ADG Tour Event: 18 March 2023
The 2023 edition of the Sydney Summer Slam may not have technically been held in Summer, but the conditions were definitely summer. Clear skies, little wind, humidity over 60% and temperatures in the low 30’s. The course was dry and in good conditions.
A full house of 76 players turned up to compete across 11 divisions.
MPO (Professional Open)
A good showing with 8 players in MPO. Soren Stottrup from Jindabyne set the standard for round 1 with a 995 rated 53 on the par 61 course holding a 1 shot lead over Leith Brodie. However, Soren shot a disappointing second round and Leith ran away with a 4-shot win over Rhys Winsniewski, Dan Frost and Clayton Beck. Event favourite, Chris Hill finished in 5th place tied with Soren.
MP40 (Professional Over 40)
Only 3 competitors in MP40 and JJ (Jonathan Jonas) shot 2 consistent rounds of 59 and 60 to finish at 3 under and 3 shots clear of Olatundji Akpo-Sani.
MA1 (Advanced Amateur)
The MA1 division continues to grow and this was our biggest division of the event with 14 players. In round 1, local Danny Su shot a 966 rated 54 to go to lunch with a 1 shot lead over Ryan Goad. In the second round, all the top runners dropped the ball, except for Ryan who finished at 5 under and 5 shots clear of Kade Ashton and Danny Su.
FA1 (Advanced Women)
Gina Hill may have been the solo contender in FA1, but they didn’t stop her from shooting a strong 2 rounds, scoring an average 40 points higher than her rating at 7 over for the event.
MA40 (40+ Amateur)
Only 4 players taking part in MA40. Mat Wallis, returning from a shoulder injury, shot a hot 976 rated first round to take a 14 shot lead over Peter Helyer into the lunch break. Mat took the foot off the accelerator and cruised home in the second round to finish at 1 over and a 17 shot win over Peter.
MA50 (50+ Amateur)
Another strong showing in MA50 with 9 players hitting the course. Mat Lamy shot a 62 in his first round to lead by 1 over Joshua Conroy and another 2 shots over Nicholas Hall. Mat couldn’t keep up though in round 2 and Josh took the win over Nicholas by 2 shots with Mat dropping back to 3rd.
MA2 (Intermediate Amateur)
12 players competed in MA2 and at the end of round 1, 6 players were within 3 shots of the leaders, Harrision Bendall and John Soden at an even round of 61. In the second round, Matt Ellis repeated his first round score of 62 to take a 3-shot win over Harrison and another 2 shots back to John Lewis and Joe Nardo.
FA2 (Intermediate Women)
Only 2 ladies competed in FA2. Peata Hepi shot a strong 70 in round 1 to lead by 8 at the half-way mark. Julie Laneville came back strong in round 2 and after 38 holes the two ladies were tied at 151. So it went to a playoff on the challenging island hole 18. Peata held her nerve and took the win.
MA3 (Recreational Amateur)
The Recreational division seems to be popular with the crew from Camden Disc Golf. In the first round, Benn Kennedy came out strong with a par round, taking the lead by one stroke over fellow Camden player, Tim Wright. In the second round, Benn and Tim fought it out with Tim shooting the better round to take the win by 2 over Benn.
MA4 (Novice Amateur)
Lots of new faces in MA4 with 12 players, many in their first tournament. In round 1, Jan Ortiz shot an impressive 65 with other first-timers, Chris Johnson and Evan Hollins just 2 shots back. After lunch, Jan hit the accelerator shooting 2 better than his first round with a 2 over 63. This was more than enough to take home the win in his first tournament. Chris Johnson took second, 8 shots back and Ari Winship-lee in 3rd place another 6 shots back. Jan will definitely be one to keep an eye on in the near future.
FA4 (Novice Women)
In FA4 it was a close battle between Lisa Wallis and Jennifer Bailey. Jennifer took a 2 shot lead to the lunch break but she was unable to back up her first round performance for the second round, while Lisa put together 2 consistent rounds to win FA4 by 3 shots.
Other Prizes
Thanks to our sponsors, we had a number of CTP and special prizes to give away on the day. Congratulations to the following winners:
CTP Hole 1, all divisions (sponsored by RPM Discs): Ben Wynn
CTP Hole 9, MPO/MP40/MA1 (sponsored by Disc Golf Warehouse): Dan Frost
CTP Hole 14, MA3/FA1/FA2 (sponsored by Berg’s Bags): Jack Tonzing
CTP Hole 17, MA2/MA40/MA50 (sponsored by Disc Golf Warehouse): Jack Lemon
CTP Hole 18, MA4/FA4 (sponsored by RPM Discs): Jan Ortiz
Most Improved player (sponsored by Disc Golf Warehouse): Wesley Solmon
Best Story (sponsored by Jindy Disc Golf): Ben Wynn & Sam Homard
Most Lost Discs (sponsored by Disc Golf Warehouse): Lewis Jones & Mathew Craig
And finally, there were no aces on the day, so the ace pot prize of $390 was decided by a random draw – the winner was Jonathan Jonas with luck number “69”!
Thank You
Special thanks to Disc Golf Warehouse for signing up as title sponsor and sending us some great prizes. Thanks also to RPM Discs, Jindy Disc Golf Shop, AUS DISCS and Berg’s Bags for supporting the event.
Finally, a huge shout out to TD Helena Walker along with Mat, Robert, Stephen, Paul and Jan for setting up the event and volunteer spotter Josh.
Sydney event results here: https://www.pdga.com/tour/event/66782
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