In the majority of professional sports, being selected as an all-star is an honor. Taking part in the festivities, though? Eh, that’s hit or miss. Some make time for the occasion. Others prefer to take advantage of the days off for some much-needed R&R on a random beach in the Caribbean.
In only the second year of the DGPT All-Star Weekend’s existence, disc golf’s the same way …
Well, kind of.
Early on in the off-season, before officially being named All-Stars, Ricky Wysocki and Paul McBeth announced they’d be foregoing the early event to prepare for the start of the season. McBeth wants more time on the course. Ricky wants to dial in his new Dynamic Discs plastic.
It sucks a bit for fans, but it’s not that big of a deal, really …
Similar to last year, the 2022 DGPT All-Star Weekend is an XC-tier event. Yeah, there’s a cash payout, but in 2021, the MPO and FPO winners took home a somewhat yawn-inducing $1,500.
There were two winners. There were 14 losers. But the overall mood was pretty light-hearted.
This year, for three of the 24 participants, however, things might not be quite so laid-back:
1. Kona Panis
These days, Kona’s as hot of a commodity as there ever was in the world of disc golf.
Dynamic Discs loves her youth, talent and ability to push plastic on social media to an audience that absolutely adores her. So much so, in fact, that they offered her a staggering $500,000 in guaranteed money over the course of four years – that’s literally Kristin Tattar money.
The 2022 DGPT All-Star Weekend in Tucson, Ariz. will be Panis’ first competitive appearance as a member of Team Dynamic Discs. New polo shirt. New bag. New discs. The works.
With content-starved disc golf fans eagerly watching to see how her new plastic flies, the weight of that contract will feel pretty heavy when teeing off on hole one – you can take that to the bank.
Also, don’t forget – she took this thing down last year …
She’s got the title. It’s time to defend it.
2. Ezra Aderhold
Ezra’s a freak disc golf talent – there’s no denying it.
He started off last year on a high note, leading the 2021 Las Vegas Challenge for a healthy chunk of the tournament. He faded ever so slightly down the stretch, but managed to finish tied for second with Calvin Heimburg. The pair was eight strokes back of Eagle McMahon, but still …
Second place is second place – he nabbed a cool $3,125 for it.
The problem, though, is that this would be the clear-cut high-point of Aderhold’s 2021 season. And it was the first event. Sure, he’d have two other top-10 Pro Tour finishes at the Santa Cruz Masters Cup and The Preserve Championship, but the second-highest cash prize he took home?
It came during the final event of the season: $3,000 for 13th place at the DGPT Championship.
Sky-high expectations are what Aderhold faces. Thus far, he’s not yet lived up to them.
Also, he’s an All-Star, but only because Paul and Rick sat this one out.
3. Nikko Locastro
Without a doubt, this off-season was the wildest in disc golf history.
Plenty of movement. Big contracts. Drama. This off-season had it all …
Nikko’s participation would fit best in that final category – drama. Unexpectedly, Westside Discs severed ties with their top MPO talent in late December. The reasons for the move haven’t been made public. Nikko’s polarizing personality? Maybe. Matt Orum’s arrival? That might be it.
To make things even stranger, Thursday’s the All-Star draft. Locastro still hasn’t revealed who his new title sponsor will be. Or if he’ll even have one. The general consensus is that he’ll be headed back to Gateway. David McCormack is Nikko’s uncle – he owns the joint.
Nikko with a mixed bag is great. It’s what he knows. It’s worked for him in the past. It’ll work again, should that be what happens. But the All-Stars against whom he’ll compete have largely all seen happy endings to their off-seasons: extensions, new sponsors, más dinero, etc.
Not Locastro, though …
If anybody will use that as motivation, it’s Nikko – he’ll be out for blood.
The “real” start to the season is the Las Vegas Challenge. For years, it’s been that way …
But while the DGPT All-Star Weekend might need some fine-tuning in the coming years, it’s a solid warm-up event for fans and golfers alike. Tune in from Feb. 11-13. Along with a host of others, given the above players and their individual storylines, you won’t want to miss this.
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