On this, the day of what was scheduled to be the final round of the 2016 US Disc Golf Championship (USDGC), the last PDGA Major of the year and the finale event of the inaugural Disc Golf World Tour, some very, very difficult decisions had to be made. Several inches of rain on Saturday turned the incredibly beautiful and challenging Winthrop University Gold course into a swamp, with fairways and tee pads plagued by pools of water, all while the lake that comes into play on many of the holes was steadily on the rise.
Round 4 of the 2016 USDGC has officially been cancelled. This was not an easy decision to make. Postponing the round would have caused many logistical problems for both our players and staff. Since many of you have traveled to get here, rescheduling hotel and flight accommodations on such short notice would have proved to be very difficult and in many cases not possible. This has been made more difficult due to the influx of evacuees from the coast.
Well, we all knew it was coming. With a category 2 hurricane ravishing the southeast just a few hundred miles away, the chances of getting through four days of competition without rain at the 2016 United States Disc Golf Championship in Rock Hill, South Carolina were slim to none. Unfortunately, for the nearly 100 players that qualified for and are competing in the event the old adage of “When it rains, it pours.” held true. And tomorrow’s forecast doesn’t look any better.
What an exciting day we witnessed here at the 2016 United States Disc Golf Championship, the legendary end-of-the-season PDGA Major that doubles this year as the DGWT Championship. The day started with a thick overcast, that would make way to beautiful sunny skies by noon. Likely thanks to Hurricane Matthew wreaking havoc on the Atlantic Ocean, there was stiff breezes of wind on the Winthrop Gold course challenging the players again today.
The tournament we’ve all been waiting for is finally here! The United States Disc Golf Championship, which also doubles as the Disc Golf World Tour Championship, kicked off today in Rock Hill, South Carolina. The legendary Winthrop Gold course, located at the Sports Complex of Winthrop University, provides an iconic setting for settling the top spots on the World Tour this year.
The 2016 USDGC Monday Qualifiers from left to right: Schroeder, Brown, Forehand, Bradshaw, and Chumley. Photos and Story Credit: DiscGolfWorldTour.com
When all of the cards were turned in during the Monday Qualifier only the first three spots were set. Two playoff holes were needed to determine the USDGC’s final two spots. Stephen Schroeder, Colin Forehand, and Cody Bradshaw all scored 63 (-2) and were sitting pretty in the clubhouse.
Travis Chumley and Lance Brown, however, had to fight for the two remaining spots from a four-man playoff that also included Dustin Perry and Jeff Renner (all scored 64).
