Chasing Sparrows is a one-day tournament that was played on Saturday February 17th 2024 in Varaždin, in the format of two 18-hole rounds with the participation of 44 players who arrived from Croatia, Hungary, Slovenia and Austria. This was the fourth edition of the tournament.
The competition took place in pleasant, almost spring weather, with temperatures around 10 degrees, and the players were warmed by the sun throughout the first part of the day, and there was no wind. In the middle of the second round, a few drops of rain fell, but there was no need to take out the umbrellas.
After the Players meeting, which started at 10:00, the play started with the first round at 10:30, which ended around 12:15. Twenty players chose the option of a group lunch, which was organized in the nearby Familia bistro.
After the lunch break, the second round followed at 14:15, andit ended around 15:50. The winners ceremony started around 16:10.
The competition took place in two "elite" categories - open MPO and open women's FPO, in three lower categories for players of both genders who were classified according to their personal PDGA rating, and in junior categories.
In the lowest Purple division (for players rated up to 800), among 10 male and female players, it was Zoran Krečar (DKG Lagoda) who has won with a score of -13 compared to a course par.
In the middle Green division (for players rated up to 850), the victory was won by Péter Hársfai (Hungary) with a score of -15 compared to a course par.
In the highest Red division (for players rated up to 900), Benedek Zalán (Hungary) won with a score of -19 compared to a course par. At the end of the second round, first place was shared between Zalan and Tomislav Frković (FDK Zagreb) and they entered the sudden death play-off starting from hole 7, where Zalan was better and took the title.
In the FJ10 division for girls up to 10 years of age, Kaja Gorički (FDK Zagreb) competed and won with a score of +56 compared to a course par.
In the MJ12 division for boys up to 12 years old, Adrian Dimovski (Varaždin) competed and won, with a score of +46 compared to a course par.
In the open women's FPO division, among 5 competitors, the victory was won by Tina Šimenc (DGK Lagoda) with a score of -10 compared to a course par. The second place was taken by Ira Molnar Goricki (FDK Zagreb, with -9), and the third place by Danica Pajtak (DGK Varaždin, with -8).
In the open MPO division, 11 players participated, and at the end of the second round, the trio Aleksandar Aki Vuckovic (DGK Varaždin), Zack Bevelacqua (Slovenia) and Tomislav Goricki (FDK Zagreb) were in the lead, all with a score of -24 compared to a course par. They started the sudden death play-off from hole 7, and in the end, Aki Vucković proved to be the best and won.
The best men's round scored at the tournament was 40 (-14), which was played by Tomislav Gorički (rating 989) in the first round and Benedek Zalán (rating 999) in the second round.
The best women's round scored at the tournament was 49 (-5) played by Tina Šimenc in both rounds (rating 849 and 862), Danica Pajtak in the 1st round and Ira Molnar Gorički in the second round.
You can find the complete results of the tournament at the PDGA event page.
Side events to the tournament were Ace Pool, Closest to the Pin and Overachiever.
Ace pool in the amount of €1 was paid by 30 players, and there was already €85 in the piggy bank from earlier tournaments, so the total fund was €115. As the ace was not scored in the tournament, the prize pool is transferred to the next tournament organized by Lagoda - Mars Springs, which will be played on March 9 and 10 in Varaždinske Toplice.
The Closest to the Pin game took place on hole 1. The best result of 97 cm was achieved by Bato Sudžuković and he took home the prize (a disc).
The Overachiever award is given to the competitor who played the tournament on average above his rating (according to the current ratings on the PDGA website). All tournament participants who have a PDGA number and an active membership and who have at least 20 rounds played in their rating participate in this competition.
Jelena Gecek won third place with +68 above her personal rating, Marko Pavlović took second place with +78, and the best was Zoran Krečar who played the tournament with 97 above her personal rating.
The tournament was concluded with a raffle where the drawn players could choose some of the offered prizes with a total value of over €70. Awards were won by Aki Vuckovic, Aleksandr Kajumov, Julian Fink, Dino Harambašić and Borna Vardić, so this players can not win a prize at next two Lagoda events.
All photos from the tournament (by Lagoda Disc Golf) are in the Google Photos Album and tournament participants can download them and use them for social media.
When posting on Instagram, please use #discgolfvodovodna #eventbylagoda #varazdin @lagoda_disc_golf @volim.varazdin
