With the conclusion of the Texas State Championships, the second event of the PDGA National Tour Elite Series, the lead in the “Drive for the Championship”, presented by Vibram Disc Golf, has changed hands in both the Women's and Men's standings.

Valerie Jenkins’ win at Texas States garnered her 100 points to move to the top of the Women’s standings, while Paige Pierce’s fifth place finish in Texas, while dropping her from the lead, keeps her in the hunt at second place in the standings.  Liz Lopez retains her previous spot in the standings in third place with 179 points where she is joined by Sarah Hokem who placed third in Texas.  Des Reading currently holds fifth place in the Drive for the Championship with the 95 points she earned for her second place finish at Texas States.  That gap of 84 points between Des and the top four ladies may seem insurmountable, but remember, the competitors will take only their top four NT finishes along with them as they compete in the Vibram Open on Labor Day weekend where they will compete to be crowned the 2011 PDGA Tour Series Champion.

In the Men's standings, a previous second place holder also moved into the lead.  Nikko Locastro, who had tied with Josh Anton for second at the Memorial, won the Texas State Championships earning 100 points to place him in the lead with 193 points. In second place with 173 points is Paul Ulibarri who tied for fifth at the Memorial and tied for third at Texas States.  David Feldberg’s second place finish at Texas propelled him upwards from 8^th place in the standings into a tie for third place with previous standings leader Paul McBeth.  Nate Doss rounds out the top five with his fifth place finish at Texas which moved him up two spots from 7^th place in the standings.  The single largest jump in the men's standings was made by Josh Crowl who placed 13^th at Texas States to soar from 35^th place into 12^th place.

The complete Drive for the Championship standings can be found at: www.pdga.com/national-tour

The next National Tour Elite Series event will be the Alabama State Championships held on Friday through Sunday, May 13th through 15^th, in Athens, Alabama at the Athens Sportsplex.

Be sure to check out www.PDGA.com for updates on scores and photos throughout the weekend as the players vie for points on their way to the crowning NT event at the Vibram Open where they each dream of being crowned the 2011 PDGA Tour Series Champion.

LINKS:
National Tour Standings
Vibram Disc Golf