Down to final basket at Champions' Challenge

It came down to the final basket to determine the winner at the Farrell Agencies Champions Challenge.

The final event of the Parkland Association of Disc Golf tournament season was exactly what you would expect when the top disc golfers from 11 tournaments held over the summer were going head-to-head for the biggest prize of the season, a one-of-a-kind champion’s jacket.

The disc golfers also had an opportunity to take home a new Chrysler 200 with an opening round ace on #17 courtesy of Yorkton Dodge. With the car tantalizing situated just off the tee the shots were made, but no disc found the chains for the car, leaving the competitors to focus on the crown in the second round.

Chris Hoyt of Regina, who qualified through the Living Skies Realty Ltd. Tournament in Stockholm led after the opening 18 at the Asessippi National Disc Golf Course shooting a minus-one 56, four strokes better than Saskatoon’s Jeremy Taylor’s 60, who had qualified through the Sandy Beach Open.

Rounding out the top-four for the second round leader card were Mark Kienle of Wadena who qualified at the Asessippi National event in July with a 63, and Duncan Holness of Percival, a multiple event qualifier. Holness shot an opening round 64.

At day’s end Holness would be presented Peavey Mart Big Bird Award for recording the most birdies among PADG members at tournament series events. He collected 77 birdies to win a turkey fryer.

Just off the lead card because of a count back was 13-year-old Josh Istace of Moosomin who also shot a 64. He had qualified at the Howland Honey Open at the Links Under the Spruce course at Good Spirit Provincial Park.

Defending champ Jack Talsma of Fort Qu’Appelle, who topped his hometown tournament to qualify shot an opening round 65.

In the second round Talsma made his move, throwing a minus-three 54 to climb into contention with a 119 through 36, only four back of Hoyt who was 115 after 36 thanks to a second round 59.

Kienle was 121 through 36, after a second round 58 to make the championship round of four, with Istace riding his second round 63 to a 127 to complete the field.

Talsma kept clawing his way toward Hoyt, with the pair tied going into the final basket of the championship 9.

Talsma had honours. His drive would go too far left and end up somewhere beneath the waters of the Asessippi River, the shot drowning his hopes of repeating as champion. He would finish with a 151 through 45, two shots back of the 2017 Farrell Agencies Champions Challenge winner. Hoyt shot a combined 149.

Kienle was third with 156, with Istace at 166.

“It means my first disc golf trophy! I’ve been vying for one since the gold beaver first eluded my grasp at the Sask Open in 2016,” said Hoyt, after being presented his jacket, and the Yorkton Lions Trophy.

“Winning the Champions Challenge validates my skills as a disc golfer. I took time off these past two months for other things and it feels good to be able to come out and play disc golf with the best of them like I never left at all. I have only been playing disc golf for 2 ½ years and there is still so much to learn, but having this title tells me I am doing the right things to expand that knowledge.

“This is actually my biggest tournament win I’ve ever had, so it feels pretty great to be in this position. I will definitely remember this tournament, and especially the final 9 for the rest of my life. The Champions Challenge is a prestigious event and to have won it in the way that I did will never be replicated. As such, it is the single greatest moment in my disc golf history to date.”

Talsma said he was excited to have returned to the top-four.

“It means everything to me but because my first round was so bad I never expected to be in the final four,” he said, adding he went into the day brimming with confidence. “I was expecting to win. I talked a lot of smack to the people around me that I was going to win.”

For Istace, who only became a teenager in July it was a huge accomplishment making the final four.

“Making the final four proved to me that I can compete at a high skill level considering the great players in the tournament,” he said. “I am very happy with my results because I was really surprised to end up in the final group. I didn't golf extremely well on some holes.”

But he was still smiling after the final nine.

“It was one my best experiences in disc golf so far,” said Istace. “The Champions Challenge is probably the most difficult event of the season and I was extremely happy with finishing fourth …

“My game plan was just to get par, because I thought par would probably win the tournament. In my mind, I kept remembering that the cold weather and the wind was the same for everyone. Plus, I know that having very good approach shots to the pin are important at Asessippi, so I focussed on that.”

Hoyt also did not lack confidence going into the day.

