The 4 Disc Golf Majors Explained
The 4 disc golf 'majors' are the PDGA Champions Cup, European Open, Professional Disc Golf World Championships, and the United States Disc Golf Championship.
Chris Dickerson Celebrates Winning the Newest Disc Golf Major: The Champions Cup
How Many Disc Golf Majors Are There?
With the addition of the Champions Cup to the Disc Golf Pro Tour schedule, disc golf now joins ball golf by having four major championships. Although some people consider the Amateur Championship and the Masters Championship the 5th and 6th disc golf majors, this is inaccurate and must be corrected to further legitimize disc golf as a competitive sport.
While it may be controversial to not consider the Amateur and Masters Championships major disc golf tournaments, those players are not the best of the best and therefore they are not major championships. One thing that can be said to these people is that the United States Amateur Championship in Golf is not considered a major, even thought one of the two greatest golfers of all time Jack Nicklaus says it is more important than some majors. While this may be true, professional disc golf players do not compete and therefore they are not disc golf major championships.
To answer the question, there are four major disc golf championships in the calendar year, despite what you may see online of there being 5 disc golf majors or 6 disc golf majors.
The 4 Disc Golf Major Championships
The disc golf major championships, in the order in which they are played are:
The PDGA Champions Cup
European Open
Professional Disc Golf World Championship
United States Disc Golf Championship
Below we will discus the history and relevance of the four disc golf major championships.
Champions Cup
There is a disc golf major championship in Georgia. Yes, it is in Augusta, no, it is not at Augusta National. Instead, the Champions Cup is held on the hallowed grounds of the Disc Golf Hall of Fame.
The Disc Golf Course at the International Disc Golf Center (mouthful!) tested the skills of the highest rated field in professional disc golf history. This Houck designed disc golf course is long and technical, testing the drive accuracy and scrambling ability of the entire men's pro field.
Notable Champions Cup Facts
The Fist Champions Cup was held in 2022
Chris Dickerson took home his second disc golf major
The 2022 Champions Cup has the highest purse ever (135k+)
The Champions Cup was the first disc golf major in 2022
Chris Dickerson's payout was $13,000 for winning
The PDGA plans to hold the Champions Cup at this course for years to come, with the hopes of making an iconic links on hallowed-adjacent ground.
The opinion of the author is that the PDGA has a plan to make the Champions Cup a virtual copy of The Masters.
While it will take some time for the Champions Cup to even hope to enter the upper echelon of major disc golf championships, the course is challenging enough to where we can see movement on moving day and in the fourth round leading to exciting finishes and great moments throughout. Hopefully as it gets groomed and maintained more and more it will procure a iconic feeling, but it's going to take iconic moments to make it the best...
European Open
The second disc golf major of the season is the European Open. Played at The Beast, an absolutely stunning course in the quaint city of Nokia, Finland.
Paul McBeth is a 5 time European Open Champion
Paul McBeth will look to defend his European Open crown in 2022, the first installment of the major since 2019 due to coronavirus restrictions.
We will see the show the city of Nokia and the European disc golf conglomerate's have in store for us in what is sure to be a celebration of a long awaited return. My money is on Paul McBeth, he is chasing Ken Climo down for major championship wins and this would be a statement.
Professional Disc Golf World Championship
The 2022 Professional Disc Golf World Championship is slated to be the third disc golf major on the schedule and is being held at Emporia Country Club in Emporia, Kansas.
People debate if the Disc Golf World Championship or the United States Disc Golf Championship is the more important event, with more probably leaning to the side of the USDGC.
James Conrad Looks to Defend his World Championship in 2022
This years Dynamic Discs Open (2022) was also held at Emporia Country Club and proved to be very difficult for the highly talented field, with only a handful of players breaking par.
James Conrad looks to defend his title after sinking the greatest disc golf shot of all time in the 2021 Disc Golf World Championship, narrowly beating out the legend Paul McBeth.
Hopefully the wind is not as bad as it was in the spring and the out of bounds fiasco is fixed in time for the 2022 disc golf world championships.
United States Disc Golf Championship
Since 1999 the United States Disc Golf Championship has been held at the Winthrop University Disc Golf Course in the great city of Rock Hill, South Carolina. This is the disc golf major with the richest history and has been host to many of disc golfs classic moments.
Paul McBeth looks to defend his title as champion, and this years purse looks to be the biggest in the events history. We look forward to seeing if the Discraft sponsored athlete can repeat as champion of the United States!
Winthrop University Gold DG Course: Home to the United States Disc Golf Championship
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