FPO - Discraft vs Innova

[biscoe]

But I think there is a "risk" that Cat, Paige, Henna and Eveliina can claim all the filmed lead cards...and that might be bad news for the other FPO players.
It has been a Paige and Cat show..and a fight for the other two spots...in 2020 and beyond that fight will be harder

You left one out. It has been for the most part a Paige, Cat and Sarah show. Sarah has the most tenuous grasp on the spots at the top and will suffer the most from the influx of young European talent.

Depending on the amount of touring she does here Kristin Tattar will be on plenty of lead cards, particularly once the tour moves to the part of the country with trees on it. IMO she is the best woods player of any of them.

Rebecca Cox is also still very much on an upward trajectory.

 

[Jolt]

You left one out. It has been for the most part a Paige, Cat and Sarah show. Sarah has the most tenuous grasp on the spots at the top and will suffer the most from the influx of young European talent.

Depending on the amount of touring she does here Kristin Tattar will be on plenty of lead cards, particularly once the tour moves to the part of the country with trees on it. IMO she is the best woods player of any of them.

Rebecca Cox is also still very much on an upward trajectory.

Sarah had a good finish to 2019 but not really sure how many lead card she will make in 2020, but sure she is one of the players fighting for that lead card spot
Tattar had a great year and will for sure make a bunch of lead cards in 2020.

But for those tournament that has all the top players it is going to be a lot harder to get on that lead card then it been in the past

But it might not be more than a handfull of tournament that will have all the EU players

 

[Jkosk]

Depending on the amount of touring she does here Kristin Tattar will be on plenty of lead cards, particularly once the tour moves to the part of the country with trees on it. IMO she is the best woods player of any of them.

If she can iron out her consistency she might be the most well-rounded FPO player in terms of her touch in the woods and the power that she does have off the tee. I don't see her often take big numbers, it's just a stroke here or there on a missed putt or errant upshot, etc.

I hope she tours more in the U.S this year because she can really put pressure on the field, along with Henna and Evaliina. Also, I think the three of them will benefit greatly from being around the rest of the FPO more often. It could really push them, and in turn let them push the rest of the field. More great players is never bad thing.

 

[wolfhaley]

Kristin throws pretty far off the tee, farther than a lot of FPO players it seems. She has a a great backhand and nice touch sidearms on upshots. She's better at putting than everyone besides maybe the Paiges too. Hokum throws almost entirely sidearm and is streaky as all hell at putting. Cat bombs and can throw sidearms (pretty rarely) and is the only FPO player I believe that throws rollers. Her putting though is, well, a work in progress. Kristin's game is more well rounded than anyone besides Pierce IMO. And I don't even think it's close.

 

[biscoe]

Kristin throws pretty far off the tee, farther than a lot of FPO players it seems. She has a a great backhand and nice touch sidearms on upshots. She's better at putting than everyone besides maybe the Paiges too. Hokum throws almost entirely sidearm and is streaky as all hell at putting. Cat bombs and can throw sidearms (pretty rarely) and is the only FPO player I believe that throws rollers. Her putting though is, well, a work in progress. Kristin's game is more well rounded than anyone besides Pierce IMO. And I don't even think it's close.

Tattar is far and away the best hyzer flip thrower of the ladies which is why she is the best in the woods.

 

[sidewinder22]

Rebecca Cox is also still very much on an upward trajectory.

If she cleans up her form and stays healthy.

 

[sidewinder22]

Kristin throws pretty far off the tee, farther than a lot of FPO players it seems. She has a a great backhand and nice touch sidearms on upshots. She's better at putting than everyone besides maybe the Paiges too. Hokum throws almost entirely sidearm and is streaky as all hell at putting. Cat bombs and can throw sidearms (pretty rarely) and is the only FPO player I believe that throws rollers. Her putting though is, well, a work in progress. Kristin's game is more well rounded than anyone besides Pierce IMO. And I don't even think it's close.

