Back on the Air!

DGC's ongoing coverage of championship caliber disc golf was temporarily interrupted due to a court order in connection with an ongoing bribery scandal investigation, covered in more detail below. DGC's own crack legal team however has just returned from court with a new decision in hand, granting a motion to vacate the original restraining order. DGC will now continue its award winning reporting on the Championship Tournament Pre-Season Tour.

We have seen in the last few weeks the most amazing blend of drama, athleticism and scandal ever witnessed in the admittedly illustrous history of the Tour. March Madness was certainly in full bloom at the Warwick Invitational three weeks ago where the biggest story surrounded newcomer Saito "Man of the 200 Discs" as he scored his first singles finish above an established tour veteran. While Vegas odds-makers had Shankar an overwhelming 3:2 pre-season favorite to be the first player overcome by Saito, it was in fact Guns Mills, aka Mr. President (8:1) who received this dubious honor*. The feat followed a doubles round in which Saito and The Champ's much vaunted putting skills failed to materialize allowing Guns and Maddog to earn a comfortable victory behind Guns' strong all-around play, breaking the much discussed curse at last. Round 2 was a different story however, as Guns missed the most basic of putts and looked generally flustered. Ben meanwhile quietly led the pack with Dave one stroke back. Dave had chance to tie the match with a nice birdie look on hole 16: He locked in and let loose a dead-on up hill shot which clanked off the rim and then rolled thirty feet down the slope, squashing Dave's tender spirit and leading to two more bogies down the stretch for the deflated Maddog. Saito meanwhile had been leading Mills for some time with solid putting and consistent drives when Mike faced a medium putt to catch him on 17. He....choked it and the gallery went rabid with anticipation at Saito's impending historic first. After the round Saito looked straight into the camera and declared "Shankar, your next". Ben and Mike then held off Dave and Saito in a final doubles round but most of the spectators were too drunk with excitement following Satio's feat to notice.

Warwick Results:

Doubles:
Rnd 1: Dave and Mike (+3), Ben and Saito (+5)
Rnd 2: Ben and Mike (+something), Dave and Satio (plus something higher)

Singles:
Ben +3, Dave +6, Saito +7, Mike +8

Next week the tour was in Hartford for the Wickham Park Season Opener. Shankdog, Ben, Guns and Maddog all received late admittance to the event on various sponsors exemptions. Maddog, at least did not dissapoint. He smashed the rest of the field in curmedgeonly fashion fashion, winning by a record setting 8 strokes. Ravi meanwhile had a tough day, harried by the look of a man haunted by Saito's impending threat. After elbowing through the mobs of fans and Hartford glitterati we managed to ask the usually tight-lipped Maddog what the difference was today: "Those other guys pretty much just suck. If I bring my A game, its game over, and you can quote me on that". Indeed. Ben and Mike however were able to represent NYC with class and skill in the doubles match, putting New England and its hick Red Sox fans properly in their place.

Wickham Results:

Doubles:
Ben and Mike (+2), Ravi and Dave (+4)

Singles:
Dave (+5), Mike (+13), Ben (+13), Ravi (+22)

And then this past sunday, the Masters. Ben managed to avenge the embaressement of a week before but Dave once again grabbed the headlines with an Ace on hole 16. His disc split a "Y" shaped tree by mere inches at the start of his drive and then soared towards the hole, skipping off the ground clanking cleanly into the chains. Ching! Dave went a bit looney with excitement, climbing a tree, ripping off his shirt and proclaiming "I'm King of the World" followed by an indeciperable series of snorts and howls. The shot left the crowd frenzied and delirous. Just the hole before, Ben had made dramatic move with a birdie against Mills's bogey to take the lead. Dave was still a few shots back but his Ace leap frogged him in front of Mills and one behind Ben for a 2 stroke seperation amongst the leaders. Dave faded away down the stretch however, still probably delirious from his ace. Ben and Mike ended up tied heading into the final hole following an unusually poor putting performance by The Champ. Mills shanked his final drive though and Ben scraped out a victory, ending a tense and exciting round.

If anything the doubles round which preceded it was even more dramatic. Bernstein and Dave tried to continue Dan's undefeated doubles record against the dashing Brooklyn duo of Ben and Mike. It looked like the streak was in serious jeopardy though as Ben and Mike coasted to a comfortable 4 stroke lead and already had their minds on the mid round bbq. Dan turned out to have other plans (which is a good thing 'cause he forgot his potluck dish). On the final three holes he nailed three long pressure packed putts to claim victory. On each of these putts Dave had already shot and missed. The most amazing was on 17. Ben and Mike had a drop in birdie. Dan and Dave needed to match or the comeback was all but over. From deep in the woods, on one knee, Dan launched a 30 footer down a narrow low cielinged tunnel: it nicked a branch, veered 35 degrees and swooped into the chains like it lived there, quicker then a mama's boy rushing home after school. On the final hole Dan stepped up and nailed another long putt and then cast some funky mojo on Ben and Mike to force them to shank a 15 footer which would have tied. Ladies and Gentlemen, there is a new streak on the tour.

The Wickham Masters

Doubles:
Dan and Dave (+4), Ben and Mike (+5)

Singles:
Ben (+7), Mike (+8), Dave (+8), Dan (+15)


*Art mogul Mills is currently under federal investigation for a scandal in which he attempted to bribe and then sue DGC editors to not print the news of his loss to young Saito. Mills' bottomless pocketbook and attack dog lawyers are responsible for the restraining order keeping this site out of commission for three weeks.