03.01.16

More than 400 competitors made the trek to Las Vegas this past weekend for the 2016 Gentlemen’s Club Challenge presented by Innova. The Las Vegas Disc Golf Club had a vision to make the GCC something special and they hit the jackpot with this years event. The GCC was moved from the usual location at Sunset Park to the Wildhorse Golf Club in Henderson, NV. Wildhorse featured three championship level courses for competitors to test their skills.

Philo Brathwaite and Jessica Weese lead the charge for Team Innova from the opening bell. Philo blistered the track in round one, throwing down a 49 which put him three shots clear of the field. Philo maintained his steady play throughout the weekend to capture his first big win of the 2016 season. Up by five strokes with the last hole to play, Philo was able to lay up the last shot and cruise into the clubhouse with a comfortable three stroke victory.

Jessica Weese grabbed the lead early among Pro Women. She was joined atop the leaderboard by teammates Juliana Korver, Melodie Bailey, and Danielle Vargas, each of whom had their eyes set squarely on the women’s top spot. Weese however, pulled away from the field in round three and cruised to victory. Jessica also won by three.

George Smith helped to complete a team sweep with a fantastic performance in Masters. Smith got off to a bit of a slower start that left him five shots off the lead after round one. A smoking hot round of 48 in round 2 however, put George right back into contention. He finished off the weekend with steady rounds of 54 and 52 which were sufficient to earn Smith his first win of the year. And you guessed it, George won by three.

Barry Schultz and Debbie Scott earned a sweep of their own in North Carolina at Stumpy’s Fling and Ching. Barry took home first place in Open, while Debbie handled business in Pro Women.

We now turn our sights to the season’s first PDGA National Tour event, The Memorial Championship in Scottsdale, AZ. Be sure to check out coverage of the event at www.pdga.com.