Ilkin Groh (left) and Zachary Tesone (right) tee off on the iconic opening hole of the Toboggan course in Milford, MI. Photo: Justin Anderson / PDGA

Early Worm Gets the Birdies

Pulling a 7:30 a.m. tee time on the first day of a major championship may not sound like the ideal start to what is sure to be a long, draining battle – against a grueling 10,000 ft. course, full of intimidating steeps and gnarly rough, and against a stacked field of the world’s most talented amateur disc golfers.

But the early birds really did get the worm Friday as the weather gradually worsened throughout the opening round of the 2022 United States Amateur Disc Golf Championships.

By the end of the day, as the storm clouds opened up – nearly suspending play – only nine players out of a field of 158 found themselves on the good side of par.

Three of those players – Zachary Tesone (-6), Ilkin Groh (-6) and Paul Krans (-4) separated themselves from the field, with a logjam of six players sitting three shots back at one-under par.

Zachary Tesone was the only player to go bogey-free during the opening round of the 2022 United States Amateur Disc Golf Championship. Photo: Justin Anderson / PDGA

Tesone, a 972-rated 25-year-old from Princeton, New Jersey, was the only player in the field to go bogey-free during the opening round.

“I was here last year, so I have some experience on the course,” he said when asked about the keys to his success in round one. “Really, I just felt good off the tee. Forehands were going strong. Putts were sinking – other than hole 18, I was 100% from circle 1 and at least 50% from circle 2. I just felt good, was calm, staying focused and having a good time.”

His co-leader, Groh, a 966-rated 17-year-old from Cincinnati, Ohio, got out to a blazing start and finished strong, birdieing four of the first five holes as well as three of the last five, including a throw-in to become the only player to birdie the daunting 837-foot par-4 hole 14.

“It was a great day today,” Groh said. “Everything was clicking – I was hitting my lines really well. I didn’t look at the scores. I didn’t actually know what I was at until I walked up 18. I asked our card at that point, because I was worried about that last gap and I didn’t want to think too much until I was through. It was a blast – I loved it.”

Ilkin Groh carded seven birdies and only one bogey to match the hot round with a 6-under par. Photo: Justin Anderson / PDGA

Welcome to the Pressure Cooker

Both Groh and Tesone are relative newcomers to the sport, both joining the PDGA in 2020 and playing their maiden PDGA Major at the 2021 United States Amateur Disc Golf Championship.

The pressure of this major championship will only increase as the leaders face the challenge backing-up an excellent opening round performance with a lead card appearance, complete with video coverage from Terry Miller.

Groh said he will be able to draw confidence from his ability to deliver under pressure in the opening round.

“I was so nervous coming in,” he said. “Just knowing that I can handle the nerves and handle my own inner thoughts that are just going crazy -- because it’s a major -- just handling that and being able to perform at my best is just really cool.”

Tesone, for his part, will stick to the same game plan that got him to where he is now.

“Same thing I did last night,” Tesone said about his strategy going into round two. “Drink lots of water, get to bed early. Kinda just try to relax a little bit – trying not to think too hard about the pressure. I know there’s some pressure out here. But, trying to just treat this like, hey I’m going out playing a round and I’m going to do my best.”