The Preserve Championship: Allen Claims Second, Leiviska Posts Top-15 Finish While Debuting Course

Photos courtesy of Disc Golf Pro Tour and Alyssa Van Lanen (AV Disc Golf)

The Preserve Championship, the latest Disc Golf Pro Tour stop, had plenty of action as The Airborn Disc Golf Preserve in Clearwater, Minn., designed by Cale Leiviska, made its debut on a national stage.

Leiviska and his team's hard work in preparing the course was front and center with some of the world's best disc golfers christened the Black Bear layout. Among them was Catrina Allen, whose talents were on display all weekend long.

She never left the lead card and posted her best score during the final round to secure second place by two strokes. She put herself in scoring position, leading in Circle 1 in regulation for the event and coupling that with a flawless mark in Circle 1x putting during the third round. Allen's 16-under 179 total helped in finishing top-5 in each DGPT event, and on the podium in her last four.

Leiviska was able to bounce back from a double bogey on his opening hole of the tournament to stay bogey-free until the sixth hole of round three in securing a tied for 12th finish. That included a bogey-free 13-down in round two, which helped him climb 12 spots on the way to a 32-under 160 total. He was able to lean on the putter throughout the weekend as he had the fourth best percentage in Circle 1x for MPO. Leiviska also did plenty of work before the event kicked off in designing and helping prepare the course.

Kevin Jones also put on a top-20 showing, highlighted by a 14-under second round that saw him rocket 29 spots on the leaderboard. He offset his only bogey of the round with an eagle on the final hole and drilled four of his seven Circle 2 putts. Known for being deadly at that distance, he finished third in putting from Circle 2, nailing more than half of putts from long range.

Both Leiviska and Jones will continue along the packed schedule with another A-Tier this weekend at the Silver Cup XX. The Two Rivers, Wisc., event is part of the DGPT Silver Series.