Masterpiece was a tournament held on April 6th and 7th, 2024, in Labin, serving as the second station of the Croatian Disc Golf League in the 2024 season.
This was the 1st edition of the tournament, organized by Lagoda Disc Golf in collaboration with local partners from Atlas Rabac tourist agency and with the support of the Labin - Rabac Tourist Board and Dubrova Sculpture Park. The event attracted 43 players from Croatia, Austria, Slovenia, and the USA.
Masterpiece - Labin Disc Golf Challenge was a two-day tournament played on Saturday, April 6th, and Sunday, April 7th, 2024, in Labin, featuring three rounds of 18 holes. The competition took place under pleasant sunny weather with temperatures hovering around 20 degrees Celsius, occasionally disrupted by a gentle breeze.
The tournament trophy and graphical elements were inspired by the sculpture "Between Heaven and Earth" located near hole 1's basket, crafted by the graduate sculptor Slavomir Drinkovic at the Mediterranean Sculpture Symposium in 1993.
A players meeting was held on Friday starting at 20:30 in the congress hall of Sanfior Hotel in Rabac, where the players were officially accommodated.
For players staying at Sanfior Hotel, transportation by bus to the course was organized on Saturday. The competition commenced with the first round on Saturday at 10:00, lasting approximately 2 and a half hours, with the last group finishing after 2:45 hours of play. A group lunch for all players was arranged at the nearby Šterna restaurant, after which the play resumed at 14:45.
Participants who wished to do so after the conclusion of the second round, were shuttled by bus or in their own arrangements to the Juričić Winery, where they toured the newly opened recreational Terra Malvasia Disc Golf Course, and for an additional charge of €7 enjoyed a wine and local products tasting.
The competition concluded with the third and final round played on Sunday starting at 10 o'clock, and the winners' ceremony was held at the course starting at 13:00.
The competition featured two "elite" categories - Open MPO and Open Women FPO, as well as three lower categories for players of both genders ranked according to their own ratings, and junior categories, including the children's category MJ12.
In the children's category MJ12, one participant, Adrian Dimovski, competed, and due to his age and the challenging course, he played only the 1st and 3rd rounds of the competition.
In the lowest Purple category (for players rated up to 800), victory among 8 players was secured by Luka Sporiš (DGK Lagoda, Varaždin) with a score of +31 to the course par.
In the middle Green category (for players rated up to 850), victory among 5 players was achieved by Danijel Belančić (FDK Nova Gradiška) with a score of -1 to the course par.
In the highest Red category (for players rated up to 900), victory among 8 players was claimed by Dino Harambasic (DGK Lagoda, Varaždin) with a score of -6 to the course par.
In the Open Women FPO category, featuring 9 female participants, the title of the best player was won by Barbara Poljšak (Slovenia) with a score equal to the course par. Second place went to Andreja Bernjak (Slovenia) with +1, and third place was secured by Danica Pajtak (DGK Varaždin) with +6.
In the Open MPO category, there were 12 participants, and the title of the best player was claimed by an American with a Slovenian address Zack Bevelacqua, who played the course with a score of -25. Second place, with a score of -22, was taken by Marijan Krištofic (Slovenia), and third place was secured by Tomislav Goricki (FDK Zagreb) with -20.
The best male round achieved in the tournament was 47 (-10, PDGA rating 1.006) played by Krištofić and Gorički in the 3rd round. The best female round was 55 (-2, rating 914) played by Bernjak in the 3rd round. Find the complete tournament results on the PDGA website.
Side events at the tournament included Ace Pool, Closest to the Pin, and Overachiever.
Ace pool amounting to €1 was contributed by 31 players, and since the bank was emptied after an ace at the previous Lagoda tournament, an additional disc from Lagoda Disc Golf's offer was added to the prize pool. As no ace was achieved at the tournament, the prize pool is carried over to the next tournament organized by Lagoda - Black Cats, which will be held in Varaždin on May 18.
Closest to the Pin contest took place on hole 13, according to the new model. The best result achieved in each round qualified for the final competition. In the first round, Nino Krvavica (182 cm) secured the spot, then in the second round again the best was Nino Krvavica (169cm), and in the third round it was Vjeran Tuhtan's disc that landed the closest (244 cm).
Vjeran and Nino competed in the final competition by throwing the disc towards the basket of hole 1 from a distance of 50m, where Nino had two throws and ultimately won this competition.
Overachiever award is awarded to the player who played the tournament on average the most above their rating (based on current ratings on the PDGA website). This competition involves all tournament participants who have active PDGA membership and have at least 20 rounds included in their rating.
Third place in this competition was taken by Primož Belčić with +45.67 above his own rating, and second place went to Antonio Grigić with +48.
The victory in the competition was achieved by Danijel Belančić, who played the tournament 48.33 above his own rating.
The tournament concluded with a raffle where drawn players could choose from some of the offered prizes worth over €150 in total. The winners were Vjeran Tuhtan, Doris Wiesbauer, Dino Harambašić, Val Martić, and Marin Grbac.
All tournament photos (by Lagoda Disc Golf) are available in the Google Photos Album, and tournament participants can download and use them for social media.
When posting on Instagram, please use #masterpiece #discgolflabin #discgolfistria #labinrabac @atlasrabac @visitlabinrabac @lagoda_disc_golf
