Who won the 2023 Ledgestone Open in MPO?
1st - Cole Redalen at 36-under par
2nd - Calvin Heimburg at 31-under par
3rd - Ricky Wysocki at 28-under par
Quote from the leader: “I just tried to push until the end of the round,” Redalen said. “I didn’t care how many I was up by. I didn’t even look at scores until the fairway of 18 when I threw my second shot.”
“It’s a testament to Oregon disc golf having so many woods and open courses. There’s so much versatility. I don’t care about being better in the woods or better in the open. I care about being the better golfer.”
Game-changing moment: Moments after Calvin Heimburg aced hole 10 to cut into Redalen’s lead from the chase card, Redalen stepped up to throw his approach on hole 8. Knowing something big had happened, but not knowing from whom, Redalen let his second shot fly. The approach landed just outside Circle 1, but the wet grass gave it the slightest skip sending Redalen’s disc over the edge of the narrow green and down the steep, muddy bank into the river…or so he thought. Upon reaching his lie, Redalen was overjoyed to see his disc balancing delicately on a rock, inches from the water. Taking the favorable result in stride, Redalen calmly sunk the putt to reestablish his momentum.
Summary of MPO Final Round: The scene was set: Redalen versus five, highly-skilled chasers sitting four strokes back. Despite being so young and on the cusp of his first DGPT win, Redalen looked unflappable early. The DGA star birdied eight of his first nine holes to secure a lead down the home stretch. Ricky Wysocki, Casey White, Andrew Marwede, and Ezra Robinson couldn’t keep up and fell off Redalen’s pace, but Heimburg stayed with him. Heimburg’s 425-foot ace on hole 10 shook the grounds of Lake Eureka Park and cut Redalen’s lead to two, but Redalen remained unfazed, birdieing all but four holes on the day to set a course record and cement the biggest win of his young career.
