The United States Disc Golf Championship (USDGC) is one of the top three events in the world.  It is played each year on the Winthrop course in Rock Hill, South Carolina.  The USDGC has the strongest field and the highest professional purse in disc golf.  This event is also the hardest to qualify for.  One way to qualify is to earn the right to represent your state or country.  Every year the USDGC provides one spot for each state or country to participate in the event.  The Professional Disc Golf Association (PDGA) State and National Coordinators are given the task to decide how the USDGC spot will be awarded.  Oklahoma’s State Coordinator, Joe Rotan, has chosen the 33rd Oklahoma Flying Disc State Championships as this year’s qualifying event.

This year’s State Championships will be held at Griffin Park in Norman, Oklahoma on July 26-27.  This year’s tournament host is the Norman Disc Golfers Association (NDGA).  The event consists of 3 rounds of 18 holes, on one of Oklahoma’s toughest courses, and 5 field events.  Champions will be crowned in disc golf, putting, distance, freestyle, most time aloft (MTA), and double disc court (DDC).  An overall State Champion will also be crowned for the professional and amateur with the most accrued points from the six events.  This event really does decide the best disc thrower.

Below are the criteria and rules for the Oklahoma USDGC Challenge:

Criteria

·         Must be a current PDGA member.

·         Must be registered with the PDGA as from or live in Oklahoma.

·         Play in the State Championships.

·         Sign up for the Oklahoma USDGC Challenge.

·         Cannot have already qualified for the USDGC.

·         All professional and advanced divisions can qualify.

Rules

When signing up for the State Championships mark the box that says Oklahoma USDGC Challenge.  This challenge will cost $5 dollars to anyone wanting to enter.  All of the money raised will go towards the USDGC entry fee ($230) and player traveling fees.  The Norman Disc Golfers Association (NDGA), Tulsa Disc Sports Association (TDSA), and Twisted Flyer will also sponsor this challenge.  The sponsorships allows us to guarantee that the complete USDGC entry fee will paid for.  Any extra money raised will go towards traveling fees.

The Oklahoma representative will be decided by the player with the lowest disc golf score at the end of the three rounds.  If that player agrees to represent Oklahoma his/her entry fee will be paid for and mailed in by the NDGA before the USDGA deadline.  Any extra money raised will be given to the player to assist with traveling fees.  If that player does not agree, then it will go to player with the next lowest score.  This process will continue until a player agrees to be the representative.

If a representative decides at a later point that he/she cannot attend, he/she must return any money donated to the NDGA.  The PDGA State Coordinator will then pick a representative.  If the representative does not return the money he/she will be permanently banned from being the Oklahoma State Representative.  The PDGA & USDGC will also be notified of the situation with a recommendation of suspension from the PDGA and future USDGC events.

For more information or if you would like to sponsor the challenge please contact Dannie Stacey at (405) 326-5454.