2026 Australasian Open | FPO RD1 B9 | Pierce, Chocek, Smiley, Mertsch
Watch the back nine coverage of round one at the 2026 Australasian Open on the Go Throw Tour Down Under, sponsored by MVP Disc Sports. Sarah Hokom and Paul Oman provide expert commentary as Paige Pierce, Taylor Chosic, Cat Merch, and Jennifer Smiley compete in Spa Park, Taupo, New Zealand. The course is playing tough, with strong winds affecting players like Sofia Chow La Ray who are struggling to stay under par. As the players navigate the challenging holes, including a par-three that requires precise fairway throws, viewers can see expert strategies employed by the athletes. Paul Oman discusses the course tweaks made by TDs, such as removing obstacles and opening up playing lines for forehand throwers. Paige Pierce's attempt on hole 10 shows her passion for her craft, with a misrelease resulting in an OB. Taylor Chosic struggles to get height right on a key shot, highlighting the importance of precision in disc golf.
Watch FPO stars Pierce, Chocek, Smiley, and Mertsch battle at the 2026 Australasian Open. Who will emerge victorious?
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Welcome back everyone to the 2026 [music] Australasian Open. This is round one of the Go Throw Tour Down Under sponsored by MVP Disc Sports. I'm Sarah Hokom here with Paul Oman. Yeah, thanks for joining us for the back nine coverage of round one here at Spa Park in beautiful Taupo, New Zealand. [music] We've got a beautiful card today. Paige Pierce, Taylor Chosic, Cat Merch, and Jennifer Smiley. And oh, look at that Waikato River. The Huka Falls there coming in. Paige starting out the front nine very hot. Couple of eagles, couple birdies. Cat maybe just a double in there, some eagles and birdies. And [music] Sofia Chow La Ray also just um hanging on there under par. >> [music] >> Course is playing pretty tough today today. Little bend. Yeah, players are just getting to know this course for the most part. Here we are on the hole 10 to start off. It's a par three. You miss the mando on the left, it's OB lining the entire fairway downhill to this relatively open green. The wind will be ripping through this hole, however. Playing it pretty tough at 397. Yeah, I like the uh TDs made a slight tweak to this. There was a little OB on the left side that was kind of in the tree line that they took away. I think there was a mando down later that they took away and kind of opened up that right side for some of the forehand throwers. Kind of gave them a little more room. Paige hits the mando tree, kicks likely kicks into the OB. She may be safe over there. The OB is really tight, however, off that mando tree. Yeah, still got some work to do. Just a bit of misrelease. Was that maybe one of her putters that she was really trying to hit on? It actually looked more like a fairway driver to me. Maybe one of her passions. Your eyes work better than mine, probably. Well, I'm hoping I can see tomorrow what she's throwing. Here's Taylor. This looks like a buzz. That was a little bit high. Yeah, this is one that's very important to get the height right. You kind of want to run it down towards the basket for that last 50-60 feet. You don't really want to hit your disc at the basket cuz...
