Since its inception in 2006, the European Open - a PDGA Major event - has become a highlight of the tour season for the leading Europeans and the world's top players. Hosted by Jussi Meresmaa and Discmania in the beautiful Finnish city of Tampere, this event offers it all - terrific hospitality, top level competition in Epila park, and the camaraderie and thrills that reflect international disc golf at its finest.

The 2009 European Open will be contested on August 27-30 and will crown champions in two professional divisions, Open (MPO) and Women (FPO). The field is limited to 150 players. The tournament entry fee is 100 Euros and a minimum purse of 15,000 EUR is guaranteed. Tournament information can be found at http://www.opendiscgolf.com/ (http://www.opendiscgolf.com/).

The European Open is preceeded by the President's Cup on August 26th, a team stroke and match play competition between Europe's and USA's top players for the purse, the champagne, and trans-Atlantic bragging rights. This year Team Europe will be seeking to dethrone Team USA for the first time and to keep the Cup in European hands.

Team USA
Captain: David Feldberg
MPO Ken Climo
MPO Nathan Doss
MPO Avery Jenkins
MPO David Feldberg
FPO Valarie Jenkins
FPO Carrie Berlogar

Team Europe
Captain: Hans Tegeb�ck, SWE
MPO Jesper Lundmark, SWE
MPO Markus K�llstr�m, SWE
MPO Timo Pursio, FIN
MPO Karl Johan Nybo, DEN
FPO Birgitta Lagerholm, SWE
FPO Angelica Frantz, SWE

The 2009 European Open will be telecast by Finnish National TV Channel YLE, who will broadcast a 28-minute show of the event three weeks after the tournament.

Do not miss the chance to follow this world-class tournament either on-site at the beautiful Epil� Disc Golf Park, Tampere, or online at both www.opendiscgolf.com (http://www.opendiscgolf.com/) and www.pdga.com (http://www.pdga.com/). In addition to everything you need to know about the course and competition facts, the competition website will feature stories, photos, and videos all through the competition week. Stay tuned!

For more information, contact Tournament Director Jussi Meresmaa at [email protected] ([email protected]), tel. +358-40-5781474, or Press Manager Annariikka Marttinen at [email protected] ([email protected]), tel. +358-44-3300449.

The European Open is organized in cooperation with the PDGA, Discmania, Innova Champion Discs, Disc Golf Club Tampere, and the City of Tampere.

Simon Lizotte - Germany's hottest player, is in 3rd. He's just 16 years old!
http://www.innovadiscs.com/team/simon.html

You can follow all of the action through videos, photo galleries and live scoring at the European Open website (http://www.opendiscgolf.com/).

Also be sure to log in at PDGA.com (http://www.pdga.com/discussion/www.pdga.com) each day for a new feature article, photo galleries, and video clips from the event courtesy of PDGA Media.

What's up with hole#14? (http://www.opendiscgolf.com/files/eo2009_coursemap_final.pdf) It's 179 meters long (587 feet) and the basket is surrounded by OB. It had a scoring average of 3.79 in the first round (http://www.opendiscgolf.com/en/scoring), and yet the hole is listed as a par 3. :confused:

How is someone going to get to -100 if they list bogus pars like that?

Is a hole that won't be birdied by a single competitor in the entire tournament field during all four rounds of a PDGA major really the appropriate par? :confused:

Linus Astrom might be there... he can reach it....

Is a hole that won't be birdied by a single competitor in the entire tournament field during all four rounds of a PDGA major really the appropriate par? :confused:

You spoke too soon! Simon Lizotte birdied it today! He's moved into 4th. 16 years old.

You spoke too soon! Simon Lizotte birdied it today!

The scoring average on it today was also 3.99! A total of 105 competitors have played the hole twice for 210 scores, so it's been deuced 1/210 times = 0.48% of the time by some of the world's best disc golfers in a PDGA major. Nate Doss got a 5 on it today - I hear that he's not too shabby of a player. ;)

Kinda seems to me like that deuce was an eagle, not a birdie. It would be interesting to find out if that 2 was a ~ 60-foot jump putt or an approach from ~ 175 feet out. :confused:

I see Val took an 11 on a hole and still managed to shoot only two strokes more than Burl.

The scoring average on it today was also 3.99! A total of 105 competitors have played the hole twice for 210 scores, so it's been deuced 1/210 times = 0.48% of the time by some of the world's best disc golfers in a PDGA major. Nate Doss got a 5 on it today - I hear that he's not too shabby of a player. ;)

Kinda seems to me like that deuce was an eagle, not a birdie. It would be interesting to find out if that 2 was a ~ 60-foot jump putt or an approach from ~ 175 feet out. :confused:
Oh crap. My pontification arguing unsuitable "par" has been defeated by counterexample. Better take a page from my intellectual bedfellow CK's playbook & keep the desired conclusion but deflect the argument in a completely different direction. Season with a few statistics to make it look more legit this time. Now throw in an anecdote about a top player and a cute emoticon. Yeah, that should do it. SUBMIT

I see Val took an 11 on a hole and still managed to shoot only two strokes more than Burl.

If it's any consolation, Burl also had a triple-bogey 7 on hole#3.

