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14 More World Champions Crowned at 2016 Am Worlds

14 More World Champions Crowned at 2016 Am Worlds

By: Marty Gregwah #28647
Monday, July 18, 2016 - 22:53

Izak McDonald being interviewed by Terry "The Disc Golf Guy" Miller after becoming the 2016 Advanced Amateur Disc Golf World Champion. Photo by AJ Risley.

The last day of a world championship is always two things: the most exciting day, and the most exhausting day. The staff and volunteers here in Madison, Wisconsin have done an absolutely incredible job in not only preparing and organizing, but in executing one of the most complex if not the most complex disc golf events of all time. Nearly 600 players were involved broken into 19 divisions and 13 pools. Not to mention the five courses that were all kept in pristine condition each and every day.

What all of that amounts to is a smoothly run event, and of course, a day of exhilarating semifinals and finals to wrap it the 2016 PDGA Amateur & Junior Disc Golf World Championships.

Semifinals

Because of the variations in the amount of players in each division, only some of the divisions headed out in the morning to play in a semifinal. Furthermore, some divisions were so small that the Amateur and/or Junior World Champions were crowned at the end of Friday’s rounds. Even with those divisions already in the books, eight more still needed a semifinal to determine who would play in the finals while another eight skipped the semis and went straight to Vallarta-Ast DGC (Token Creek) to compete for the world title.

At the top of nearly every division that played a semifinal in the morning there was a close race for the top four spots, and only 18 holes to get it sorted out. The Advanced competitors headed east of the greater Madison area to play an 18-hole layout at Bird’s Ruins. The Junior Boys and the Advanced Women divisions made their way to Vallarta-Ast DGC. And last but not least, the Advanced Masters and Advanced Grandmasters teed off at Hiestand Park.

The semifinals went quickly, as both the 27-hole layouts of Bird’s Ruins and Vallarta-Ast were reduced to 18. The fight to make the finals in the Advanced division was more about the 4th spot than anything else, as Isaac Robinson #50670, Izak McDonald #49631, and Gavin Rathbun #60436 had been leading the division all week and they weren’t giving up any ground at Bird’s Ruins.

Chris Hawks #67596 was battling with Brenden Tetloff #64742 for that 4th spot, trading positions several times throughout the round. In the end it was Brenden’s bogey-free finish that sealed the deal, shooting five under par on his back nine (Holes 11-18, 1) to finish at eight under par for the round.

FA1 leader Kristy Moore hitting a huge putt for birdie at Vallarta-Ast (Token Creek) during her semifinal round.

The story was much the same in the Advanced Women’s division, as leaders Kristy Moore #56553 and Sai Ananda #58303 were so far ahead of 3rd and 4th place that they had nothing to worry about. Wisconsin local Rebecca Heiam #68592 sealed her spot for the finals during the round at Vallarta-Ast, staying a few strokes ahead of the rest of the field by carding eight birdies and just two bogeys to finish six under par.

With the 3rd spot filled, three women were fighting for the 4th: Jennie Cartwright #56145, Lauren Butler #65489, and Autumn Grace #50514. Despite going four over par in a three-hole span, it was Oregon’s Lauren Butler that would prevail, edging out Autumn and Jennie. Her throw-in eagle on the 530’ par 4 Hole 2 might just have been the difference between playing the finals and watching from the sidelines.

This plot repeated itself in several of the divisions. The 4th place spot in Advanced Masters, Advanced Grandmasters, Junior I Boys, and Junior III Boys all had battles for the coveted 4th place position that came down to a difference of less than five throws.    

Jump putt by MJ1 leader Logan Fiske during the semifinal round at Vallarta-Ast (Token Creek).

Morning Finals

The finals began at 10:45am CDT running concurrently with the latter half of the semifinal rounds. The finals were scheduled in two waves with the morning wave being all of the divisions that skipped semifinals. Those divisions were as follows:

Click on any of the divisions above to see their hole-by-hole scores for the Finals.

Teeing off every 15 minutes on the nine hole finals layout (holes 19-27 at Vallarta-Ast), it wasn’t long before world champions started getting crowned.

The first group to tee off combined two young ladies from the Junior IV Girls division, Ohio’s Lilly Ruthen #76364 and North Carolina’s Dejauna Barnes #77433. Lilly had already built up a considerable lead over their previous five rounds but the two of them finished just one apart during the finals. Dejuana shot one better than Lilly during the finals, but Lilly was able to tap in for the title to win the title by 24 strokes.

