It's all smiles for the big names in this week's Directors Poll. Photo: Alyssa Van Lanen / DGPT

Do you believe in Garrett Gurthie? Because our directors and state coordinators do.

The Florida pro returned to the road in a big way this season -- he's making our Eight to Watch in '18 list look pretty solid -- with an early fourth place finish at the Waco Annual Charity Open, but he didn't crack the top 20 in the Directors Poll. So, he went and improved on that showing at the Jonesboro Open, taking second place in large part due to his crushing distance putting him inside the circle in regulation at a better rate than the rest. Now, he's been rewarded for his efforts.

Gurthie enters this week's poll at in the 10th slot, the highest debut for a player this season. And with the long, open fairways of the Emporia Country Club in his crosshairs next week at the Dynamic Discs Glass Blown Open, we can't help but think he's going to climb higher. Other observations from this week's poll:

• Win and you're in: Ricky Wysocki jumps back to the top of the list after his Jonesboro triumph, once again assuming the top slot he earned in the preseason rankings.
• Chris Dickerson slumped a bit in the final round of the Jonesboro Open, but his strong play the rest of the tournament was rewarded. Get on a high profile stage, get rewarded.
• It's Paige Pierce's world, and everyone else is just living in it.
• There were no changes to the top of the women's field, but the middle continues to get mixed up. Jennifer Allen and Madison Walker tied for second in Jonesboro, and they both earned a two-slot jump on the list. Seems fair.

This week's rankings were slightly delayed to yield the spotlight to players at the National Collegiate Disc Golf Championships. As such, the poll didn't take into account any tournaments from the weekend of April 13-15. We'll be back after the GBO with another round. Stay tuned!

Open

Open Women

Jennifer Allen was making moves in Jonesboro. Photo: Alyssa Van Lanen / DGPT