Val got an 11 on hole#7, for which the scoring average in the Open division on Thursday was 4.91, and 5.20 today! This par 4 hole is only 135m (443 feet long) but there is a double mandatory which looks to be about 140 ft. in front of the tee. I think competitors may be challenging the mando too aggressively.

Hey Ray, where's your pontification & counterargument, preferably backed up by statistics? I guess you're either unwilling or unable to make one, so all you can do is (unsuccessfully) try to lampoon that of others.

What a great contributor you are. :rolleyes:

Pontification is not my style (see where it gets you?), and I don't have a dog in this fight. I don't give a hoot whether par is set at 3, 4, 50, or -11.

I do, however, enjoy lampooning pontificators, particularly when their pontifications are summarily destroyed by reality & they then scramble for a less "exposed" way to get their feeble points across. I wouldn't expect the subject of such a lampoon to consider it successful, buy I'm sure my ever-growing legion of fans get a chuckle out of it.

What a great contributor you are.
Thank you. Maybe one day (if you ever give me reason) I can return the compliment.

Kinda seems to me like that deuce was an eagle, not a birdie. It would be interesting to find out if that 2 was a ~ 60-foot jump putt or an approach from ~ 175 feet out. :confused:

Looks like I got my answer :cool:

From: http://www.pdga.com/european-open-day-2

Joining them on the lead card tomorrow will be the German-Canadian teen sensation Simon Lizotte. His 9 under 51 included a tournament best 13 birds, and the first 2 on the 179m/587� #14 where his approach shot from 45m/150� was money.

Hey Ray,

I love how when I'm at tournaments and people have plenty of opportunity to discuss issues face-to-face with me, nobody says a word. You were on the bottom card at the Vibram Open all weekend, being the first to finish each day, and had ample time to discuss our marketing director, the notion of par in disc golf, and other issues you've chirped in about (without actually saying anything) over the last few months. I even followed your group for your last 5 holes on Sunday. I would have been happy to oblige you at any point during the entire weekend.

But instead, (like many others) you hide behind the safety of your computer screen, avoid actual relevant discourse about the topic at hand, and instead choose simply to take pot-shots at me and others.

Congrats, Ray. You've just made the list.


This message is hidden because veganray is on your ignore list.

This is the European Open thread. Please either agree to disagree or disagree off the board. You are both nice fellas.

Back to the topic at hand. Would you even consider this a drivable par 4? It's not a dogleg....

I seem to remember hole 11 at Maple Hill Elements... about 700 feet long, was always a par 3. I never counted it as a 3... so a 3 was a birdie, regardless of what the scorecard said.

This is the European Open thread. Please either agree to disagree or disagree off the board.
Right on, Matt. Sorry for the hijack.:(

Go, Simon!!:D

I seem to remember hole 11 at Maple Hill Elements... about 700 feet long, was always a par 3. I never counted it as a 3... so a 3 was a birdie, regardless of what the scorecard said.

Hole#11 at Maple Hill (http://livescoring.marshallstreetdiscgolf.com/holes2007/MH_hole11.jpg) was always listed as a par 4. It is 720 feet to the Elements pin where it was used in the MSDGC, and 840 feet to the Airplanes pin where it was used in the last MSDGC and the two Maple Hill Opens. The scoring average for the 'short' pin was 3.80 (http://livescoring.marshallstreetdiscgolf.com/roundstats.asp?rid=2), and to the long pin has been 4.02 (http://livescoring.marshallstreetdiscgolf.com/roundstats.asp?rid=4) and 3.98 (http://08vo.primediscs.com/roundstats.asp?rid=3) the last few years there.

Sorry for the thread drift, I'll now keep discussion focused on the EO. I have that user on ignore now anyway.

Aren't there like 47 other threads for discussing what par is?

Aren't there like 47 other threads for discussing what par is?

Yes, and apparently that still isn't enough. :D

Looks like Climo shot a smoking 48, rated 1080, (http://www.pdga.com/tournament-results?TournID=8400&year=2009&include_ratings=1#Open)and is now only two throws back from Feldberg and Jesper who are tied for the lead.

In Open Women, Val shot a 60 to Burl's 65 to erase that 5 throw deficit and they are now tied heading into the last round.

Should be an exciting finish on Sunday!!! :cool:

So, what's a "non-competing marker"?

So, what's a "non-competing marker"?

There were only two in that group so they had someone walk along with them to keep score.

Looks like Jesper won going away, and Val prevailed over Burl by a single throw. :eek:

These are awesome! :cool:

*CoverAGE...

I don't know if these have been posted anywhere else but here are some videos of the European Open 2009.

The person who made these videos is a very talented photo journalist and I just wanted everyone to see these great videos, if they haven't already.

<embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/nVzWK_2fYaI&hl=en&fs=1&" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" height="340" width="560">

<embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/qwFGPyDl9XI&hl=en&fs=1&" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" height="340" width="560">

<embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/vGPtNfmJ1TA&hl=en&fs=1&" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" height="340" width="560">

<embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/wEqKKz9_M7A&hl=en&fs=1&" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" height="340" width="560">

The youtube user Icgm8 (http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=lcgm8&view=videos) also has many other great disc golf videos.

Enjoy :)