The group that followed combined two players each from the Junior Girls I and the Junior Girls II divisions, both of which had a Mandujano sister as the leader. Valerie Mandujano #62879 and her younger sister Alexis Mandujano #62880 have been playing great golf for years in the different Junior divisions, and this year they both hit their final putt to become World Champion sisters without having to worry about a stressful finish, as both of them 20+ strokes ahead of the 2nd place contenders, Kona Panis #27832 (Junior I Girls) and Lacey Brugler #41758 (Junior II Girls).

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Valerie Mandujano (left) and her younger sister Alexis Mandujano (right) after winning the Junior I and Junior II division, respectively.

The champions continued rolling in. Wisconsin’s Kim McVicar #41305 tapped in for the win in the Advanced Senior Grandmasters Women’s division to finishing 43 ahead of New York’s Christine Ford #76611. Advanced Grandmasters Women followed, with Oregon’s Cindy McMahan #37716 playing against the 2015 Advanced Grandmaster Women’s World Champion Candy Roque #37777. Cindy shot one better than Candy during the final to win by 16 overall.

The last division to come through was the Advanced Masters Women, the only foursome of the morning wave of finals. The card consisted of Colorado’s Karen Sattler #55307, Wisconsin’s Kim Keen #23386, Michigan’s Michele Combs #42406, and Virginia’s Carol Quinn #61579. A huge gallery joined them as they made their way to the final tee.

Unlike the other divisions that had already finished their finals loop around Vallarta-Ast, this one had a close race for 1st place as well as a close race for 3rd. Karen Sattler started the finals one ahead of Kim Keen and although not in range for catching Karen or Kim, Michele Combs and Carol Quinn were just one stroke apart fighting for 3rd.

Karen and Kim both took a par on Hole 1 and followed it up with birdies on Hole 2. Karen’s birdies to Kim’s pars on Holes 3 and 7 put her ahead by three and all she needed to do was play safe and take pars to close it out. Karen kept on the offensive regardless. Both Karen and Kim would take birdies on Holes 8 & 9 to finish, including a parked drive by Kim on the final hole followed by Karen’s perfect 35 foot birdie putt to win in front of the crowd. Michele and Carol both shot two under par during the final, meaning Michele’s lead of one to start the final kept her 3rd place spot secured.

Afternoon Finals

By the time the morning finals were coming to an end, hundreds of players, friends, family members, and spectators coming from the other courses were beginning to fill up Vallarta-Ast DGC (Token Creek). Eight more finals were on the way teeing off every 15 minutes, consisting of the following divisions:

Click on any of the divisions above to see their hole-by-hole scores for the Finals.

Junior III Boys

The Junior III Boys were up first, coming into the finals with just three strokes separating the leader, Florida’s Cory Casalina #63780 at 367, from the 4th place holder Zach Arlinghaus #65266. Wisconsin’s Hunter Collins #56362 began the round in 2nd place, one off the lead and Iowa’s Gannon Buhr #75412. The incredibly talented kids shredded the nine hole layout, with Cory and Hunter going shot-for-shot seven holes in a row, including birdies on Holes 2, 3, 4, 6, and 7.

The momentum turned when Hunter took a birdie on Hole 8 against Cory’s par to tie it up with just one hole to go. Both Cory and Hunter tapped in for par on Hole 9, forcing a sudden death playoff for the world title. The playoff’s first hole was course Hole 1, which hadn’t been used on the finals layout (Holes 19-27). Hole 1 is 330 feet with an open fairway and a mound blocking the view of the basket.

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The MJ3 players counting their scorecard at the end the finals, before the sudden death playoff. Photo by AJ Risley.

Hunter stepped up to the tee and crushed a hyzer to within 10 feet of the basket. Cory gave it everything he had, but it was simply out of his range. Cory gave his putt a good run to save birdie, falling just short for a tap-in par. Hunter tapped in for the win and embraced his friends and family in celebration.

Cory was understandably upset, but he had the sportsmanship to go shake Hunter’s hand and congratulate him, holding back tears. 3X Women’s World Champion Paige Pierce #29190 was his caddy all week, and despite having a heartbreaking finish, 2016 Am Worlds was surely an amazing experience.

Junior II Boys

The Junior II Boys division was just as close, both at the beginning and the end of the round, and finished in a similar dramatic fashion. Coming all the way from Finland, Mikael Hakala #51479 began the round as the leader with Georgia’s Ezra Robinson #50671 one back, joined by Arizona’s Kobey Frampton #56503 and Minnesota’s Henry Dissell #56251 both just a few strokes off the lead.

