Missy Gannon Defends Title Lead as DGPT Elite+ Event Heats Up

The inaugural round of the 2023 Disc Golf Pro Tour - Discraft Ledgestone Open has come to a close, with some thrilling performances from both female and male professional players. In the FPO (Female Professional) division, Missy Gannon started her title defense on a strong note by achieving a historic feat at Northwood Black. She successfully parked the narrow, downhill 455-foot opening hole, a feat that has eluded other FPO players in the history of the course.

Meanwhile, the MPO (Male Professional) field was in top form, with several players posting impressive scores. Adam Hammes and Cole Redalen set the tone early on by carding 10-under rounds. The pace was then matched or exceeded by Calvin Heimburg and Ezra Robinson, who posted 12-under scores. James Proctor and Chris Dickerson also turned in excellent performances, with 11-under opening rounds.

However, it's not all about individual performances; the leaderboard is shaping up to be a closely contested affair. In FPO, there are currently 16 players within four strokes of Missy Gannon's lead. The top of the leaderboard includes Stephanie Vincent and Ella Hansen, who are tied for second place, one stroke behind Gannon. Ellen Widboom rounds out the lead card at even par, joined by Maria Oliva and Sarah Gilpin.

In terms of statistics, UDisc reports that Ella Hansen leads in strokes gained tee-to-green at 6.56, a full stroke ahead of Missy Gannon. Erika Stinchcomb tops the field with an impressive 86% fairway hit rate.

The MPO leaderboard is equally fascinating, with Calvin Heimburg and Ezra Robinson joining Simon Lizotte (tied for eighth place) as the only players to turn in clean sheets at Lake Eureka. Proctor's exceptional play this season continued with a field-high 13 birdies, but he was hampered by three OB strokes.

The script is set to flip on Day 2, as the FPO field heads to Sunset Hills, widely regarded as one of the top FPO tracks on tour where scoring opportunities are plentiful. The MPO field will be tackling the challenging Northwood Black course once again.

For live coverage of the DGPT Elite+ event, tune in to the Disc Golf Network at 9 a.m. CT for FPO action and 2:30 p.m. CT for MPO coverage.

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