Bryan Freese won the Disc Golf Manitoba Provincial Championship on July 16. It was Freese's first victory and second top-ten on the 2023 Canadian Disc Golf Tour.

WINNIPEG, MB - For the last 7 years, Bryan Freese has dominated MPO disc golf in the province of Manitoba. The 2016 PDGA Rookie of the Year has been on the cusp of being the top Canadian disc golfer since that rookie season, after a strong finish at the 2016 Glass Blown Open and winning the WFDF Team Disc Golf World Championship singles event over Manabu Kajiyama earned him a sponsorship with Dynamic Discs and a chance to tour professionally in the US and abroad. But COVID put all of those plans to a halt, and Freese lost momentum and motivation. After holding the Manitoba Provincial Champion title for 5 years running, he lost it in consecutive years to scene mainstay and regular tournament director Marshall Toews, and young forehand specialist Bryce Kraushar in consecutive years. Freese and his disc sponsor parted ways, and the man known as Canada’s Double G (if you’ve seen him throw, you know why) was left wondering what was next for his disc golf career.

In 2023, Bryan Freese is back, and on a mission. This year’s highly anticipated Disc Golf Manitoba (DGM) Provincial Championship came with an extra layer of challenge: the youth. Along with the aforementioned previous years’ winners Toews and Kraushar, Austin Boge, a talented junior player who placed 22nd at this year’s PDGA Junior Worlds came prepared to challenge Freese for the title.  In the end, after several lead changes, Bryan Freese was able to hold off all challengers to reclaim the Provincial title, and put the country on notice as he prepares for Canadian Nationals in early August that he’s back in top form and ready to compete with anyone. 

This year also brought a new course to the Winnipeg area. Known locally as “The Quarry”, Stony Mountain DGC is a treacherous, wild, and borderline prehistoric course built into an abandoned rock quarry, with sharp cliffs, thick jungle-like forrest, lakes, islands, and fossils galore for rockhounds. It’s the new crown jewel of Manitoba disc golf, and should play host to many future tournaments in the province. Classic park-style course, La Barriere Park, saw all the action on Saturday, serving as a welcoming prequel to Sunday’s final round. 

While Manitoba’s womens’ scene is rapidly growing, all female competitors played in amateur divisions this year. Cam Tang won the FA1 trophy, and will hopefully lead the way for the next generation of women moving toward disc golf’s professional ranks.

“Now being part of the first Canadian Disc Golf Tour, we’ve seen players here from down in the states, out in BC, and from Ontario. It’s nice to see more players traveling out here to play our courses and our events. We’ve been building Stony Mountain DGC over the last 3-4 years. This is a quarry, so we’ve got rock to deal with. Drilling into rock to get the baskets put up was a challenge, but working with the municipality has been fabulous, they’ve been super happy to have us out here using the space. We think it’s pretty special," said DGM Board Member and Assistant TD Jessica Benoit.

"The state of disc golf in Manitoba is strong and getting stronger every year," added Andre Lodder, CEO Parked Pro Media. "There are now multiple high-level professional players and the scene is in for a treat with some of the new talent coming into their own. Not to mention, The Quarry is one of the craziest courses we’ve filmed so far, in a good way. We can’t wait for next year." 

The 2023 DGM Provincial Championship was the largest to date, and had a sizable gallery watching the final round action, as well as some positive coverage on network TV later that night. For more information about the DGM Provincial Championship, visit the CDGT.ca or follow the PDGA and Parked Pro on social media for live updates and coverage.