{"id":887782,"date":"2026-10-19T14:30:14","date_gmt":"2026-10-19T14:30:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/887782\/"},"modified":"2026-10-19T14:30:14","modified_gmt":"2026-10-19T14:30:14","slug":"worlds-top-52-disc-golfers-compete-at-ivy-hill-for-record-350000-purse","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/887782\/","title":{"rendered":"World\u2019s top 52 disc golfers compete at Ivy Hill for record $350,000 purse"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>FOREST, Va. (WSET) \u2014 The top 52 disc golfers in the world gathered at Ivy Hill Golf Club in Bedford County for a world championship competition featuring athletes from 10 countries.<\/p>\n<p>Event coordinator Nate Heinold said the tournament\u2019s total prize money is something to behold.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey\u2019re playing for the biggest purse in disc golf history,\u201d Heinold said. \u201cThat is $350,000. So $50,000 each to the men and female winners.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The rest of the prize money is split among athletes based on their rankings, meaning every competitor earns a payout regardless of where they finish.<\/p>\n<p>SEE ALSO: <a href=\"https:\/\/wset.com\/news\/local\/more-than-40-cars-roll-in-for-gears-for-gaudio-supporting-live-like-cash-foundation-cash-gaudio-october-2026\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Honoring Cash Gaudio: More than 40 cars turn out for &#8216;Gears for Gaudio&#8217; event<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Several players said they had a general idea of what they would take home. Disc golfer Kat Mertch said she expected to receive $35,000. Emily Weatherman and Eliezra Midtling estimated their payouts at about $2,000 and $2,500.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m getting $2,000,\u201d Midtling said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMaybe like $2,500?\u201d Weatherman said. \u201cShe finished above me,\u201d Midtling added.<\/p>\n<p>While the stakes were high, players also described the tournament as a positive and memorable experience.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI was really happy that I got to play with my best friend for four rounds at the tournament, the entire tournament,\u201d Weatherman said. \u201cAnd it was a lot of fun.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>For some athletes, disc golf has been part of their lives far beyond competition. Jessica Gurthie said the sport has shaped her career and personal life.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI love disc golf because I grew up playing with my mom when I was a kid and now I compete, and this is what I do as a living,\u201d Gurthie said. \u201cI met my husband playing.\u201d For this competition, he was her caddie.<\/p>\n<p>Qualifying for the tournament was described as an accomplishment on its own. One golfer from Finland, Silva Saarinen, had been ahead of the field since the Champions Cup in April. Saarinen was crowned the Powerball Cup women\u2019s champion.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s crazy,\u201d Saarinen said. \u201cIt\u2019s my biggest payout so far.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Click <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pdga.com\/live\/event\/96421\/FPO\/scores?round=5\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">here <\/a>to see final scores.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"FOREST, Va. (WSET) \u2014 The top 52 disc golfers in the world gathered at Ivy Hill Golf Club&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":887783,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[71],"tags":[427,99],"class_list":["post-887782","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-golf","tag-golf","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/887782","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=887782"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/887782\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/887783"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=887782"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=887782"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=887782"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}