The Bluegrass State again hosted a Disc Golf Pro Tour tournament as one of disc golf's premier event series headed east.
This stop on the DGPT was at one of the top disc golf courses in the world: the revered and feared Idlewild. From Friday, July 8 to Sunday, July 10, players faced the scenic but unforgiving fairways of this Kentucky monster.
Learn more about the LWS Open at Idlewild below:
- How to follow the 2022 LWS Open at Idlewild
- Who won the 2022 Idlewild Open and who shared the podium
- How to watch the 2022 LWS Open at Idlewild
- History of DGPT tournaments at Idlewild
- Past highlights at DGPT tournaments at Idlewild
2022 LWS Open at Idlewild Disc Golf Tournament Scores & Stats
You can see hole-by-hole scores, tons of stats, and more for all competitors in both divisions of the 2022 LWS Open at Idlewild on UDisc Live.
Who Won the 2022 Idlewild Disc Golf Tournament?
Isaac Robinson (33-under) and Catrina Allen (2-over), respectively, won MPO and FPO at the 2022 Idlewild Open.
Below you can see who shared the podium.
Who shared the podium at the 2022 Idlewild Open?
Who shared the podium at the 2022 Idlewild Open in Open Women?
How To Watch the 2022 LWS Open at Idlewild Disc Golf Tournament
How to watch the 2022 LWS Open at Idlewild:
| MPO | FPO | Paid subscription needed? |
|
| Live (also available as archived footage) | Disc Golf Network | Same | Yes (except last round, which is free on the Disc Golf Pro Tour's YouTube channel) |
| Lead Cards - Condensed | JomezPro | GK Pro | No |
| Chase Cards - Condensed | Gatekeeper Media | No |
Idlewild Disc Golf Tournament History
The Idlewild Open was created specifically for the DGPT in 2017. This is the first year the event will have the name LWS Open at Idlewild, which comes from new title sponsor LWS Tax & Accounting based in Springfield, Ohio.
Whereas other tournaments were established as National Tour events or A-tiers and earned a spot on the then-up-and-coming tour based on merit and past exposure, the reputation of the Idlewild course was what put it in the DGPT's sights.
"Steve Dodge approached me at the Director's Cup in 2015," tournament director Adam Jones said. "He asked about the course and if we could run it. So Jason Kerl and I got to work and prepped so we were ready for 2017."
Jones is a co-owner of the disc golf store The Nati in one of the best cities for disc golf in the U.S – Cincinnati, Ohio – and also had a lot of experience running events. Cincinnati is not very far from the Kentucky border, and many Cincinnati residents consider Idlewild to be something of a home course.
If you're interested in how Idlewild was created and built up its reputation, you can find all of its history in our post "World's Best Disc Golf Courses: Idlewild."
Along with the strength of the course and an experienced organizer nearby to run things, Idlewild's location makes it a great way to tie the Midwest swing of the DGPT to the East Coast. Strong community support also helps make the event a big success.
"We have the best parks department to work with at Boone County Parks," Jones said. "Parks Director, David Whitehouse, has been a disc golfer since the 80s and this area has been hosting big events for a long time. Our community hosted the 1998 Worlds when Ken Climo was going strong on his streak. They go above and beyond by covering most of our expenses."
A unique feature of the course itself is its proximity to the airport. The Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport sits just across Route 237. This has more connection to the course than just loud planes flying overhead. In fact, the airport itself owns England Idlewild Park where the disc golf course is located.
"It doesn't really affect much other than it might get noisy overhead," Jones said. "The main thing is that I have to remind all the media crews to contact the airport ahead of time to set their dates and times for drone footage. There have been one or two times where someone forgot to do it and went to start on hole 1 with their drone and a few minutes later the airport remotely shut the drone down."
Past Idlewild Disc Golf Tournament Highlights
Here are some of the standout moments from past DGPT events at Idlewild.
Kyle Klein Gets First DGPT Elite Series Win in 2021 Playoff
In 2021, the 2019 U.S. Amateur Disc Golf Champion Kyle Klein made his presence on the pro circuit felt in a big way. He had six top 10 finishes at DGPT Elite Series and PDGA Major events, and the most important of those was his win at the 2021 Idlewild Open.
When the final day lead card reached hole 18, there were six players tied in the top spot, with three of them being on lead card. Klein and card mate Andrew Marwede managed birdies on the hole, pushing them just ahead of the logjam and into a two-man playoff. The two were still all square after hole 1, but Klein got his win thanks to a phenomenal second shot into a tricky green on the par 4 hole 2 and a narrow miss fom Circle 2 from Marwede for birdie.
Watch it play out from Marwede's second shot on the hole to Klein's eventual victory thanks to footage from JomezPro:
Widboom Breaks Through in 2020
Ellen Widboom had logged 16 A-tier victories in her career entering the 2020 Idlewild Open, but she was a relative unknown on the Open Women stage in major events. She rode the momentum from a second-place Great Lakes Open finish two weeks prior into the next tour stop: Idlewild. There she outdueled Sarah Hokom and Catrina Allen down the stretch to claim her first ever DGPT win.
Watch GK Pro's coverage of her emotional reaction as she tapped in the winning putt and realized the gravity of the moment:
Eagle Gets an Eagle in 2020 Win from Chase Card
Eagle McMahon entered the final round of the 2020 Idlewild Open on the chase card tied for sixth place. Not knowing how the one card behind him would be shooting, he needed to attack the course early and put himself in position down the stretch.
He did exactly that.
The Discmania star carded a birdie on the first hole and then sent shockwaves through the course with his second shot on the par 4 hole 2, which played as the second most-difficult hole on the course.
Terry Miller, The Disc Golf Guy, had the coverage:
Pierce and Allen's 2019 Playoff
After a birdie on hole 13, Paige Pierce led Catrina Allen by one stroke with only five holes left to play in the 2019 Idlewild Open. The two superstars had put on another world class battle, riding the rollercoaster of a course that is Idlewild.
Whether it was the teeth of the course or nerves, neither Pierce nor Allen found a birdie on the final five holes, shooting a combined 7-over par instead.
On the final hole, both competitors found themselves in the fairway with a pitch-up attempt to settle for bogey. Allen successfully found her way next to the basket, but after catching the foliage of the last guardian tree, Pierce had this edge-of-Circle-1 tester putt to force a playoff:
Allen and Pierce would head to a playoff where the winner would be decided on the first hole. Anhyzer Disc Golf covered the drama:
Conrad Aces in 2019
James Conrad finished round one at the 2019 Idlewild Open with a smoking hot 9-under par, bested only by Kevin Jones, but despite sitting in second place he stole the show with his shot on the ninth hole.
He stepped up to the 258-foot/79-meter par 3 with his famous green Innova KC Pro Aviar in hand known as "Greeny" (this was before the star was sponsored by MVP). Turning it over perfectly out of his hand for the left-to-right bending hole, Conrad watched as his disc glided around the corner, down the slight slope of the hole, and straight into the basket.
Watch the DGPT's coverage below: