Leaders Emerge at 2023 PDGA World Championship After First Round

The weather may have delayed the start of play at Smugglers' Notch, but once the field finally teed off on Thursday, it was game on. The skies cleared, and the birdies began to drop as disc golfers took advantage of perfect playing conditions on Fox Run Meadows.

Two players who took full advantage of the sunshine were Grady Shue and Niklas Anttila. Both men produced standout performances to jump 27 spots up the leaderboard and share the lead with impressive rounds of 12-under and 11-under, respectively. They were closely followed by Ricky Wysocki and Chris Dickerson, who also fired 12-under scores to sit just one stroke back.

However, it's not just these four players who are vying for the top spot. Gannon Buhr, Cole Redalen, and Anthony Barela all finished just one stroke behind the leaders, while a further nine players were within four shots of the lead. Raven Newsom, in particular, caught the eye with a remarkable charge from 26th place to solo eighth.

Shue's impressive performance has seen him establish himself as one of the top fairway hitters so far, with an incredible 80% success rate and 5.17 strokes gained outing. Anttila, meanwhile, was bogey-free until the final hole, where a rollaway on the 18th green prevented him from posting an even more impressive score.

Wysocki's 12-under round was notable for being bogey-free, with four of his five Circle 2 looks finding the mark. Dickerson, however, struggled initially before carding a crucial par on hole 14 and holding on for a solid score.

As the field heads into the second week of play at Brewster Ridge, the leaderboard is starting to take shape. With so many players still in contention, it's shaping up to be an action-packed weekend in Vermont.

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