Rainers Balodis wins silver at disc golf world championship
Latvian athlete Rainers Balodis took silver at the Professional Disc Golf Association World Championship, losing to American Silas Schultz in a playoff after a stance violation cost him the lead.
Latvian disc golf player Rainers Balodis has won the silver medal at the Professional Disc Golf Association (PDGA) World Championship.
Balodis performed consistently throughout the tournament. After Saturday's fourth round he sat in first place at 28 strokes under PAR, three strokes ahead of his closest rivals. On the final day he kept his advantage for most of the round, leading by two strokes through 16 holes.
A costly violation
The turning point came on hole 17, when officials called a stance violation on the Latvian. The resulting penalty stroke allowed American Silas Schultz to instantly erase the two-stroke gap and level the scores. After all 18 holes both players finished at 35 under PAR, forcing a playoff to decide the title. Schultz shot PAR in the playoff, while Balodis needed one stroke more, handing the American the gold.
Other Latvian results
Fellow Latvian Edgars Saulītis tied for 142nd after four rounds among 208 competitors and failed to reach the final round. In the women's competition, Latvia's Elizabete Pēkšena tied for 16th, while Sintija Klezberga tied for 21st among 92 athletes. The world title went to Finland's Evelina Salonen, who finished 17 strokes ahead of her nearest challenger.
