2024 Texas State Disc Golf Championships Preview: The Last Stop in Texas - Ultiworld Disc Golf
Texas States is back on the Elite Series The 29th Annual Texas State Disc Golf Championships will be held in Houston, Texas, on the Elite Series. This change comes after Austin was the largest city the Disc Golf Pro Tour visits, but Houston now holds the title as America's 4th largest city. Last year, Calvin Heimburg won his 2nd win of the year, defeating Anthony Barela and Joel Freeman by six strokes. Six-time Texas State champion Ricky Wysocki was absent due to injury. Sai Ananda won her first career Silver win by three strokes over Kristin Tattar. Despite her Major championship streak ending last week, Tattar is still performing better than she did at this point last season.
Published : 4 weeks ago by Justin Westfall in Sports
2024 Texas State Disc Golf Championships Preview: The Last Stop in Texas
Texas States is back on the Elite Series
The final stop on the Texas swing brings the Disc Golf Pro Tour to Houston for the 29th Annual Texas State Disc Golf Championships. Two weeks ago, we noted that Austin is the largest city that the DGPT visits. But with this year’s elevation to the Elite Series and the event returning to Brock Park, Houston actually holds that title as America’s 4th largest city, with more than double the population of Austin.
While the Texas State Championships were first held in Houston, this event has traditionally traveled around the state to different courses and cities. Since 2020, the tournament has been classified as an A-tier, Silver, and Elite event, both on the DGPT and the former PDGA National Tour. Perhaps the tournament can now find some stability with its current venue.
Last year, Calvin Heimburg earned his 2nd win of the year with a terrific performance, defeating Anthony Barela and Joel Freeman by six strokes. Six-time Texas State champion Ricky Wysocki — who has never lost at this event! — was notably absent due to injury. In the FPO division, Sai Ananda picked up her first career Silver win by three strokes over Kristin Tattar. Ananda averaged a 993 event rating, her career-high at a B-tier or higher event.
1. Ricky Wysocki has played this event six times in his career and has six Texas State titles to his name. The Texas State Championships have traditionally moved around the state, but no matter where they go, if Wysocki is there, he finds a way to take home the trophy. Ricky was unable to play this event last year as he was dealing with a Lyme Disease related injury. This time around, however, he should be good to go, having taken some recovery time after last playing in Waco a few weeks ago. Wysocki even posted a video of himself putting in his backyard last week while wearing a cowboy hat. There’s no doubt he takes pride in his Texas State win-streak, and he could well bring home title number seven.
2. Kristin Tattar’s Major championship streak came to an end last week, and she posted about several issues she’s been facing including fatigue, back pain, sleeplessness, and personal issues that were weighing on her. The most concerning issue, however, are swollen ankles, though Tattar says they are just a result of ant bites. Despite a disappointing USWDGC performance, Tattar is still performing better than she did at this point last season, averaging 14 PDGA rating points higher in her first three events of the season. If Kristin doesn’t get back on top this week, though, it will be the first time she has failed to win in three consecutive Elite/Major events since the beginning of the 2022 season.
3. Calvin Heimburg had his best performance of the 2023 season in Houston, averaging the highest event rating of his career at 1073. Vinny led the field in putting and OB rate while finishing second in tee-to-green performance. He was even hitting basketball putts from the rough. This course sets up extremely well for Heimburg, who’s likely the best low-ceiling thrower in the game. Calvin was able to get his game back on track in Austin, finishing in 3rd while still dealing with an elbow injury that’s limiting his forehand usage. A big part of his success in Austin came from putting 100% in C1X. If his putter stays hot this week, he’ll have a great opportunity to repeat and pick up his first win since last year’s Jonesboro Open.
4. Much of the FPO field is likely suffering from fatigue, going into their 4th consecutive weekend of competition. Several players who took part in the All-Star event have now played six of the past seven weeks, and some, like Ohn Scoggins and Kat Mertsch, have in fact played seven consecutive events. A few players like Paige Pierce, Hailey King, and Macie Velediaz have opted to skip this event. Ella Hansen will also be notably absent this week as she is currently playing a couple of events in New Zealand. Keep an eye on the registration page for any last-minute drops, and don’t be surprised if the field comes out of the gates a bit sluggish coming off the Major.
Brock Park is a former golf course that was recently revitalized by the Houston Parks and Recreation Department as a multi-use facility focused on adventure sports. The park actually features two separate 18-hole courses. The MPO field will play the Premier course (renamed from Brock Gold last year); the FPO field will play the Diamond course.
Both courses were used for this event last year, though lots of minor changes have been implemented for this year. Several of the OB lines have been adjusted, and teepad locations have been tweaked as well. Overall, the layouts are very similar to the 2023 event. The most substantial change is the shortening of hole 15 on the Diamond course, which only saw four birdies in last year’s tournament. The basket has been moved 75 feet closer to the tee, which should open up scoring opportunities. The FPO course also contains two notable “mound” greens, but both have been made significantly easier by moving the basket from the top of the hill to closer to ground level.
Both courses at Brock Park feature very flat terrain, tight OB lines, and a healthy dose of trees, which often force players to throw low-ceiling shots. Both conclude with a par 3 on hole 18 that requires players to land on an island green. While this hole has the only water-carry on the FPO layout, five of the last six holes feature a basket that is nestled up near the water. With heavier winds in the forecast this weekend, that will likely lead to some stressful putting situations.
Temperatures should be warm throughout the weekend, but players will need to contend with some moderate to heavy winds in each round.
Friday: Partly sunny with highs near 80. Winds 15 to 25 mph.
Saturday: Partly cloudy with highs near 80. Winds 15 to 25 mph.
Sunday: Cloudy with highs in the lower 80s. Winds 15 to 25 mph.
Topics: Golf