2026 Queen City Classic | FPO R1B9 | Handley, Saarinen, Mandujano, Steen | Jomez Disc Golf
The 2026 Queen City Classic is underway at Hornets Nest Park in Charlotte, North Carolina, as Erica Stinchcom and Madison Walker guide viewers through the back nine of round one. The event, presented by Another Round Disc Golf, features a strong field including Handley, Saarinen, Mandujano, and Steen, with Jomez Disc Golf broadcasting the action live. As the players navigate the challenging course, Erica and Madison offer insights into the key strategies and techniques required to succeed. With conditions being particularly lovely, they note that players are having a great time, including Valerie Mandano and Anukin Sen, who are "shredding" the front nine with impressive scores. One of the highlights of the round is Hole 10, a par-3 at 325 feet, where straight-shooting sidearm throws prove to be the most effective approach. Erica shares her preferred play for this hole, emphasizing the importance of avoiding early left turns and instead pushing straight to set up a birdie opportunity.
Watch highlights from the 2026 Queen City Classic featuring top FPO players Handley, Saarinen, Mandujano, and Steen!
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Hello and welcome to the back nine of round one of the 2026 Queen City Classic presented by Another Round Disc Golf. Our third stop and we are so stoked to be in Charlotte, North Carolina at Hornets Nesk Park. I'm Erica Stinchcom. I'm Madison Walker. Where are your two odd geese? Honk. >> Honk. God, I got through the whole thing and I messed it up. You >> messed up your name. >> Gosh, we're having some lovely conditions out here. And watching Valerie Mandano and Anukin Sen in particular absolutely shred the front nine. Five down is such a good score out here. We got nine more holes to go. Yeah, a lot of birdies to be had so far today. Um we have a had a couple putting errors from Silva Sarin, but she's knocking the offseason rust off. This is her first uh event back and we're welcoming all the Euros with open arms that are back this week for their first little stint. Hole 10 is a par 3 325 ft. You really need to push straight for the majority of the hole before turning right. I think the most common mistake is diving into the woods a bit too early. It's a really tough right-hand backhand in my opinion. I think it sets up well for a straight pushing sidearm. And just like many of the holes out here, as Madison said on the front nine, it's kind of just a long hallway. And usually straight is the best thing that you can do. Whoever's throwing straight is gonna be scoring out here. Sets up nice for the lefty. Oh yeah, this is the biggest hallway. Um, when you make the turn is that kind of early right side. I can tell you what you don't want to do here, and that's go early left. >> Do not mess around. >> Okay. With early left, >> noted. Oh, wow. Sila buzz in the basket with that one. Pretty shot shape. Kind of her bread and butter though, that left to right moving shot. Love this kind of forced Annie shot from Val. This is what I try to do as well. It gets tangled up on the right side just a bit. Here's my preferred play if you got it. And we know Holland has it. Straight pushing forehand that fades at the end....