Ezra quickly tied it up on Hole 3, taking a birdie against Mikael’s par and the two would remain tied until Hole 6 where the pattern repeated to give Ezra the edge. Ezra all but sealed the deal on the 249 foot Hole 8 with another birdie, meaning with only one hole to go he was two ahead of Mikael. Mikael was the only one to take a birdie on the finishing hole, but Ezra finished with a par to take down the win.

Junior I Boys

Next up was the Junior I Boys division, a field where many of the players are easily talented enough to finish well in Advanced. Alabama’s Logan Fiske #67474 sent most of the week as the leader, doing everything he could to maintain his 1st place position, but he would eventually lose the lead to Arizona’s Nicholas Duran #28359. Over the years, Nicholas Duran has won every other Junior Boys division, and went into the finals hoping to accomplish his goal of crossing the last one off the list.

Nick began the final one ahead of Logan, joined by Iowa’s Sky Miller #79345 and Washington’s Jesse Bickley #68375. Both Nick and Logan carded birdies on Hole 1, but Logan tied it up on the 530’ Hole 2 with an incredible eagle. Logan then took the lead on Hole 3 with a birdie but Nick quickly tied it back up one hole later with a birdie of his own.

They remained tied until Hole 8 where Logan took the lead with a par against Nick’s bogey. At that point there wasn’t much Nick could do, as both of them have the range and the skill to birdie the finishing hole. Logan did just that, and finished with a birdie to become the Junior I Boys Amateur World Champion, winning by two after starting the final nine down by one.

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Logan Fiske hitting his birdie putt for the win in the MJ1 division.

Advanced Senior Grandmasters

In the Advanced Senior Grandmasters division, Louisiana’s Nick Repar #17273 began the finals with a lead of five over North Carolina’s Jim Banbury #33708. California’s John Kimball #2262 joined them with Colorado’s Gary “Tree” Camp #22115 rounding out the finals group. Banbury played lights out on the finals layout, finishing with a bogey-free eight under par that included an eagle on the 530 foot Hole 2, but it wasn’t enough to catch Repar. Repar’s bogey-free five under par gave him the chance to tap in for par on the final hole to earn his title of Amateur World Champion.

Advanced Grandmasters

The Advanced Grandmasters came through shortly after, starting the round with just six strokes separating the then leader, Kentucky’s Mark Reid #49642 from the 4th place holder Mark Hauser #13459 of California. South Carolina’s James Elkins #31524 and Ohio’s Billy Ray Osborn #40995 joined them, three and four strokes off the lead, respectively.

Elkins played the round of a lifetime, slowly catching up to Reid. Elkins’s eagle on Hole 2 and birdie on Hole 3 put him within one, but Reid quickly fired back with a solo birdie on Hole 5 to bring his lead back to two. It was far from over, as Elkins took a solo birdie on the par 4 Hole 6 and followed it up with another incredible eagle on the 498 foot par 4 Hole 7 to tie it up. Elkins and Reid pushed the final two holes of regulation and were sent into a sudden death playoff.  Elkins momentum simply could not be stopped and it only too one playoff hole to claim the title. 

Advanced Masters

In the Advanced Masters division, Germany’s Michael Kobella #77622 led the entire week in his quest to become the first international player to take home the title of Advanced Masters Amateur World Champion.

For most of the week, Kobella led by five or more throws by the end of the day, but coming into the final his lead had diminished to just two, as North Carolina’s Austin Fisher #45903 was slowly chipping it away. Also in the hunt was Texas’s James Gorman #11501 just a few strokes back, with North Carolina’s Chris Uhl #49370 rounding out the card.

Playing nearly identical rounds and finishing with the same round score of four under par, there was nothing Fisher could do to catch the leader. Michael Kobella tapped in in front of the crowd to become, not only the first German to win the Advanced Masters title, but the player outside of the United States in to win a world title in the Advanced Masters division.

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Michael Kobella of Germany after becoming the 2016 Advanced Masters Amateur Disc Golf World Champion. Photo by AJ Risley.

Advanced Women

The Advanced Women’s division story is that of a huge come-from-behind win. At one point during the week, Ohio’s Kristy Moore #56553 led the field by 11 with Washington’s Sai Ananda #58303 sitting in second place for most of the week. Sai made an incredible comeback during their fifth round at Bird’s Ruins, bringing the lead down from 11 to just two.

Ananda pushed on, playing a nearly perfect semifinal round on Holes 1-18 at Vallarta-Ast in the morning, finishing at eight under par with nine birdies and one bogey to finally take her place at the top of the leaderboard. Heading into the finals, Sai was one ahead of Kristy and they were joined by Wisconsin’s Rebecca Heiam #68592 and Lauren Butler #65489 of Oregon.

