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Introducing the PDGA Directors Poll

Introducing the PDGA Directors Poll

A new weekly ranking of disc golf's best players

Thursday, February 15, 2018 - 20:46

Two-time PDGA World Champion headlines our inaugural Directors Poll. Photo: Stu Mullenberg

College football has the AP Coaches Poll, where the minds behind the top programs in the country rank each team after every Saturday showdown.

Now we're putting our own spin on the weekly rankings with the PDGA Directors Poll.

After each professional Major, National Tour, and Disc Golf Pro Tour event of 2018, our PDGA Media staff will survey a selection of the sport's most dedicated tournament directors and state coordinators to take their pulse on the professional game. They'll order the top 20 Open players and the top 10 Open Women's competitors, with the goal being to provide a running commentary on who's hot at the moment. This won't replace player ratings or world rankings, but instead will allow disc golf fans and followers an opportunity at more frequent interaction and discussion about the best of the best.

With that in mind, we'd like to unveil our 2018 Preseason Rankings. Poll participants started with a lineup of the top 25 Open and top 15 Open Women's players; this list was determined based on an aggregation of player ratings, world rankings, and 2017 standings on both the NT and DGPT circuits. From there, our directors narrowed it down to the players you see below.

The 15 directors who participated in this set of preseason rankings rewarded the reigning PDGA World Champions for their impressive 2017 campaigns: Ricky Wysocki earned 80 percent of the available first-place votes in Open, while Paige Pierce piled up nearly 95 percent of the tally. Additional observations:

  • Expectations are high for James Conrad after he closed out last season with a handful of top 5 showings.
  • Melody Waibel cracked the women's top 10 after finishing in fifth place in both the NT and DGPT standings.
  • Ageless wonder JohnE McCray continues to wow.

Agree? Disagree? Is your favorite player missing from the list, or is there someone you're keeping a close eye on in 2018? Have at it in the comments section, and be sure to tune in for a fresh set of rankings after the National Tour kicks off next week at the Las Vegas Challenge.

2018 Preseason Directors Poll: Open

Rank Player
1 Ricky Wysocki
2 Paul McBeth
3 Nate Sexton
4 Simon Lizotte
5 Jeremy Koling
6 Nate Doss
7 James Conrad
8 Paul Ulibarri
8 Philo Brathwaite
10 Chris Dickerson
11 Josh Anthon
12 Eagle McMahon
13 Cale Leiviska
14 Michael Johansen
15 Gregg Barsby
16 Nikko Locastro
17 Austin Turner
18 JohnE McCray
19 Zach Melton
20 Devan Owens

2018 Preseason Directors Poll: Open Women

_tu_8995.jpg Paige Pierce garnered 14 first-place votes to lead the Open Women's poll. Photo: Stu Mullenberg

Rank Player
1 Paige Pierce
2 Catrina Allen
3 Sarah Hokom
4 Valarie Jenkins
5 Jessica Weese
6 Lisa Fajkus
7 Jennifer Allen
8 Melody Waibel
9 Hannah Leatherman
10 Zoe Andyke

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