If the opening day of European Open was dominated by Europeans and rain,
Friday’s second round was the opposite. Americans took the lead in (in
Finnish terms) scorching heat.

Paul Ulibarri took the lead after a solid round of 55. David Feldberg shot
the best round of the day – same as K-J yesterday - and is in second place
together with Nate Doss, who also played convincingly. According to David,
playing in the same group with Nate helped them both to play better.

- The ability to play under pressure, together with other experienced
players, meant a lot today, said David.

Denmark’s K-J Nybo is the fourth name on the lead card, only 2 strokes
behind the leading American trio. Simon Lizotte (GER) astonished the crowd
on hole #13 by landing his drive less than ten meters away from the
basket, and is in fifth place with American Will Schusterick.

Players who are particularly happy about their second round include Avery
Jenkins (USA), Juho Rantalaiho (FIN), and Markus Källströn (SWE), whereas
Nikko Locastro (USA) and Seppo Paju (FIN) were not content after an
average round.

American players also dominate the women’s division. Valarie Jenkins
repeated her score from the first round, 70, and Paige Pierce improved her
game as expected, and is now in second place together with Melody King.
However, Anne Matilainen is only one stroke behind, so anything can happen
on the third round.

The competition continues with the third round on Saturday. The weather is
expected to be about five degrees celcius cooler than Friday, and there is
a chance of rain.

Check out the standings after Round 2 at:
http://opendiscgolf.com/en/leaderboard/open

Once again, lets finish the day off with some snapshots from Round 2:

Team Europe finalized after SDGO

The last qualifying event for team Europe, Stockholm Open, was held last week at the beautiful Järva Disc Golf Course. Currently on European tour, the U.S. players dominated the competition, but final spots for the Team Europe were settled nevertheless.

Team Europe roster for Presidents Cup 2011 looks like this:

• Markus Kallström (Division: MPO, current rating: 1028, representing country: SWE)
• Karl-Johan Nybo (MPO, 1021, DK)
• Ville Piippo (MPO, 997, FIN)
• Jussi Meresmaa (MPO, 1026, FIN)
• Simon Lizotte (MPO, 1027, GER)
• Camilla Jernberg (FPO, 925, SWE)
• Anne Matilainen* (FPO, 914, FIN)
• Captains Choice: Jesper Lundmark (MPO, 1035, SWE)

*(Anne was qualified to the team since players placed higher in the qualification will not attend the Presidents Cup)

Team Europe captain Hans Tegebäck used his Captains Choice to pick EO2009 winner and currently the highest rated player in Europe, Jesper Lundmark, to the team. Changes in the Team Europe roster are still possible, since Markus Kallström hasn’t yet confirmed whether he will be able to make it to the Presidents Cup. Jussi Meresmaa’s attendance is also yet to be confirmed. In case these two palyers choose to withdraw their spots, Seppo Paju (age 16!) and Teemu Nissinen (age 17!) would make the team. The European Open Blog will keep you updated if these possible changes take effect.

Ulibarri joins the Team USA by Captains Choice!

The European Open blog published last week the roster of the Team USA, which was finalized a week earlier than team Europe in the U.S. National Tour event Beaver State Fling. The last member of the team was announced today, as Captain David Greenwell picked Paul Ulibarri to the team by Captains Choice. Ulibarri is a solid addition to a solid team with a current PDGA rating of 1030 and a great season underway this far.

Here’s what Team USA captain David Greenwell had to say about the Captains Choice:

“My Captains Choice was even harder this year, than last, especially given the fact that the best player of all time has an injury. I have so many good players to choose from, and I like all of them like they are my sons. I do not want my Captains pick to be a popularity contest, and I hope all future Captains will follow the same plan. With that being said, the person that I am going to choose, has played better than anyone not already on the team. His point total is almost twice as much as anyone not on the team already, and his current world ranking is #3.”

So there you have it - the injured player David is referring to is Ken Climo. Certain is that “the Champ” won’t be participating in the Presidents Cup, but it’s yet to be determined whether the 2007 European Open champion will be able to take part in the European Open. We certainly do hope he’ll heel from his injury and that we’ll see him at the European Open.

Quick links:

-> Presidents cup -site

-> Final Qualification Standings

-> Trailer for Presidents Cup 2010

-> The European Open -website

In other news:

Team USA starting to shape up

With one more qualifier to go on both sides of the Atlantic, Team USA players Nikko Locastro and David Feldberg have already secured their places in the U.S. team in this years Disc Golf Presidents Cup. Other players close to getting the spot are Paul Ulibarri (currently standing at 230 points), Paul McBeth (215) and Steve Brinster (210). Bubbling under are names like Doss, Climo, Anthon and Schusterick and all of them still have a solid chance of making the team. The final Team USA roster will be sorted out at the Beaver State Fling, so be sure to keep an eye on the latter mentioned names at Milo McIver!

In Womens division 3-time World Champ Valarie Jenkins has already secured her spot in the team, while the second available spot is still open with Paige Pierce and Liz Lopez just 20 points apart on the 2nd and 3rd place currently in the standings.

Team Europe roster still wide open

On the Old Continent Markus Källström is so far the only one with a secured place in the Presidents Cup Team. Below that there’s still more than 10 players with theoretical chances on earning the spot in the Team Europe, as Jussi Meresmaa won’t be playing in the Presidents Cup since he is the Tournament Director. Stockholm Open in the start of July will define the final shape of the Team so make sure you check back on that.

In Womens division no one is still safe, as many players still have a solid chance of earning the spot, especially as the leading lady, Team Discmania’s Angelica Frantz will not be attending the Presidents cup and European Open.

Team Captains revealed!

In addition to 5+2 spots both teams get by qualification process, there’s one available spot in both teams that will be determined by Captain’s choice. This year we’re proud to announce that the Team Captains will once again be Hans Tegebäck for Team Europe and David Greenwell for Team USA.

Quick links:

-> Presidents cup -site

-> Qualification Standings

-> Trailer for Presidents Cup 2010

-> The European Open -website