Advanced Women's Sai Ananda, Rebecca Heiam, and Kristy Moore, getting birdies on Hole 4 of the finals (course hole 22).

Sai played safe golf during the round, laying up on some putts that many might have expected her to run for birdie, but still managed to card birdies on Holes 2, 3, and 4 to match Kristy and maintain her lead of one. Kristy tied it up with a birdie on the par 4 Hole 6, but Sai followed with a birdie on the par 4 Hole 7 to gain it back.

All four women took a par on the finishing hole, with Sai Ananda tapping in for the comeback victory to become the 2016 Advanced Women’s Amateur World Champion. Kristy played amazing golf all week and did not walk away without a world title. She and and her partner Joe Rawling #42974 became the Amateur Mixed Doubles World Champions just a week earlier.

Advanced

We were all hoping that the Advanced division would be as exciting as what we all got to witness at the 2015 Am Worlds in Kalamazoo, Michigan, and lucky for us, we got what we wanted. The lead card consisted of two 15 year olds, Georgia’s Isaac Robinson #50670 & Illinois’s Izak McDonald #49631, 18 year old Gavin Rathbun #60436 also from Illinois, and 19 year old Brenden Tetloff #64742 of Saginaw, Michigan, combining for an average age of 16.75. They may be young, but they are incredibly talented and extremely fun to watch.

The semifinal results left Isaac Robinson with a lead of one over Izak McDonald, with Gavin and Brenden thee and five off the lead respectively. It was a battle of Isaac vs. Izak, as it was fairly obvious that they weren't going to let Gavin or Brenden get within range with only nine holes to play, throwing from the long tees.

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3rd place finisher in Advanced Gavin Rathbun walking ahead of the huge gallery during the finals.

Both Isaac and Izak birdied Hole1, but it was Izak McDonald that started the round hot, carding birdies on Hole 2 and 3 to put him ahead by one in front of a huge gallery. They remained tied for the next three holes, but Isaac Robinson tied it back up with a birdie on Hole 7. Both of them had birdie looks on Hole 8, and Izak stepped up first to putt.

Izak let go and his putter hit center chains, and somehow spit out, falling to the ground. The pressure was on, as Isaac had a chance to take the lead with only the finishing hole to go. Isaac let go, hit dead center chains, and somehow hit putter fell to the ground as well. It seemed as if they were destined for a dramatic final hole finish.

Facebook Live broadcast of the Advanced division finals at Vallarta-Ast DGC (Token Creek).

The fans lined the fairway and green of the 367 foot Hole 27 and Gavin stepped up to the tee first. Gavin played a hyzer high into the air down the right side of the fairway, eventually clipping a pine tree and falling short of the green. Isaac Robinson stepped up with the pressure on, playing the same line as Gavin, and clipping the limbs of the same pine, also falling short. Lefty Brenden Tetloff played a lower, flatter hyzer line over the more open left side of the fairway and put his driver inside the circle, right side.

Perhaps Izak was planning to play a forehand the entire time, or perhaps he saw the result of Brenden’s throw and decided to match it. Either way, he went with the forehand with the gallery holding their breath. His line was perfect, but the reaction (or lack thereof) from the crowd behind the green left us all in suspense. There wasn’t any cheering to be heard but there weren't any murmurs of disappointment either. All we could do is walk down the fairway towards the disc in wonder.

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Izak McDonald's forehand drive on the last hole of the Advanced finals. Photo by AJ Risley.

Isaac was 75 feet or more from the pin and give his birdie look a run, but it fell short. We finally made our way to Izak’s drive, and the lack of response from the crowd earlier didn’t make much sense. He was directly in line with the basket, 45 feet out with an open look, a truly fantastic forehand drive into the wind from the tee.     

Izak didn’t waste much time. He didn’t check the wind. He didn’t stand over his mini, staring at the basket, trying to figure out the line he wanted his putter to follow. He simply stepped up, and threw it in on a dead straight line to center chains. The crowd erputed and Izak was overjoyed, holding back the tears as the other players each holed out and came over to congratulate him one-by-one.

Izak McDonald's winning putt on the last hole of the Advanced finals. Video by The Disc Golf Guy.

After losing on the last hole of the 2015 Am Worlds at the age of 14, Izak McDonald got a second chance just one year later and took advantage of the opportunity. In a truly beautiful display of sportsmanship, Izak broke out of the hug huddle of his friends and family that formed after the last putt went in to run over to Isaac Robinson and shake his hand.

Congratulations to all of the 2016 Am Worlds winners and thank you to the staff of Glide Disc Golf, the city of Madison, and all of the volunteers that made this a genuinely amazing and inspiring experience.

2016 Am Worlds