Discraft Ledgestone Tournament Attracts Several Local Disc Golf Players

One of the biggest disc golf tournaments of the year, the Discraft Ledgestone Insurance Open, was held this past weekend in the Peoria, Pekin and Eureka areas. Players played three different courses, a different one each day.

Hundreds of disc golfers from across the country turned out for the tournament, which featured the elites competing in the Open Division. 

The Open Division also featured a local player, Alex Schimmelpfenning of Effingham. "Schimm" finished in a tie for 141st place of the almost 200 players in the division. He finished +32 231, with rounds Friday through Sunday of 71, 83, and 77.

In the Advanced Division, Joseph Garland of Effingham finished tied for 74th with a 13-over-par 199 total, and rounds of 64, 71, and 64. Mark Jones of Effingham tied for 130th at +18 204, with rounds of 64, 77, and 63. Andy Burgholzer of Effingham played the first two days with rounds of 83 and 62 but did not play a Sunday round.

In the Intermediate Division, Cole Mintert of Mattoon tied for 84th at +8 168 with rounds of 47, 60, and 61. Bob Feldhake of Dieterich tied for 268th at +20 180, with rounds of 66, 65, and 49. 

In the Recreational Division, Zebediah Berry of Effingham tied for 67th place at +14 185 with rounds of 57, 70, and 58. Ben Keller of Effingham tied for 113th at +18, with rounds of 67, 67, and 55. Ben Ruholl of Effingham tied for 193rd at +25 196, with rounds of 76, 66, and 54. 

In addition to the weekend tournament, other events were conducted throughout the week.

Garland and Mintert played Thursday in the Ledgestone Flex at Northwood Black. Garland finished fourth in the Advanced Division, shooting a +12 80. Mintert won the Intermediate Division with a +5 73.

Meanwhile, Jones played the Ledgestone Flex at Sunset Hills Thursday, tying for 36th with a +1 62. 

Mintert played Thursday at the Ledgestone Flex at Kennel Lake, and tied for 53rd with a +6 65. 

On Wednesday, a Ledgestone Flex event was held at the Eureka permanent course. Jones finished tied for 14th in the Advanced Division at +5 64. Mintert played in Intermediate and finished fourth with a -1 58. Hadley Majors of Effingham finished tied for 27th at +4 63. 

On Tuesday, a Ledgestone Flex event was played at Northwood OG. Garland finished fifth with a -2 57, while Jones finished tied for seventh with a +1 60. Mintert played in Intermediate and tied for fourth with a -2 57.

On Sunday, the 1st, a Lake Eureka Preview Event was held. In Advanced, Garland tied for 14th at +13 76. 

Leading into the big week in McLean County, some area players competed in Princeton, Indiana. 

On July 30th, the GCC Flex-Start was held. In the Open Division, Jones finished fifth at -1 62. In Recreational Division, Ruholl won the event with a +1 58. 

Then on July 31 and August 1st, the Gibson County Challenge was conducted. Jones finished 10th in Open going -4 176 with rounds of 55, 60, and 61. In Recreational, Ruholl tied for 11th with a +16 184 with rounds of 62, 62, and 60.