KJ USA will miss his first Major in 5 years

Good afternoon, you’re In The Circle! Let’s get you ready for the week.

📝 On today’s card:

• Champions Cup Qualifier

• Blue Ridge Championship recap

• Weekly pro rankings

Read time: 2 minutes and 35 seconds

CHAMPIONS CUP QUALIFIER

A qualifier was held yesterday to give MPO and FPO waitlisted players a chance to earn a spot in the tournament. There were 8 MPO spots and 4 FPO spots up for grabs.

The qualifier was added after the fact once some top pros voiced their frustration with missing the registration deadline. So to give those who missed registration another chance, they went the old-fashioned way. In a one-round tournament, the best scores earn a spot.

Notable MPO players who missed the cut are Ezra Aderhold, Kevin Jones, and Garrett Gurthie. While former world champion James Conrad shot -7, winning the qualifier and the opportunity to play on Thursday. This will be the first Major event Kevin Jones has missed since 2018.

On the FPO side, five women battled for four spots. So in a sense, there were four winners and only one loser. Players Jessica Weese, Silva Saarinen, Emily Beach, and Haley Childs will all be competing in the tournament while Leah Tsinajinnie will have to sit this one out.

TOURNAMENT RECAP

Despite being seventeen years old and having a pending lawsuit earlier this season, Gannon Buhr just won his DGPT event for 2023. Gannon fought back from the chase card to win for the second time this year.

Kristin Tattar came out on top beating second place by nine strokes and securing back-to-back DGPT wins. This is also her third tournament win in the 2023 season.

This is good momentum for Gannon and Kristin to carry into the first PDGA Major of the year, the Champions Cup.

HIGHLIGHTS

• If you missed coverage of the tournament, check out the highlights from your two champions, Gannon Buhr and Kristin Tattar.

• Check out the 5 best shots from the MPO players, and the best of FPO.

• Too little too late for Brodie Smith, but he shot the second highest-rated round of the tournament in round 3 with 1076. Matt Thompson had the second highest with 1078 in round 2 and Gannon was on top with 1083 in round 3.

View the full scores here 👇

WEEKLY PRO RANKINGS - TOP 10

RULE OF THE DAY