By Trevor Jackson
YOUNG Western Australian Blake Houston has taken all before him and claimed the City of Mount Gambier Eruption Pro Open disc golf tournament on the weekend.
The 15-year-old claimed the win by a healthy six shots.
His final score of -7 for the three rounds of 18 holes included rounds of 63, 63 and 62 over the par 65 layout.
The event – part of the National Disc Golf tour – was run by the Mount Gambier Disc Golf Club and tournament director Ryan Nicholson said it was pleasing to see such a young star rise up to the challenge of the pro course at the Valley Lakes venue.
“Blake had been in second place on the Australian National Disc Golf tour up until this tournament,” he said.
“The trip across from WA has earned some extra points on the ADG tour, which is great for him.”
Not only that, Houston also claimed the win in the Sacrifice to the Gods one-off shot.
Players were chosen by a random draw, a raffle, a nearest to the basket competition and the leading man and woman.
With just the five players competing and $500 on offer for the closest disc to the basket, it was all up for grabs.
The players are 175 metres above the basket, and 300 metres away from it.
“Blake landed a disc 49 metres from the basket,” Nicholson said.
“It is not a record, but pretty close.
“There is nothing else like that in the disc golf world – it is really unique.
“We hope it will grown in stature in the future and we hope to get some real money behind it for a hole-in-one.”
Connor Donnely claimed the Advanced category by eight shots over Jonathan Dragt after a strong final round of 63.
Nicholson competed in the Amateur Masters 40+ division and finished runner-up to Daniel Hartley, just three shots in arrears.
“I entered the event with a significant shoulder complaint,” he said.
“I didn’t know how I was going to go until I started throwing some discs.
“It was hard to get the shoulder feeling loose and going at the start of each round but once I was warmed up I got some decent rounds in.
“I had a strong round three (73) to sneak into a tie for second place with Jason Browne.”
Other Limestone Coast players to perform well included Rob Marcarto in the Amateur masters 50+ category with a convincing victory.
Adopted local Alex Costales claimed the Intermediate category by just four shots.
The Mount Gambier disc Golf member lives in Adleaide but his partner lives in Millicent and he travels to the region regularly.
The Novice category included many Adelaide players, with the Limestone Coast’s Curtis King finishing in fourth place.
The Novice Women’s division saw Mount Gambier’s amy Weyers and Michelle Schulz fight it out with Anna Kolodina.
In the end, after trailing by one shot heading into the final round, Weyers shot an impressive 88 to claim the win by just two shots.
“Those girls had a real tight tussle through the whole event,” Nicholson said.
“I don’t think they were more than two shots away from each other for the whole tournament.
“Michelle was instrumental in running the tournament and had a lot of distractions, so to go out there and back it up playing three rounds and finish third is a credit to her.”
Overall Nicholson said the event seemed to be enjoyed by all who attended.
He said many of the players were at the course for the first time and were impressed with the layout.
“The positive feedback we received from the visiting players was fantastic,” Nicholson said.
“They rate the course as one of the best in the country and see themselves coming back to play in the event every year.
“We hope to see it getting bigger every year – we were restricted this year with registrations due to border restrictions with NSW and Victoria but the way disc golf is trending around the world, numbers for these big events just explode.”
Nicholson said the course itself provided a real challenge, with water in play alongside the lake but the chance to play it smart and go the long way around.
Typical of the dedication to the weekend was South Australian Disc Golf president Gareth Morgan who played two rounds with a moon boot after tearing the ligaments in his ankle a week before during a beach volleyball game.
Nicholson said he was pleased with the support the event received, with the main sponsors the City of Mount Gambier and New Zealand based RPM Discs.
He said many other sponsors also helped along the way which made it all possible.
“We had a tremendous diverse array of local sponsors who backed the event,” Nicholson said.
“The players were all taken aback by how professional the event was.
“We couldn’t do that without the sponsors, club volunteers and committee members who all invested a huge amount of their time and money to really turn it on.”