“I felt very confident going into the tournament,” he said. “I aim to make lead card in any tournament in Saskatchewan and this tournament was no different. I knew who to look out for from hearing about last year’s Champions Challenge and had played with a couple of the players who made into the lead card then. There were also a couple unknown players I had never met before, that always adds to the excitement of the tournament.”

Talsma said his climb back into the hunt was powered by disc selection.

“I committed to using one disc for most shots the Ape and I also relaxed a lot,” he said. “After shooting the worst round of my life in round one I never thought I would be even close to in the hunt. I was 10 shots back, it’s such a deep hole to climb out of I thought I was done.”

But even has he narrowed the gap Talsma said he never felt the final round was going to be his.

“Not really, he is a great player and I knew I had a few back hand shots coming up,” he said.

And those backhand shots included the #9 tee.

Talsma summed up his shot succinctly as, “soul bending horror. I wish I had taken just a little more time. I am not a back hand guy and it was a bad decision.”

Hoyt said he certainly felt Talsma breathing down his neck.

“People talk about disc golf being a mental game, and they are absolutely right,” he said. “After seeing the scores from the second round I got scared because Jack was only four strokes back and he posted a fantastic round. It was in my head the entire time, that he was on fire but also how sweet it would be to see him come back and have a head-to-head showdown for the title.

“I could tell we both had those jitters since we both missed an eight-foot putt on the very first hole. I had a couple opportunities to close out the win with a birdie but I just couldn’t pull the trigger. Then on eight I overthrew the basket and had to take a bogey that tied us up.

“It felt surreal, here it is the end this game was mine to lose and now there is a real chance I could. So when Jack released high and short I felt disbelief, I had to put my hand to my chest to check that my heart was still beating. The whole round I felt him behind me creeping up and now this one shot of his has suddenly turned the game entirely on its head. All I had to do was not go in the water and the victory was mine. I could see clearly again with that weight lifted and I threw my best shot of the round to close out the win.”

Hoyt said the homemade baskets at the course took some getting used too.

“The baskets were the single hardest hurdle,” he said. “The more I played the less confident I became in putting at those baskets. Among other major problems there isn’t enough room to fit your discs between the post and the rim giving you less to throw at. I witnessed three spit-outs from under five-feet away, myself included. It is disheartening to have what should have been a gimme putt turn into an extra stroke and on more than one occasion,”

Istace agreed the baskets make the Asessippi National Course a unique experience.

“The biggest challenge was probably the putting,” he said. “Those baskets are hard to figure out on a calm day and the wind made it especially tough at the Champions Challenge. I had to change my putting style by throwing a lot softer and making sure I didn't roll too far if I spilled out. It was really important to get your approach tight to the basket to ensure a safe putting distance.”

But it sort of played to Hoyt’s approach too.

“I just wanted to come out and play disc golf at a new course and see some of the best players in the region I haven’t met yet. I stayed away from the hazard OB for the first two rounds and was lucky enough to not have too many other faults show up,” he said.

Of course with the big prize on the line it changed things on course.

“The final nine had a very different vibe,” said Hoyt. “It became a mental game far beyond anything I had experienced before and I almost lost because of that. I was four strokes up on the next player, Jack, and he had just got off shooting a tournament record score. It got in my head and I was missing easy putts, hitting trees I shouldn’t have and having an all-around poor round. I ended up losing that entire four stroke buffer, but the pressure got to Jack too and he shanked his last throw to cement my victory.”

But Talsma also noted it was a tougher field at this year’s championship.

“For sure, these guys are the real deal,” he said. He also vowed to be back in 2018. “I will be there guaranteed.”

With the Farrell Agencies Champions Challenge in the books work starts on plans for 2018.

“We have already announced a couple of new initiatives,” said PADG president Calvin Daniels. “The first one is that the 2017 winner gets an automatic invite to the Champions Challenge next October, so Chris (Hoyt) will be back to defend.

“The other big addition will be a women’s division with their own jacket and the prestige that goes with it.”

Daniels said the PADG expects more lead-up tournaments, with Melville and Wadena already planned, and others likely.

“We had 11 this summer, and I’d expect 15 tournaments in 2018, perhaps more,” he said. “It will be a great year for disc golf in the region I am sure.”