FELDBERG AND JENKINS CAPTURE TITLES AT RECORD-SETTING

2008 JAPAN OPEN DISC GOLF TOURNAMENT

Rancho Cucamonga, CA (09 July 2008)–David Feldberg (Springfield, Oregon) and Valarie Jenkins (Hinckley, Ohio) rode their course-record performances in the men’s and women’s open divisions, respectively, to capture championships at the 2008 Japan Open Disc Golf Tournament at the Nasu Highlands Golf Resort in Tochigi, Japan June 12-14^th. This year’s Japan Open, the 13^th in its prestigious history, featured the largest international field with 11 nations represented in the 104-player field.

Feldberg kicked off the tournament with a 1065-rated round of 77, the lowest score ever recorded on the demanding 27-hole disc golf course temporarily installed on the Robert Trent Jones, Jr.-designed Nasu Highlands Resort ball golf course. Though he was quick out of the gate, the rest of the field did their best to keep pace with the world’s number one-ranked disc golfer. Manabu Kajiyama, from the host country, was especially up to the task, moving as close as three throws from Feldberg’s lead after Friday’s 27-hole round. But Saturday’s windy conditions, and Feldberg’s incredible closing abilities, made getting any closer a tall task for Kajiyama. Indeed, his three throw lead after Friday opened up to a five-throw advantage after Saturday’s semi-final round and then bulged to an 11-throw final margin of victory when the day was done.

Kajiyama maintained his lock on the runner-up position throughout the event, strengthening his position as Japan’s top disc golfer. Feldberg’s roommate and 2004 Japan Open titlist, Avery Jenkins, overcame a challenging Friday round to rally back for third place, while Finland’s Jussi Meresmaa battled a shoulder injury on his way to an impressive fourth-place showing.

Valarie Jenkins successfully defended her 2006 Japan Open title with a record-setting round on Friday. Jenkins’s 1026-rated round, tops by a woman in a PDGA Major, had many of the top pros, both men and women, shaking their heads wondering how she did it. The answer was fairly straight-forward. Valarie used an impressive approach game on the tournament-lengthened course to keep away from the pressures of making long putts. That might have mattered little to Jenkins during the week, as her putting game did get her out of the infrequent trouble she encountered during the three-day event.

Jenkins shared the lead after the first round with eventual runner-up Carrie Berlogar. But Jenkins caught fire on Friday to blow open a ten-throw lead that was not in jeopardy for the rest of the tournament. Playing with a great deal of confidence, Valarie seems poised for the 2008 PDGA World Championships in Kalamazoo, MI where she will defend her World Championship crown.

Finishing behind Berlogar in third place was Anne Matilainen from Finland, who showed great patience and adaptability on the challenging course in Nasu. Des Reading, the PDGA’s number one-ranked woman, finished fourth after battling her way into the Japan Open Finals.

Disc golf has been played in public and private parks throughout the United States since the mid-1970s. Now found in at least thirty different nations, more than 2,600 disc golf courses provide an economical and time-effective recreational outlet for players of all ages.

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Slicing Throws Through Gale-force Winds, Dave Feldberg and

Valarie Jenkins Breeze to 2008 Japan Open Titles

The sun was high and bright again at the Nasu Highlands Golf Resort on Saturday, but strong winds rushed down the mountainside to make the final day at this year’s Japan Open a challenge for all competitors, especially since they were throwing 150-class plastic.  Yet, neither the wind, nor the light plastic, deterred Dave Feldberg or Valarie Jenkins from extending their semi-final leads on their way to capturing the 2008 Japan Open championships.  For Feldberg, it was his first championship in Japan, while Jenkins now has back-to-back Japan Open titles on her resume.

Men’s Open Finals Recap

Feldberg began the day Saturday trying to fend off a challenge from Manabu Kajiyama, Japan’s top disc golfer.  “Bu” had narrowed Feldberg’s lead to three throws after the only sub-80 throw round on Friday.  Kajiyama showed his staying power throughout the tournament, maintaining his status on the lead card for the entire event.  But Saturday’s weather conditions were a severe challenge for all the competitors, and Feldberg capitalized.  Rather than adopting a “no mistakes” conservative approach to his Saturday morning round of 18, Feldberg continued to attack.  And he was rewarded for his efforts by extending his lead to five throws going into the final nine.  Kajiyama continue his stranglehold on second place, and Avery Jenkins threw an impressive Saturday morning best 55 to surge back onto the leadercard with a one-throw advantage over fourth place performer Jussi Meresmaa.  Meresamaa’s performance was remarkable, given the terrible pain he was suffering from a back injury sustained earlier in the week.

