The 2015 Professional Disc Golf Association Canadian nationals proved to be a great learning experience for Sonya Ewaniuk and Shane Quesnel.
Ewaniuk, a member of the Penticton Disc Golf Club (PDGC), didn’t accomplish her goal of finishing in the top two, but she wasn’t far off. She placed third in a field of five in advanced women. She shot the best in two of four rounds, scoring 69 in round two and 66 in round four. Overall, she finished 68 over par with 293 shots, six behind Kelowna’s Shelly Lewandoski.
“It was pretty close. After the second round I was pretty excited,” said Ewaniuk, who had thought she might be able to win.
A bad third round, in which she shot 88, seven shots behind Lewandoski, hurt her. That round was played at Queen Elizabeth Park, which wasn’t friendly to left-handers like Ewaniuk.
“I hit a lot out of bounds. It was a challenge going into Sunday,” said Ewaniuk. “We all did really well overall. I would have liked to have done better.”
What Ewaniuk learned from competing against the best is she needs to improve specific skills, such as her drive. She also discovered it might be time to retire some of her old discs and experiment with new ones. There are new makes and types of plastic which could benefit her skills.
Quesnel, also a member of PDGC) was shooting for a top-25 finish among the field of 50 in advanced men. He finished 45th, 45 over par shooting 275. The winner, Brendan Armstrong of Vancouver, finished even after shooting 230 in four rounds. Quesnel admitted he didn’t place well, but said it was hard on a lot of players. His best scores were 59 in round two and 63 in the third round.
“It was really fun. The course was extremely long and challenging,” said Quesnel. “I managed some really great shots on some holes. Did better than my previous best drives. One was 350 and one was 375. A few that I just tapped in for birdie.”
What Quesnel learned is that he needs to be more consistent with his drives and work on fade shot that go right on long courses. He also needs to manage the course better, play angles smarter. Quesnel also said playing more aggressive to try to climb the standings didn’t help him. His performance however didn’t diminish how he felt about the weekend.
“It was a great time. It was like New Year’s for disc golfers,” he said. “The camaraderie and people are awesome.”