Stromovka Open 2022

The first tournament of the KOSTKA stav Czech Discgolf Tour in 2022 is over and Wow, it was really something. It was called Stromovka Open 2022 and it took place in an eponymous called park. Let’s take a look at how it was.

New layout = New challenge

This year we competed on a new layout where some of the holes remained the same, but a lot of them changed. There were 2 new par 5 and a few holes got lengthed. Other holes were played in an opposite way which made them much harder. The final hole number 18 changed completely and it was played as an Island, which was surrounded by hazard. The tee shot of that hole was from the only hill on the mentioned course. It was an interesting change.

I was already very curious to see what the course would be like before we arrived. And I was pleasantly surprised because the course was a challenge for everyone. Your mistakes were not forgotten by the course and it was really important to be precise. This made it an ideal course for the top league tournament in the Czech Republic.

MPO

Despite the absence of great players like Jakub Semerád and Bohdan Bílek, the Open category was full of excellent players who were eager to win the gold medal. After the first day, one player was standing above the field. It was Daniel Konečný, who fought the wind the best and shot 7 under par. The second place was shared by Petr Strigler and Tomaš Zavřel with a score of only one shot worst than the leader. Daniel held his lead for both the second and third rounds and after consistent performance took home the victory.

The second-place situation was truly a cliffhanger. Apparently, three rounds are just not enough for Stanislaus Amann, Petr Strigler and Jakub Kudrna to decide who would take the second place. So there was a playoff for it. It all got decided on the island hole number 18. The situation was best handled by Petr Striegler, who took a birdie to secure second place. Stanislaus took par and finished third. Unfortunately, Jakub took bogey on this hole and finished fourth.

What about other members of the proDiscgolf team? Jakub knápek finished T7 after a crazy third round in which he carded 3 eagles. Kryštof novák finished in 10 place. Petr Mrázek is also finally returning to tournaments after health complications and despite a worse start, he finished 29th.

FPO

The situation in the women category was tight from begging to the end. There were a lot of women players who were similar in performance, so every shot mattered. After the first round, Martina Vajdová was in the lead (+6) and I was right behind her (+7). Reza Kahudova (+8) was only one shot behind me in third place.
After the second day, the situation changed a bit. The funny thing was that all the girls in the FPO lead card finished the round with a similar score (+9). If that doesn’t tell you how tense and close the abilities were, I don’t know what will. Martina was still in the lead one stroke over me, Eliška Bartková. Réza Kahudová was right behind me with Nikola Moravcová on her back, scorewise :D. The fifth place was held by Eva Bínová. There was always only one shot separating each place on the podium.

During the final round, there were some changes and Nikola Moravcová separated herself from the rest of the field. She was just feeling it. She shot a great round (+1) and managed to take home her first gold medal from the highest league tournament in the Czech Republic.

Martina Vajdová finished second. I fought for the third place with Eva Binova in the playoff, which I unfortunately lost, and team proDiscgolf Eva took home the well-deserved bronze medal.

I was satisfied with my performance during the whole event. It can always be better, that’s for sure, but it wasn’t bad by any means. Hole number 9 was really tough for me. I unfortunately too two quadruple-bogeys on that hole. I was a bit ill during the whole event and a bit under the pressure due to the upcoming college examination period. I just did too many unnecessary mistakes, but other than that I enjoyed the whole event and I can’t wait o compete with girls again.

MJ18

In the Mj18 category, there was a tie for the first place after the opening round. It was Martin Štípek and Šimon Daněk who shared the lead, both with a score of even. Martin Opršal, Filip Surjomartono and David Kolařík were tied for second place with a score of +1.

Right after the second round Martin Opršal took first place with an impressive score of -5 and gained a sizable lead going into the final round. He kept his lead in the third round and won his first B-tier tournament.

Filip Surjomartono finished second, four shots behind Martin. For the third place, there was a playoff between Martin Štípek and David Kolařík. David won and took a nice third place.

Member of proDiscgolf team Tomáš Mozola finished tied for 6th place.

MP40

Tomáš Dostál was in the lead after the first round with a good round of one-shot under par. Ondřej Novák finished with a par and was in second place. Third place was held by Filip Carlan, who shot +1. I remember talking to Filip about how unsatisfied he was after the round. It has really gotten into his mind because he was leading the competition after day 2 by 3 shots over Marek Šrom.

Filip maintained his lead throughout the final day and won in the MP40 category. He did beat Tomáš Dostál by 5 strokes. Marek Šrom finished third.

Summary

I think the tournament in České Budějovice was a successful one. The weather wasn’t always ideal, but in the end, it was still pretty good. At least better than what the forecast predicted. The winners were crowned and can rejoice in their prizes.

Note that for all of them the first place podium finish was new and they have never accomplished anything like that before.
That just proves that Czech disc golf is growing, the players are improving and the competition is raising, which is great. I’m curious to see how things will turn out in Moravský Krumlov in June, the second stop of the KOSTKA stav Czech discgolf tour.