Tattar is far and away the best hyzer flip thrower of the ladies which is why she is the best in the woods.

I was also impressed with Kristin's performance this year.

Eveliina has the best BH/FH combo, just needs to putt better.
Henna reminds me of a young Will Schusterick but with beastly shoulders.
Amazing how good these young Fins are and haven't really played that much.

Hailey King will also be a contender if she stays healthy.

 

[Casey 1988]

I was also impressed with Kristin's performance this year.

Eveliina has the best BH/FH combo, just needs to putt better.
Henna reminds me of a young Will Schusterick but with beastly shoulders.
Amazing how good these young Fins are and haven't really played that much.

Hailey King will also be a contender if she stays healthy.

Well Finland and Sweden have had some of the first courses outside of North America besides Great Britten with the few courses they had from late 1970's onward. So it is possible that Finnish people got the tutoring from these veteran players at a young age when starting out on good disc choices and smart play. This is unlike North America where it was harder for a long time to find experienced players in areas to help new players out even if a course was there the experienced players might not exist as the area might not have players to teach them. Also possible with how the Finnish and Swedish people tend to take sports and turn them all into a science during training or that the Finnish/Swedish just take fitness really serious that is another theory as to how the Finnish people can come out of the gate and beat USA/Canada players without the Pro Tour Experience.

The thought is that the Finnish are more fit be it in general or have the veterans coach them from a young age on smart play could be the factors that help these players come out even with little experience even on the European Tour to play in the NT/PT and win events or place really well.

 

[Dynamic_83]

I think you should cheer for the players you want to cheer for and not for teams based on stats

 

[biscoe]

I was also impressed with Kristin's performance this year.

Eveliina has the best BH/FH combo, just needs to putt better.
Henna reminds me of a young Will Schusterick but with beastly shoulders.
Amazing how good these young Fins are and haven't really played that much.

Hailey King will also be a contender if she stays healthy.

Add Heather Young to that list. Her rating went from 865 to 939 over the last year with a loss to Elaine in a playoff at Tennessee States, a 4th place finish at Idlewild (behind PP, Catrina and Madison) and 7th at USWDGC. I believe she is still 16 although might be 17 by now. Also she and her sisters (who also play) were all nice as can be when they were here for USWDGC.

 

[perklc]

With Henna joining team Innova, I think it makes Innova FPO and Discraft FPO both very strong for 2020.

For fun,I averaged the PDGA ratings for the top 4 2020 FPO team members from each company:

Discraft; Pierce, King, Gannon, VanDyken = 948.25
Innova; Bloomroos, Salomon, Fajkus, Walker = 956.25

Should be fun to see how this battle shapes up for 2020...

If you are going with top 4 rated FPO players, then drop Walker and replace her with Valerie Mandujano who has worked her way up to a 950 rating despite only playing 2 tour series events this year (WACO and Worlds). She should also get added to the young gun list as she's only 19 or 20.

 

[wolfmandragon]

Add Heather Young to that list. Her rating went from 865 to 939 over the last year with a loss to Elaine in a playoff at Tennessee States, a 4th place finish at Idlewild (behind PP, Catrina and Madison) and 7th at USWDGC. I believe she is still 16 although might be 17 by now. Also she and her sisters (who also play) were all nice as can be when they were here for USWDGC.

I wondered why they only played one hole! I was following MPO; I was tempted to follow Elaine as no one is beating Chris on local courses( maybe McBeth if he spent a week or two playing Panther every day), but I had never followed JohnE... choices, choices.

These are my home courses. I try to follow a different card every year.

 

[Chains Bailey]

I could be way off, but from what I can gather - the humility of the European ladies, specifically Tattar, will serve them well. Seems they have an appreciation for any and all aspects of being a touring pro - from opportunities to fans. Their lack of entitlement, I feel many other players have, is refreshing and I would guess it adds to their drive to not only perform at a higher level for themselves but also those who support them.