It has been less than a decade since Missy Gannon picked up a disc for the first time.
Since then, Gannon has become a star on both Team Discraft and Team Ledgestone, a Disc Golf Pro Tour Elite Series winner, a DGPT champion and is currently the No. 4-ranked player in the world according to the UDisc World Rankings.
Her journey began in 2014.
“A friend from college, Ben Banker, took Tom and I out to play in Colorado for the first time,” she said. “I didn’t really like it because I was terrible at it. A couple months later, we moved to Colorado and decided to pick it back up again. There were so many disc golf events and clubs throughout the state and eventually we found ourselves playing or competing every weekend.”
Gannon’s podium finish at the 2017 PDGA Amateur Disc Golf World Championships became the launching pad and confidence boost for her to hit the road the following summer.
“It was not easy and I knew that I was going to have to put in a lot of hard work to get to the top, so, that’s what I did,” she said. “We’ve been on tour ever since and I’m proud to call disc golf my career.”
In 2022, Gannon achieved what she describes as the biggest win of her career thus far.
“The 2022 Ledgestone Open is my biggest win so far for a few reasons,” Gannon said. “One, it was one of the largest fields at an Elite Series event. Two, Northwood Black is at the top of the list of the hardest courses we play on tour. Three, it was a previous Pro World’s venue with a more challenging Northwood course. Four, the FPO field is stronger than ever and winning an event now is harder to accomplish.”
After entering the final round tied for first with Paige Pierce, Gannon fell behind. But her resilience kept her in the hunt.
“I had a rocky start and fell off the pace in the first five holes,” she said. “When I stepped up to Hole 6, I told myself to ‘lace this shot’, which I did, and from there on out there was no looking back. For the next 12 holes, I never let up.”
In the end, Gannon cruised to a comfortable, 6-stroke win.
“Winning one of Discraft’s flagship events and also being a member of Team Ledgestone, it was so cool,” the FPO star said. “And it was cool to have Mike (Wagner) and Bob (Julio) from Discraft walk in the win with me, and have Nate Heinold from Ledgestone hand me the crystal trophy, a trophy I’ve wanted to hoist ever since my first Ledgestone Open back in 2018.”
Gannon is an elite member of Team Ledgestone and has special disc runs as well as merchandise and apparel available for purchase on the Shop Ledgestone website. Proceeds go to help fund her tour.
Fun Facts About Missy
- Home courses: Beacon Glades and Wilcox Park in New York
- Favorite course: Idlewild Park
- Favorite tournament: LWS Open at Idlewild
- Favorite disc to throw: Discraft Thrasher
- Favorite type of shot to throw: Hyzer-flip
- Go-to pre-game meal: Something light
- Best friend in disc golf: Paige Pierce
- Biggest inspirations in disc golf: Paige Pierce and Valerie Jenkins
- Highest pressure moment I’ve ever felt at a tournament: Final putt at the 2021 Des Moines Challenge
- Favorite activity: Rock climbing
- Favorite TV show: The Office
- Without disc golf, my career path would be: Urban Planner or GIS Specialist
Blog by Jacob Arvidson
Comments (1)
When are we expected to see a cryztal thrasher