Finns Dominate Early Rounds of 2026 PDGA Champions Cup

Finland is seizing control of the top position in the **disc golf** leaderboard following the conclusion of the first round at the prestigious New London Tech course. This event, serving as a key component of the upcoming Pro Majors season, kicked off on Thursday with impressive performances emerging from across Virginia.

The standout success belongs to Niklas Anttila, who carded an exceptional nine-under-par performance (equivalent to a 967-rated round) in Round 1. His tournament included a crucial bogey that was quickly recovered from, and later he went on **to score six consecutive birdies** on the back nine, a feat unmatched by other elite players during Thursday's play. This remarkable scoring stretch allowed Anttila to build a significant four-stroke lead heading into Friday.

Fellow Finns Henna Blomroos and Silva Saarinen also delivered strong showings. Blomroos demonstrated resilience after an initially slow start, bouncing back with eight birdies in the final part of her round to secure a two-under-par total. Saarinen, on the other hand, shot sharp early numbers (five under through 12 holes) and recovered from one bogey throughout the day, finishing at six-under-par.

The demanding nature of New London Tech was evident as only four holes were played below par by Anttila during MPO play, highlighting the course's challenging design in Bedford County. Adam Hammes and Ricky Wysocki also posted strong opening rounds (5 under each) alongside Niklas Anttila on Thursday, setting a high benchmark for competition.

Missy Gannon sits in third place at four-under-par after her round, while Eveliina Salonen is one stroke back with the same score. It seems many international players are taking note of the strong Finnish performance; Missy even humorously mentioned focusing on "brushing up" on her knowledge related to Finland heading into Friday's second round.

The dominance by Anttila was matched in course difficulty, as he turned in a 9-under card, significantly better than others. His four-stroke advantage puts considerable pressure on challengers this weekend.

Source information indicates that the event is part of the PDGA Pro Tour schedule for **2026**, with other relevant data mentioning a potential "Heinola Open" later in the year (though details from source 2 are currently unavailable). The course itself, New London Tech, presents formidable challenges averaging over par for many holes.

For context on Anttila's background and environment, his native Finland has its own challenging disc golf venue nearby. Sibbe Disc Golf near Helsinki is a notable facility recognized internationally (#44 in the world according to UDisc data) and locally as #2 in Finland (for **2026**). Although primarily known for tee time management information from source 3, it shows that high-quality disc golf exists within his home country.

The overall performance of the Finnish contingent is impressive. After Round 1, they collectively hold the lead on PDGA leaderboards (#54 and #58 globally in **2025**, respectively). The success of Anttila seems to be amplified by familiarity with demanding terrain; New London Tech required navigating rough terrain (extremely hilly) beyond just traditional course layout challenges. While not his home venue, the performance underscores how players can adapt well across different challenging landscapes.

The early rounds confirm that Finland is a major contender at this year's PDGA Champions Cup. Anttila leads the charge with a commanding four-shot advantage heading into Round 2 on Friday. Blomroos and Saarinen provide strong support in fourth, while Gannon and Salonen are close behind. The course certainly favors precision play over power strokes but rewards those who can navigate its demanding layout effectively.

This article was researched and written with AI assistance using the Disc Golf Buzz synthesis engine, drawing from multiple sources: pdga.com (https://www.pdga.com/news/fast-start-finns), dgpt.com (https://www.dgpt.com/event/2026-heinola-open/), udisc.com (https://udisc.com/courses/sibbe-disc-golf-0y4t), en.wikipedia.org (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disc_golf). Search powered by: Tavily, Brave Search, SerpAPI/Google. Written with AI assistance: Ollama/deepseek-r1. Original reporting credit belongs to the source journalists.

This article was compiled from disc golf coverage with AI assistance. Source: pdga.com — https://www.pdga.com/news/fast-start-finns