Mount Gambier’s Crater Lakes erupted on the weekend as the city hosted its premier disc golf event.
The Mount Gambier Disc Golf Club hosted the City of Mount Gambier Eruption, presented by RPM Discs, at the Valley Lakes course.
The Eruption attracted 138 players to the region across 13 amateur and professional divisions for both open and age restricted classifications.
Competitors battled 30+kph swirly winds, over 16mm of rainfall and threats of thunderstorms across the three days of competition, which made it challenging for even some of the veterans of the sport.
Close battles and changing leader boards some fierce competition leading into the final day of play with some heart-breaking rollways and unlucky skips costing valuable strokes as players tried to navigate the 18 holes unscathed.
Throughout the competition, hole 2 doubled up as a longest drive event during play with Hannah Crockett-Naini taking out the women’s division with a 111-metre drive and young gun Ryan Hart taking out the men’s longest drive with a 188-metre bomb.
The FJ15 division saw a close battle between Victoria’s Anita Weber and Mt Gambier’s Jessica Holman, with Holman taking home the gold with an 8-stroke lead at the end of round 3.
The MJ15 division hosted a close battle at the top and was well represented by six competitors with Henry Arnold taking the lead after day one but a dominant second round by Matti Pearsall proved too much to reel back in, taking out the division by two strokes over Arnold despite throwing the best score for the division all event on round 3.
FA4 saw an outstanding performance by local player Nicole McPherson who set the tone early by throwing a first-round score rating of over 100 points above her personal rating, helping her take out the division by 14 strokes over second placed Lauren Gallaway.
The men’s Amateur 4 division (MA4) boasted a healthy field of 21 competitors and saw a close battle at the top with local newbie Andrew Young-Jackway leading after round 1 and 2 but a last-minute push by Thomas De Heus saw him draw level with Young-Jackway after three rounds, forcing a playoff.
De Heus continued his hot round form and was able to take the win after the additional hole was played.
MA3, the second largest division, was a rollercoaster ride with numerous changes to the podium across the three days and resulting in only eight strokes between first and sixth after day three, with local hero Mick Wilson sitting equal first with Nathan Borg heading into the final day.
Numerous lead changes and some unlucky rolls saw Nathan Borg hold onto outright first place with Phil Morgan finishing strong to claim second, pushing Wilson into the bronze position.
The FA2 division was well represented with eight competitors but the power of the longest drive winner proved too much for the field with Hannah Crockett-Naini taking a 10 stroke win over second placed Sarah Middleton.
MA2 saw a close battle between the Adelaide crews from first to fourth, with Ashley Gabe proving too strong after being moved up one division due to some red-hot form over the last couple of months and taking a 4-stroke win over his fellow club member Sean Davis.
The MA40+ division was a one-horse race with Jason Vidot proving too strong over the rest of the field taking a 14-stroke lead over second place winner Lee Thompson.
MA50+ field was well represented with 13 competitors, but John Cranstoun was all class after leading all three rounds despite some tough pressure from second placed legend “diamond” Dan Hartley.
The last amateur division saw an outstanding performance by Ryan Hart who was the only amateur to have a total score after the three rounds under par for the event, which was too much for Tim Davis to reel in, five strokes behind Hart in second place.
Men’s Pro 40+ hosted a good battle between the three competitors with Ken Summers showing his expertise over local club member Justin Clarke who, after throwing the best score in round 3, could not catch Summers, finishing with a 9-stroke win over Clarke in second.
The Females Pro Open division was close between Sarah Lee, Cassie Sweetten and Toosje Frequin with Sweetten, who has been so dominant in the sport over the last 10 years, holding a 2-stroke lead over Lee after day one, but a blistering second round saw Lee turn the tables and gain a 6-stroke lead going into the last round.
This hot round proved too much for Sweetten to chase down with no ground being made and Lee taking out first place by six strokes.
Finally, the Men’s Pro open field of 14 competitors gave the entire event a showcase of their skills and ability to tackle the tough conditions at the Valley Lakes.
Numerous lead changes took place with Tim Bohan leading after round 1.
Round 2 saw some hot rounds from last year’s winner Blake Houston, MGDG club champion’s winner David Perry and the superstar of the sport David Feldman, all throwing over 1000 rated rounds on day 2.
Feldman was too strong to catch with a 15 below par score across the three rounds, taking out the 2022 Eruption Men’s pro division over second place Perry five strokes behind.
Special thanks to the Tournament Director Michelle Schultz for running this amazing event and a big thank you to all our sponsors.
