Clearwater Hosting Professional Disc Golf Pro Tour Event

(KNSI) – The Disc Golf Pro Tour Elite Series comes to Central Minnesota this weekend.

Around 160 of the best disc golfers in the world will be competing in the Preserve Championship in Clearwater. The athletes will be competing at Airborn Disc Golf Preserve on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.

Professional Disc Golfer Juliana Korver was a champion in the 90s and early 2000s and returned to the tour a little more than a month ago. She says getting back on the course was like riding a bike.

“I wasn’t practicing for this. I just basically dusted off my frisbees and was like, Oh, yeah, okay, I remember how to do this and jumped back in. So, I feel like I’m still getting better. I also like the idea that maybe I’m showing other 50 plus year olds that you don’t have to hang it up just because society says you’re over the hill.”

The Iowa woman left the tour in 2004 and went to work as a software engineer in California until the company went out of business during the pandemic. After that, the five-time world champion decided to get back into the sport and loved it more than before.

“The magic for me. and I think for many people, is the absolute beauty of seeing a disc in flight. It’s just so rewarding. It’s so beautiful. It’s what keeps me coming back.”

She says most of her competition is between the ages of 17 and 30, half her age.

Korver says there’s a lot more opportunity to make money playing disc golf now compared to 20 years ago. She’s working to qualify to play in the tour series championships, which have a top prize of $20,000.

Find out more about disc golf, the pro circuit, and this weekend’s competition in Clearwater by clicking here.

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