The 2024 Discraft Ledgestone Open is Thursday through Sunday at disc golf courses around central Illinois, under the direction of tournament founder Nate Heinold .
The 14th annual event will be the largest disc golf tournament in the world for the fourth straight year, as the expected field grows to 2,300 with a purse of $145,000 for the pro players.
"It never gets old," Heinold said. "Always exciting, a record number of players and thousands of spectators. It's a great challenge to organize and tremendous fun to watch."
Top retail chains in America: These 12 from around Peoria made the list
Here is everything you need to know about the four-day tournament, from concerts to ice cream socials, meet-and-greets with pro players and more:
When is the Ledgestone Open disc golf tournament?
- Thursday — First Round, 8 a.m.-2 p.m.: Men's Pro Open tees at Lake Eureka Temp Disc Golf Course. Women's Pro Open tees at Sunset Hills (Pekin).
- Friday — Second Round, 8 a.m.-2 p.m.: Men's Pro Open tees at Lake Eureka Temp Disc Golf Course. Women's Pro Open tees at Sunset Hills (Pekin).
- Saturday — Third Round, 8 a.m.-2 p.m.: Men's Pro Open tees at Lake Eureka Temp Disc Golf Course. Women's Pro Open tees at Sunset Hills (Pekin).
- Sunday — Final Round, 8 a.m.-2 p.m.: Men's Pro Open tees at Lake Eureka Disc Golf Course. Women's Pro Open tees at Sunset Hills (Pekin).
Divisions below the pros will play throughout the week at various courses. There is a complete schedule here .And you can also see tee times in a separate area.
Heinold also is creating fun twist for the professional men. He created alternate pin placements on some holes and layout tweaks on others at Eureka Temp course, where all four rounds of the men's pro tournament will be played. The holes involved are 7, 9, 13, 16 and 17. There is a $10,000 prize up for grabs for a hole-in-one.
Where is the Ledgestone Open disc golf tournament? How can I watch?
The tournament, with professional and amateur divisions, the latter reaching down as young as age 10, will play out on 12 disc golf courses around the area. Those include Lake Eureka Park (Eureka), Wildlife Prairie Park (Hanna City), Northwood Park (Morton), Meggido at Westwood Park (Morton), Washington Park (Washington), Sunset Hills Country Club (Pekin), McNaughton Park (Pekin), Kennel Lake Sportsmen's Club (Morton), Three Sisters Park (Chillicothe), Illinois Central College (East Peoria) and Maxwell Park (Normal), Brady Park (East Peoria).
You can find directions here to each course here .
The 2024 Ledgestone can be seen via live stream at Disc Golf Network . It's a pay service.
Ledgestone Open 2024 tickets
- Tickets: $20 per day on Thursday and Friday; $25 on Saturday, Sunday. Ages 10 and under are free. A weekly pass is $75 and includes a Ledgestone disc and shirt. VIP badge is $115 and includes a weekly pass, parking and a spectator pack. The badge will get you special access to the VIP tent at the event, which includes snacks and food. Tickets can be purchased online . Go to the Ledgestone tournament website for information on how to purchase.
- Parking note: At Eureka Lake, parking is located at the lower (East) entrance to the park. Parking staff will guide you to the appropriate parking area. At Sunset Hills spectator parking is available in the main lot at the club and with street parking.
Ledgestone Open special events
- 6-8 p.m. Thursday: Paul McBeth, Anthony Barela, Paige Pierce and Missy Gannon meet-and-greet at Lake Eureka Disc Golf Course.
- 6-9 p.m. Thursday: The band Jonny Quest performs at Lake Eureka. Ice cream sundae/root beer floats free from Gramma Nanas Kitchen.
- 9-11 p.m. Thursday: Glo Disc golf at Washington Park.
- 6-8 p.m. Saturday: The band Jonny Quest performs at Comfort Inn in Morton.
Ledgestone Open 2024: Women's players to watch
- Ohn Scoggins: The L.A. native is ranked No. 2 in the world by PDGA and finished fourth earlier this season at the U.S. Women's Disc Golf Championship. She has 97 career wins and $246,000 in earnings.
- Missy Gannon: The defending Ledgestone champion is ranked No. 4 in the world by PDGA and won the U.S. Women's Disc Golf Championship earlier this season and was third in the European Open earlier this month. She has 44 career wins and $287,000 in career earnings.
- Holyn Handley: The Grapevine, Texas native is ranked No. 5 in the world by PDGA and has 26 career wins with $128,000 in earnings.
- Paige Pierce: The veteran touring pro is ranked No. 12 in the world by PDGA. She has 153 career wins and $401,000 in earnings. The Pensacola, Fla., native won the Ledgestone in 2019 and 2021.
Top men's players in the Ledgestone Open 2024
Three-time Ledgestone champion Richard Wysocki is not here this year, out with a rib injury suffered in a tournament earlier this summer. But there are plenty of elite challengers.
- Gannon Buhr: Ranked No. 1 in the world by PDGA, the Urbandale, Iowa native brings 37 wins and $284,000 in earnings with him. He has four first-place finishes on the tour this season, including the European Open championship 10 days ago.
- Calvin Heimburg: Ranked No. 3 in the world by PDGA, the Safety Harbor, Fla., native has 58 career wins and $410,000 in earnings. He played in the Swedish and European open championships this summer, and has 12 top-7 finishes on the tour in 2024.
- Matt Orum: Ranked No. 4 in the world by PDGA, the Creola, Ala., native has piled up 85 career wins for $356,000 in earnings. He finished sixth in the 2024 PDGA Champions Cup this summer.
- Isaac Robinson: Ranked No. 5 in the world by PDGA, the Lawrenceville, Ga., native has 34 career wins for $222,000 in earnings. He finished fourth in the European Open 10 days ago.
- Paul McBeth: Ranked No. 7 in the world by PDGA, one of the greatest in the sport's history has 149 career wins and $764,000 in earnings. His 2024 finishes include 10th in the PDGA Champions Cup, second in the Swedish Open and third in the European Open. He won the Ledgestone in 2016 and 2019.
What is the Ledgestone Open?
Eureka resident Nate Heinold built central Illinois into a mecca for disc golf. The Ledgestone Open has grown tremendously under Heinold's direction, taking it to status as the world championship tournament for the Professional Disc Golf Association in 2019.
Launched in 2011 with a field of 105 players and a purse of $2,445, the Ledgestone sported 2,182 players and a $144,110 purse in 2022. That prize pool grew to $162,000 last year.
Ledgestone Open: Why the new office and warehouse in Washington? This annual event had outgrown its storage
Heinold won re-election to the PDGA Global Board of Directors in 2023.
Dave Eminian is the Journal Star sports columnist, and covers Bradley men's basketball, the Rivermen and Chiefs. He writes the Cleve In The Eve sports column for pjstar.com. He can be reached at 686-3206 or deminian@pjstar.com. Follow him on X.com @icetimecleve.
This article originally appeared on Journal Star: What to watch as world's largest disc golf tournament arrives in central Illinois
Most Popular
Comments / 0