Kyle Klein took down the 2019 NADGT Championship. Photo: PDGA

Nearly 1,300 players from across the United States and Canada have made the trek to Austin, Texas for the 2021 National Amateur Disc Golf Tour Championship.

Yes, nearly 1,300 players.

Through nearly 250 events in 2021, the NADGT saw over 18,000 players compete for a chance to qualify for the championship, which runs through Sunday and visits 12 courses throughout Texas’ capital city.

The series was previously called the Next Generation Tour and it has lived up to that title.

Kyle Klein finished second to Silas Schultz in 2018 before winning the title in 2019. A year later, Klein was the named the PDGA MPO Rookie of the Year. In 2021, Klein had a breakout season that included a PDGA Elite Series win at the Disc Golf Pro Tour – Idlewild Open as well as a narrow loss to Paul McBeth in a playoff at the USDGC.

In 2016, Missy Gannon took down the FA1 division. In 2021, Gannon won a PDGA Elite Series at the DGPT - Des Moines Challenge, the inaugural Throw Pink Women's Disc Golf Championship at Winthrop and the DGPT Championship.

This year, the championship includes 325 players in the MPO division as players, for the first time, will have the opportunity to accept cash. A record 46 players are in the FPO field. In total, 11 divisions will compete.

Action from the MPO and FPO fields can be seen live this weekend on the Disc Golf Network. After a cut on Saturday night, the finals on Sunday will declare the NADGT champion, which has proved in its short run to be a jumping off point for the stars of tomorrow in disc golf.