Disc golf is a sport that many haven’t heard of.
But with a seven-figure tournament budget, it’s no surprise the Ledgestone Open in Eureka draws the world’s best players.
And it gives local played like Garry Patton of Marquette Heights a chance to compete with some of the world’s best – like Ricky Wysocki.
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“There are not actually too many locals playing,” said Patton. “Somehow it just panned out the way that I had a fellow Illinois resident on my card. It’s cool to play with everybody and see how you stack up with the best players in the world.”
Patton sank back-to-back birdies on holes 16 and 17 to end the first round one under par.
With more than four million recreational and pro players, this is one of the rare sports that grew during the pandemic and hasn’t waivered since.
“It definitely had a huge boom during COVID and you can see it now, said Thursday’s leader Calvin Heimburg. “It’s a Thursday and there’s a ton of spectators out here. So it’s awesome to see.”
“So many people in the sport now,” said pro disc golfer Chris Dickerson. “I think there are 200,000 or more members of the Professional Disc Golf Association. On a big scale like that, that’s great. And this tournament specifically.”
As for the open, Friday and Saturday they’ll make a new stop in central Illinois.
They’ll continue to play at Northwood Black in Morton. It’s one of the most challenging courses in the United States.
“It’s completely different than this. This is keeping it within bounds,” said Dickerson. “Out there is keeping it in the fairway. Throwing good shots and keeping those shots in the fairway.”
With terrific courses across central Illinois, the game of disc golf is growing quickly and offers a fun and exciting new sport for anyone to try.
Source : 25 News Now
