The Usual Suspects - WACO

     What an amazing tournament The Memorial championship in Arizona turned out to be. Now, we turn our attention to Waco, Texas which will play host to the 2021 Waco Annual Charity Open presented by Prodigy Disc. This will be the 2nd Disc Golf Pro Tour event of the year, and will also have $15,000 in added cash to the purse resulting in a field that is absolutely stacked. There are 4 players in this tourney who hold a rating of 1050 or higher, and more than 50 with a rating over 1000. It’s important to note this tournament only encompasses 3 days, further emphasizing the importance for these players to execute to their absolute highest potential.

     The Waco charity open will be held at Brazos Park East, more popularly known as The Beast, and this course has absolutely earned the nickname. After taking a look at the course map, just having an absolute cannon won’t be able to bail you out at this course. A players scrambling ability and putting needs to be dialed in at a high level, as well. Hole 1 is a birdie or bust hole. If you want to keep pace with the field you’re going to have to get your 2 on this hole every round. Holes 2-3 do not take place in the thick woods, but they still present a challenge nonetheless. They host a wide fairway, peppered with plenty of trees en route to the basket. Holes 4-6 and part of 7 take place in thick woods, with 20-25 feet wide fairways, encased in brush. These holes will be a strong test of angle control and how well these pros know their bags. The tournament stays in these thick woods with a mix of short par 3’s and long par 4 and 5’s until hole 13 when things start to open up. The rest of the course presents good opportunities for birdies, with some strategic O.B. placements and guardian trees. 18 is a good chance for eagle as long as players are able to go big with surgical placement that day. This event in Waco is going to be an absolutely amazing tournament and I personally can’t wait to see how it goes down.

Jeremy Koling: Big Jerm has history at this event. He has won twice in the last 4 years despite only finishing 42nd last year. At a course that emphasizes control he should be towards the top of anyone's list of top contenders.

Paul Ulibarri: Uli has started the season as hot as anyone but he also has history at this event. Top 5 finishes in the last 2 years makes him one of the favorites coming into the weekend.

James Conrad: Conrad has been very good at WACO in the past. He finished 4th last year and was narrowly defeated by Big Jerm in a 1st place playoff in 2017. He did very well with his new MVP bag in Las Vegas we will see if he can keep it going this week. 

Gregg Barsby: One of the best sidearm players in the world. Navigating this course is going to be tough but Barsby has been consistent here, finishing in the top 15 in each of the last 4 years. I think he carries over his success at the Memorial Championship last weekend and continues to stay hot. 

Cale Leiviska: I love his angle control and his consistent release for this course. I think he can make some magic happen this week. Hopefully I was off of his prime performance by one week by picking him for the memorial.

Chris Dickerson **WINNER PICK**: Has the angle control and is very good at these diverse layouts that go back and forth between woods and open fairways. He also has won more than 50% of the events he has played in. The Robot Chicken is always high on the leaderboards. I expect nothing less this week.

Eagle McMahon: Absolutely dialed in. Took last week of so he possibly had extra time to practice on the course and is looking to carry his momentum from his first DGPT win of the season. McMahon can execute any course, right now.