Disc Golf Elite Series Kicks Off in Style with Memorable First Round
Date Published
The highly anticipated 2011 PDGA National Tour Elite Series got off to a thrilling start today at the Memorial Championship in Scottsdale, Arizona. The tournament, presented by Vibram Disc Golf and hosted by Discraft, brought together an impressive field of 196 top professional players on the Vista Del Camino course.
Under sunny skies and perfect playing conditions, the competition began with the Grandmaster division, featuring a special showcase group consisting of some of the world's best Open pros. This elite quartet included current U.S. Champion Will Schusterick, reigning World Champion Eric McCabe, number one rated player Dave Feldberg, and 2009 and 2010 Player of the Year Nikko Locastro.
Among this exclusive group, it was Will Schusterick who emerged with the top score for the day, posting an impressive -10. However, Paul McBeth stole the spotlight by carding a stunning -13 to take the lead. Joining him at the top of the leaderboard are Josh Anthon, Patrick Blazek, and Jesse Au, all of whom posted exceptional rounds and sit just one stroke behind McBeth's pace.
In the Women's Open division, Paige Pierce made a statement with her impressive round, shooting 63 points above her current rating to claim the lead. She is closely followed by Valarie Jenkins, last year's Player of the Year, who trails by just one throw.
Meanwhile, in the Masters division, Patrick Brown and Linc Morgan are tied for the top spot at -8, with David Bihl and Dan Oleksy trailing by just one stroke. In the Grandmasters category, Jim "No Spin" Myers is leading the pack by four throws over Harvey Brandt.
The professional divisions will switch to the Fountain Hills course on Thursday for round two, while the concurrent amateur SuperTour event will remain at the Vista Del Camino course in Scottsdale. Fans can catch all the action live from the beautiful Fountain Hills course through a webcast available on DiscGolfPlanet.tv, which begins on Thursday at 11:15 am Mountain Standard Time and continues through Friday and Saturday.
In addition to the live broadcast, PDGA.com will offer live scoring, as well as articles and photo galleries of each day's action.
This article was compiled from disc golf coverage with AI assistance. Source: pdga.com — https://www.pdga.com/memorial-day-1