Tempest Trials

The Tempest Trials at River Bottoms reached their cosmic crescendo as 29 intrepid disc warriors assembled beneath overcast skies and a brisk west wind for Week 8’s finale. The Jordan River Valley pulsed with anticipation—galactic energy prickling along each out-of-bounds stake—as Leif Smith unleashed a thunderbolt on hole 9 for a legendary ace, and Hans Duong executed a masterclass in MA1. The league’s prophecy neared its climax, every drive charged with the Thunderbird’s latent stormpower. 🥏⚡

In the MA50 division, John Montague weathered the elements and a mid-round cold snap, recovering from four turbulent holes to claim a +21 victory. His steady drives and timely recoveries kept him on course as if guided by gravitational stabilization, maintaining an unbroken trajectory to the finish line with no significant lead threats. 📈🪐

The MA3 field was a battle-worthy system of its own. Leif Smith soared to –2, capturing gold and sealing the round with a clutch birdie on 18. The opening four-way tie after hole 1 was quickly destabilized: Dijon Alston and Mathew Doucet dropped from orbit midway, while Patrick Cain and Xander Moffatt slipped out of contention, setting up Smith for a dazzling late-race boost—and then, the event horizon itself: Smith’s ace on hole 9. But—by the rings of Saturn!—Smith hadn’t bought into the Ace Pot, proving sometimes the universe delivers miracles with no financial payload. If that isn’t interstellar irony, I don’t know what is. 🛸💸

In MA2, strategic turbulence reigned as Collin Dyer edged out Eric Pearson and Houston Turner at +3, cementing his lead with a late birdie. Pearson launched strong but bogeyed out on hole 2 and after 9, while Turner led a mission on hole 2 before skidding into a temporal rift at 14. Dyer surged after 13, demonstrating resilience worthy of a seasoned astro-navigator. 🚀📊

MA4 saw Timothy Scholle blaze ahead at +3, undeterred by the course’s deadliest openers. His hot streak on holes 1 (+0.6 average) and 8 (+0.6) bucked consensus reality. Scholle’s timeline remained unbroken, never relinquishing his solo lead from the jump—proving that fortune really does favor the bold who heed the Thunderbird’s transmission. 🥏🔥

The MA1 division crackled with anticipation. Hans Duong stormed to –7, outpacing Craig Bennett (–3) and Chris Fox (–2). After a four-way tie on hole 1, leadership ping-ponged through holes 3–5. Chris Fox seized the front after 7, but the bogey nebula proved inescapable, clearing the path for Duong’s career-best round—legendary stuff, as if channeling the storm-bringer itself. In space, no one can hear you ace—but at River Bottoms, everyone heard Duong making history. 🏆🌩️

MP40 saw a gravitational tug-of-war as Brian Hansen and Scott Belchak traded the lead seven times. Belchak led early, Hansen took command at 11, Belchak struck again at 16, but Hansen’s birdie on 17 sealed victory, cementing a +1 finish in a battle as wild as any asteroid field skirmish. 🌠🎯 MP50’s Marvin Atene flew solo, not only posting +7 unopposed but logging a personal best—the kind of performance that echoes across the leaguescape.

At the summit, Tyler Waldo surged through the MPO ranks at –8, outdueling Landon Adams and Austin Lott with precision worthy of deep-space recon. All three were tied through four; Waldo took the reins at hole 7, blasted ahead at 10, and locked it down with a birdie on 18 for undisputed supremacy. 🏅🌌

Event-wide, the ancient course offered its own cosmic riddles. Leif Smith’s missed Ace Pot moment became instant league folklore—a singularity of skill, the pot tantalizingly out of phase. Standouts included Timothy Scholle (+60 vs. rating), Austin Lott (+58), Landon Adams (+50), and Tyler Waldo (+24), each achieving peak rounds. Conversely, Kenneth Oetker (–96) and Xander Moffatt (–44) weathered the course’s cosmic undertow. Single birdies were fired on the toughest circuits: Scholle on hole 1, Waldo on 3, Doucet on 6, Cain on 7 and 8, Smith on 9 and 13, and Alston on 14—a dazzling spectrum blazing through River Bottom’s tall grass jungles. 🧰🔮

Special events saw the Ace Pot remain unclaimed—a mystery for the extraterrestrial accountants to puzzle over—while CTP and Super Ace Pot statuses awaited cosmic resolution or perhaps a multiverse carryover.

Under the Thunderbird’s shadow, champions shaped the elements into victory, advancing the prophecy toward its luminous endgame. Uniting earth and sky, the chosen few are now just one quantum leap from unlocking the Thunderbird’s true form and restoring galactic balance.

With the season finale in the books, enormous gratitude goes out to all 29 disc golf warriors whose valor fueled this odyssey. Final standings and payouts now dispatched, the saga will continue as the Thunderbird’s spectral call echoes louder across the cosmos. Until next season—may the Fore be with you! 🌦️🛸