The 2022 season was one of the most competitive and captivating years in DGPT and PDGA history. The FPO had more unique winners at DGPT and PDGA Major events than any year prior, showing how deep the women’s field has become. The MPO saw new names in the hunt at almost every event as well, often coming out on top of players who have been ruling the sport for years.
We saw the best and most prolific season of media coverage yet, with the entire DGPT schedule streamed live on Disc Golf Network as well as post-produced content released from countless media outlets.
Year after year the Pro Tour tops itself, hosting more events, making each event more professional, and securing bigger payouts to properly compensate the amazing talent in our sport. This year’s DGPT finals had the largest tournament purse in disc golf history with a total payout of $302,000! The 2023 season promises to have even more tournaments, a more competitive field, and the biggest payouts we have seen yet.
Photo by DGPT
Team Innova Rules the Podium
Team Innova had an amazing year in 2022, with 44 podium finishes and seven wins at DGPT Silver Series, Elite Series, and PDGA Major events. We took home 16 age-protected Major titles, won both MPO and FPO in the inaugural DGPT Match Play Championship, took first place in MPO at the Jarva Open on the European Pro Tour, and won countless A-tier tournaments across the country and world. We had players with breakthrough seasons who may not have made a Pro Tour podium this year, but proved that they have the potential to achieve that goal in the years to come.
Top MPO Performances of 2022
A few of our players had truly sensational seasons. Calvin Heimburg finished on the podium of 7 Elite Series and Major events, securing two victories, and earning 3rd place in the DGPT Point Standings for the year. In perhaps the most electrifying moment of the season, Calvin beat Paul McBeth at the Jonesboro Open in a playoff by throwing a 470-foot, uphill park job for the win. Calvin Heimburg also just took home the largest payout for a win in disc golf history, $50,000 dollars for winning the Big Money Skins Match at Eagle’s Crossing. We were thrilled to announce earlier this month that Calvin Heimburg has signed a five-year extension with Team Innova. As amazing as his season this year was, Calvin’s greatest accomplishments in the sport are still to come!
Joel Freeman proved this year that he has what it takes to maintain composure under final-round pressure and close out big events for the win. He finished on the podium of four DGPT events, won the 2022 Butler County Classic, and won the first edition of the DGPT Match Play Championship. At the 2022 Butler County Classic, Freeman went into the final round with a four stroke deficit and ended the round with a nine stroke lead over 2nd place. That was the largest margin of victory of any Pro Tour event this year.
Top FPO Performances of 2022
For the FPO, Ohn Scoggins had one of the most consistent, best-played seasons in recent Innova history. Ohn finished on the podium of eight DGPT events and Majors this year, landing herself in 4th place in the DGPT Point Standings for 2022. Ohn also took down the inaugural DGPT Match Play Championship for the women. Ohn Scoggins has widely become a fan favorite, not just for her amazing play, but for the confidence and joy she embodies on the course. It is great to see such an amazing personality find so much success in a single season.
The crowning achievement of Team Innova for the 2022 season has to be Hailey King’s victory at the United States Women’s Disc Golf Championship. To win a PDGA Major title in the Open division is the highest aspiration most players can hope to achieve. When a player like Hailey accomplishes such a lofty goal at such a young age, the sky’s the limit for what they can achieve in a long career to come.
Top Player Stats from DGPT 2022
In addition to taking home a whole bunch of trophies, Team Innova led the field in a number of important statistics for the 2022 DGPT season. Calvin Heimburg led the MPO for Precise Power Index, a measure designed to help understand which players can throw most accurately at elite level distances. Ohn Scoggins handily led the FPO division in C1 and C2 putting for the 2022 season and in fact led all of Team Innova, FPO and MPO, in combined putting percentages for the year. She also led the FPO field in Scramble percentage. Eveliina Salonen led the field for the FPO in Fairway Hit percentage, and C1 and C2 Hits in Regulation. 5x World Champion, Juliana Korver, had the lowest OB rate of any FPO player on tour. And Innova Crew member Emily Beach is likely to receive the DGPT Rookie of the Year award for her outstanding performance in her first full season on tour.
Age-Protected PDGA Major Titles
Team Innova’s Masters and Juniors Team members had a remarkable season, taking home more PDGA Major titles in 2022 than all of the other company’s teams combined! Out of over 1100 competitors at the 2022 Masters and Juniors Disc Golf World Championships, eight Innova Team members brought home world titles. At the 2022 Tim Selinske Masters, Team Innova took home another seven Major titles with an absolutely commanding performance. Through the four-round event, the average margin of victory for Team Innova winners was 16 strokes! And at the 2022 United States Women’s Disc Golf Championship, Jennifer Allen won a Major title in the FP40+ division. Ohn Scoggins won both the Masters World Championship and the Tim Selinske US Masters in the FP40+ division this year, one of the most impressive accomplishments a Masters player can achieve. This will go down as one of the most dominant seasons from a single team in Age-Protected PDGA Major history.
The Off-Season
The off-season is always bitter-sweet. As the athletes rest, recover, and tweak their games to get ready for 2023, we at home start digging through the Youtube archives, watching old USDGC footage, and counting the days until February and the Las Vegas Challenge. This off-season, Team Innova has an amazing lineup of stories, videos, and social media content to help you tune your bag and improve your skills while awaiting the start of 2023. Each week, we will release a new article to help you find discs, refine your game, or to keep you informed about what’s new in the sport. By the time next spring comes around, you will be better practiced and prepared to get back on the course than ever. A few stories to look forward to include Building and Improving Your Bag, Pro Tips for Winter Disc Golf, our Top 10 Most Common Throwing Errors, and many more. Check in each week on Innovadiscs.com and visit our Youtube, Facebook, and Instagram accounts to fill your off-season with tips, highlights, and all the latest news from Innova!