I figured it was time to start this thread.
Post qualifying players here...

The USDGC is like the NCAA Basketball Tournament

The USDGC is like the NCAA basketball tournament. Whenever March Madness approaches, I can�t help but think about disc golf. After a long winter of looking out the window, it�s almost time to get back out and hit the chains. College basketball helps me get through the winter, rooting on the Louisville Cardinals. But as their season winds down, I know that another season is about to begin.

Many college basketball teams measure their season based on how they fare in the NCAA Tournament. Just making the tournament is quite an achievement for some programs. You have to qualify to play in the postseason, and tickets aren�t handed out to just anybody. Likewise, each October a select group of disc golfers gather in Rock Hill, South Carolina, putting their skills to the test at the USDGC. For many, it�s the postseason reward for a great season. Players have to qualify, many great players are left out, and some lower rated players sneak in. Each year there will be favorites, and the possibility of a Cinderella. This also happens in college basketball, many great teams are shut out of the tournament, while some mid-majors slide into the field of 65.

In disc golf, a weak state is like a weak basketball conference. Some states don�t have a lot of top players, but they still send a state representative to Rock Hill. These players might not have qualified for the USDGC if they lived in a state with more top pros, like North Carolina or California. Likewise, a pro in a top state, could have a better chance of qualifying for the USDGC if they lived in a �weaker� state, with fewer top players. This also happens on the basketball court, when a team from the bottom of a great conference fails to qualify for the NCAA tournament. If that same team were in a weak conference, they would have a better chance of winning that league, qualifying for the NCAA Tournament.

In each tournament, it�s about survival. The yellow ropes at Rock Hill can turn an average round into a disaster, knocking you out of contention. I�ve seen some of the best players in the world get ousted early, leaving themselves little chance of winning it all, with just a few mistakes. In the NCAA tournament, it�s survive and advance, no room for error. The number one seed always runs the risk of being upset, and everyone is after them. The title can only go to one, and everyone else will have to wait until next year, if they are lucky enough to get another shot at it.

Each year at the players� banquet, the tee times for the first round of the USDGC are announced. One by one, all participants are recognized, and assigned a tee time with a group of players. I can�t help but thinking of that when I watch the NCAA selection show, when the NCAA announces the pairings for the tournament. So each March, when the NCAA announces the teams for the Big Dance, know that the new disc golf season is here, and you could be hearing your name being announced in October at the USDGC!