Quarry Park had the honour of hosting the first BDGA Tour Event of the year on 2-3rd February. Half the course had been under water the previous weekend, and contingency plans were being made in case of continued flooding, but thankfully the river levels went down and left a very soggy, but playable course.
The tournament lived up to its name, with low temperatures and a biting wind, it was indeed a chilly chuck. Fortunately, disc golfers are a hardy bunch and we had a good turnout of 43 players. The first round proved pretty testing for most players,
The BDGA Tour was set for an exciting climax at the 10th and final event at Burnlaw in Northumberland on 29-30th September. Derek Robins, Jester Wilson and Dan Ryan knew that if they won at Burnlaw, they would win the Tour, but course pro Chris O’Brien and defending Burnlaw Champion Neil Webber also fancied their chances of winning the event, and a win for either of them would hand the tour title to Wilson. With high winds forecast fo r the weekend, any loss of nerve, or tentative shot-making, was likely to be cruelly exposed, and thus the scene was set for exciting golf...
What a great weekend of disc golf! We had 59 players taking part, including all the top players on the BDGA Tour, right through to some with only a few months experience. Conditions were perfect: dry and bright but with enough wind to make things really challenging on the tough "Black" course layout.
In the Open division, there was a great deal at stake as this was also the penultimate event in the closely contested British Tour. QP's Neil Webber made the best start and after 2 rounds he lead by 1 shot from Derek Robins and Jester Wilson, with Dan Ryan 2 shots further back.
The 34th British Open Championship in disc golf was won by Dan Ryan, originally from California, but now based in London. Dan started the day 4 shots behind local course pro Derek Robins, but gained 3 shots in the 3rd round on Sunday morning.