(US) Dave Feldberg Opening the Teebox Final 9

(JP) Manabu Kajiyama on the Tee Final 9

(FIN) Jussi Meresmaa

Any hopes Kajiyama might have had in narrowing the gap with Feldberg went away with the wind on the second hole of the final nine.  Both took their five’s on hole one, but Feldberg ran off a series of birdies on the next four holes to balloon his lead.  All “Bu” could do is play out the string, with Feldberg giving fans his renounced final round surge to extend his final margin of victory to eleven throws, the widest for men in the event’s history.  This performance will only solidify Feldberg’s hold on his PDGA world number one ranking, as well as serve notice to the rest of the top disc golfers that he is highly motivated to maintain his standing in the disc golf world for a long-time to come.  After graduating from the University of Oregon last year, Feldberg has dedicated himself to becoming the top player, and his work is obviously paying off.  Though Dave is taking the Golden State Classic off, he will travel to Sweden to play in both the Stockholm Open July 12-13, as well as the Scandinavian Open in Skelleftea the very next weekend.  As disc golf grows, it is encouraging to see the international fields becoming more diverse at events around the globe.

Women’s Open Finals Recap

Valarie Jenkins attributes her success so far this season to one thing-confidence.  She mentioned it over-and-over when asked to describe her outstanding play in Nasushiobara during the 2008 Japan Open, and it is apparent that she meant it.  How else could you explain Jenkins’s putt on the treacherous first hole of Saturday’s final nine looking uphill at the target 15 feet away in howling winds and with the looming out-of-bounds bunker just waiting to gobble up her disc after even the slightest miscue?  Sure, she had a seven throw lead going into it, but Jenkins was not about to abandon the approach that helped her forge her lead in the first place.  Instead, she stepped up to her lie just three feet from the cart path, studied her target and buried the putt to begin putting the final touches on a week where her game was simply awesome.

From that confident start during the finals, Valarie went on to extend her seven throw lead to a 12-throw bulge when it was all said-and-done.  She had found an overstable Banshee that, despite its 150-gram weight, could handle the incredible arm-speed and snap for which Jenkins’s drives are known.  But now, in addition to being long, she is also throwing with a laser-like accuracy that is allowing her to execute solid upshots and deft putting around green.  Jenkins is now the complete disc golf package that may be a harbinger of her future dominance in the disc golf world, given that she is only 22 years old.

(US) Valarie Jenkins

It’s not that the other women in the event did not play well.  Carrie Berlogar, who shared the lead with Jenkins after the first round, had a magnificent tournament on her way to a solid second-place finish.  But this week belonged to Jenkins, whose 1024-rated performance on Friday left even the men jealous of her abilities.

(US) Carrie Berlogar

There was some controversy in the women’s division on Friday, as Anni Kreml was not aware of the mandatory disc weigh-in for all players.  It was brought to her attention on Friday during the round, after one of her competitors noticed that Kreml’s discs were not stamped with the symbol confirming her discs were all under the 152-gram weight limit imposed by the tournament organizers.  Ultimately, this oversight would hurt Kreml, as officials found two discs overweight after her second round.  The resulting four-throw penalty changed the standings after Friday.  Instead of being tied with Des Reading for fourth place after Friday’s competition, Kreml was now four throws down going into Saturday morning’s semi-final round of 18 holes.

Kreml did all she could to claw her way back into the leader group, throwing a morning best 67.  Yet, she fell one-throw short of Reading, the world’s number-one ranked female disc golfer, who was clearly relieved to have made it into the final nine round and finish fourth in her division.

Anne Matilainen, the 32-year old from Finland, was a pleasant surprise during the week, playing the best disc golf of her life, to capture third in the women’s open division.  Matilainen showed an incredible ability to adapt her play during the round, paying especially close attention to Des Reading, as they battled head-to-head.  On hole three of final nine, with winds gusting to some 40 mph, Reading was trying to determine how to make her second-shot approach on the 88m (289 feet) par three hole.  An out-of-bounds sand trap behind the basket convinced Des to take a knee on the fairway and settle for a low-flying approach under the basket to save par.  Anne, upon seeing this very smart decision by Des and after considering her own options, took a knee and laid up in the much the same manner.  These are the practical lessons that international players can learn from throwing along-side the world’s best and that hold great promise for the future health of disc golf throughout our global community.

(FIN) Anne Matilainen

(US) Des Reading

The expected rain this week never became a hindrance for any of the rounds. However, the adversity for the final round today was the high winds. The wind was so extreme at times with gusts, that it just about knocked a person over. Despite that wind and the fact that players have to adjust their normal throwing technique to 150 class discs, the players also feel the presence of the professional camera crews watching their every shot.

Congratulations to both Innova Team Members!

See scoring page.

top photo courtesy of PDGA Media

A showcase demonstration took place between the morning round and the finals. The disc dogs put on an excellent show.

