USDGC Qualifiers Pass the High Challenge

The High Plains Challenge is no stranger to USDGC qualifying and the great disc golf play required to earn a trip to Rock Hill, S.C. This year was no different as the qualifier, powered by DGU Performance Scoring, produced bright new talents like 14-year-old Paige Bjerkaas and the nine other entrants.

Held June 18-19 in Ft. Morgan, CO., the High Plains Challenge has been a USDGC qualifier at least four other times, said tournament director John Bird.

At the end of the three rounds, 894-rated advanced player James O'Leary, of Erie, CO., had chiseled away 25 strokes from his projected score and was the tournament's top qualifier. Not far behind was Bjerkaas, of Denver, who is the youngest female to ever qualify for the Championship after beating her projected by 22 strokes.

“She's coming on pretty strong for such a young kid,” said Bird, who has run a majority of the High Plains Challenge events.

Rounding out the rest of the qualifiers were: advanced Eagle McMahon (-18), advanced David Weihrauch (-16), pro Travis Stowell (-14), pro Chris Thomas (-14), pro master Steve Kozlowski (-14), advanced Brian Whitehead (-14), pro Ryan Knuth (-13), advanced Erik Castillo (-13).

Matt Orum took the Open division title over Greg Barsby by six strokes. Both men were already exempt from qualifying after top 20 USDGC finishes last year.

171 players took part in the Region 5 qualifier, which includes Colorado, Utah, New Mexico, and Arizona. DGU's Performance Leaderboard, adapted specifically for 2011 USDGC qualifying, is conducted separately from the tournament standings.

Look to the insert below to see how 2011 USDGC qualifying works.

Qualifying Method Explained:

The 10 disc golfers with the best "Performance" from each regional qualifying tournament receive invites to the 2011 USDGC this October.

During regional qualifiers, each player with a PDGA rating of 850 or higher who plays the same course layout as the open division is eligible for USDGC qualifying. Eligible players receive projected scores for each round through a combination of their player rating and the course's layout. After each round, players are ranked regardless of division according to how their projected score and actual score compare.

For a full listing of qualifier events and Performance Leaderboard results, visit the Regional Qualifying Results page.

The 880-rated Bjerkaas, who will be attending the Championship, said qualifying was a surprise.

“I expected to maybe qualify later when I was older. But it feels pretty cool,” said Bjerkaas, who will be a ninth grader in the fall.

Paige has come a long way since being first introduced to the sport at age 10. Back then, she preferred to wander off the course and into the nearby playground. Nowadays, though, her attention is fixed upon the chains.

Besides winning the women's pro division at the High Plains Challenge, she's won six tournaments this year already. Though, she's usually only competing against one or two other pro ladies, Bjerkaas has developed into a formidable golfer for her age.

Bjerkaas points to her aggressive style for her success.

“Most people say don't run for things. I'm the type of person who's a no risk no reward type of player,” said Bjerkaas, who has kept her amateur status.

Three-time world champion Des Reading, who played with Bjerkaas during the tournament, was complimentary of the young golfer.

“Paige seems to have the family and friend support and internal drive to go far in disc golf if she chooses,” wrote Reading in an email.

Along with a good showing at the USDGC, Bjerkaas hopes for big finishes at the Amateur World Championships and to eventually make a name for herself in the upcoming years.

“She's going to be someone to look for,” said Bird.

Bird said the new (Performance Scoring) format combined with the play-ability of the courses made the possibility of qualifying a reality for most of the field.

“We really didn't know who to expect to be up there,” said Bird, who added that the format change definitely created some exciting twists to the event.

“A lot of people who didn't have a chance now have a chance to play in one of the premier courses (Winthrop Gold) in the country,” said Bird.

Bird said a Sunday tee time start for the final round was the key to getting the advanced field in the qualifying mix. In years past, they rotated the division pools back and forth between the Optimist and Pessimist courses with a final nine holes for the pros in the end.

Instead, Bird put everyone at the Optimist course for the final day and assigned each group a tee time (much like the USDGC) starting at 7:30 a.m. and continuing every 8 minutes until the last pro group left at 12:35 p.m.

In the end, the players still saw the same number of holes as last year and many of the amateurs finished up in time to see the pro lead card.

“It was kind of a neat addition. I think it went rather well,” said Bird.

He said he would've liked to include all divisions, but he felt some of the holes were just too challenging for the intermediate and recreational skill levels. Plus, he said many of them didn't have high enough PDGA ratings.

With summer now in full steam and the World Championships in sight, it won't be long until the attention of the disc golf world focuses again on the USDGC, maybe this year more than ever.

There's still time to qualify. And, next up is Region 4's qualifier July 29-31 at Santa Maria Open in Santa Maria, CA.