery’s first time on the road staying at Climo’s house and being amazed by his “wall to wall obelisks” he has won. He also made it a point to make others aware of how close he and Nate Doss were in battling for this top award. What class we have among our winners!
The newly inductees to the Disc Golf Hall of Fame were presented their plaques tonight - Lynne Warren, Crazy John Brooks and Michael Sullivan (who was unable to attend). Their speeches were moving and heartfelt making reference to Steady Ed Headrick, in which everyone raised a hand to him in remembrance for why we were all there today. Congratulations to all winners! These will be posted on the PDGA Worlds Media Page.
The evening ended with a concert, which I didn't stay for due to the work ahead, but I hope everyone had a good time. It looked like it when I left.
Long day tomorrow as I head to Water Works to do the commentary for the Pro Open lead card for their semi-final round. Who are you rooting for? Follow us on the PDGA Worlds Media Page and/or Twitter for the latest updates.
The World title is up for grabs... tomorrow can't come quick enough!
Peace,