The final 9 will determine the mens and womens Japan Open champions this afternoon. The cards are as such:

2008 Japan Open Disc Golf Tournament Basques in Glorious Weather,

Incredible Performance from Ohio’s Valarie Jenkins

It’s hard to tell if it’s the almost fluorescent greens that are carpeted throughout the rolling hills of the Nasu Highlands disc golf course or the flowing sunshine pouring down on the players during their play.  Whatever it is, conditions during Friday’s round of the 2008 Japan Open seemed to bring out the best in almost every player of every skill level during the second round, as they traversed the magnificent 27-hole layout.

Rising above all the exuberant buzz from the day, though, was the nearly flawless play of Medina, Ohio’s Valarie Jenkins, who turned her first round two-way tie with Carrie Berlogar into a ten-throw advantage.  And while the magnitude of the course plays into Jenkins’ strength as a distance champion, it has been an improving approach game keeping Valarie at arms-length from her closest competitors.

From the very first tee shot, Jenkins was locked in, guiding her throw newly-learned 150-class Banshee down the middle of the fairway and finishing with just a slight fade to the left.  After her great start to the 279m (915 feet), par 4 hole 15, Jenkins next crushed another 300 feet-plus throw that landed just ahead of the bunkers protecting the hole.  From there, she was able to lay-up within five feet of the basket to essentially drop-in for the birdie 4.

This type of well-planned, well-executed hole management was the story of the day for Val, as hole-after-hole, she stayed patient enough to wait her turn, before landing throws in great position, as if to say, catch me if you can.  With her confidence growing on the course also comes the ability to play out of the rare trouble Jenkins found during today’s round.  We saw this on the 120m (393 feet), par 3 hole 23, that is highlighted by a scenic vista that drops nearly 200 feet down to the basket.  Jenkins’s drive went somewhat short and leaned just enough over the cart path to stay in bounds.  Her approach-throw failed to fade towards the basket, stayed right and flew into the woods about 15 feet deep.  This left Jenkins with a 37 feet putt to save par.  Deliberately, she lined-up a few of the trees in front of her before easing a throw out of the dense Japanese pines and slipping her putter over the front of the basket’s rim and into the chains.  Clearly happy with the shot, Jenkins’s smile glowed almost as brightly as her fuscia-colored sports skirt, knowing that this was a special moment in her already storied disc golf career.

Valarie Jenkins finished the second round with 1024-rated score of 86 that had the entire field, men and women, abuzz afterwards at the Towa Pure Cottages in Nasu.  As everyone was gathered in the reception area of the facility, watching video footage from the day and sending e-mails to loved ones back home, many were just shaking their heads as they watched Jenkins drain putt-after-putt along a three-hole stretch of the final-nine.  2000 PDGA Masters World Champion Jim Myers, not believing what he heard when video production coordinator, Terry Roddy mentioned Valarie’s score, said, “What did she shoot?”  After Roddy repeated himself, Myers could only sit back and slouch down the length of his seat, surrendering to the realization that Jenkins had bested his Friday score by three throws.

When asked how she would approach Saturday’s final rounds of 18 and 9, Jenkins commented, “I’m just going to go out and do what I did today.  Make my shots and play with confidence.”  If she can continue her excellence on the Nasu Highlands course, Jenkins will have more players than Myers shaking their heads and wondering how she does it.  Currently, she is on pace to finish better than 80% of the impressive men’s field.

The round tomorrow (Saturday) kicks off as a shotgun start promptly at 9:00 AM. Since the sun rises here around 4:30 AM, there will be plenty of light by the scheduled 6:30 AM start to breakfast.

The players dinner was held at the large pavilion at the Nasu Highlands Amusement Park that is adjacent to the Towa Pure Cottages. Great food is always the highlight of the evenings, and this evening, the performers called “Medetai” were back in the house with a larger ensemble to entertain the crowd. Once again the quality shines through for this tournament and a great time was had by all.

Hole 22 sports this OB patch that daunts the players from the tee box. In 2006 this OB was in the shape of the islands of Japan. This version is much more prominent and scary.

Dave Feldberg executes a great example of a legal jump putt during Round 2. Dave continues to hold the lead after scoring an 81 for the round, ending the day at 158.

Val Jenkins is in the lead after Round 2. Val played incredibly well today and the scores verify that. Valarie had a round score of 86 and her overall score after this round is 183. Well done.

Manabu Kajiyama of Japan drives on Hole 22. Manabu had the hot round today scoring a round score of 79 and ended up at 161 overall.

Jussi Meresmaa finishes out hole 1 during the second round. Jussi is a long time player and promoter from Tampere, Finland. He finished the round shooting an 82 with an overall score of 166.

The lead group is ready to tee hole 1 for the second round. Dave Feldberg, Manabu Kajiyama, Avery Jenkins, and Jussi Meresmaa wish each other well with a hand shake. They have very pleasant conditions for the beginning of the round. The wind is a little gusty today which can be tricky when throwing 150 class discs, but everyone is pleased that it is not wet so far.

Avery takes time to practice his putts and upshots prior to the beginning of round 2.