Cotswold View once again marked the start of the EDGA Tour, with 84 players heading to a venue that keeps improving year on year. Four brand new astro turf tees were installed in the lead up, adding another nice touch to an already well-loved course. With fantastic weather across the weekend, everything was set for a great start to the 2026 season.
Saturday’s action kicked off in remarkable fashion, with four aces in the opening round alone. Cheers could be heard across the campsite after Ben McKay aced his very first hole of the event. Arnis Kivitis followed with an ace on hole nine shortly after, and Jonathan Morris claimed hole fifteen later in the morning. Not to be outdone by his younger brother, Scott McKay aced the eighteenth hole to cap off his round – an especially impressive feat for anyone familiar with the course.
The high standard of play continued into the afternoon, where Jay Cooney’s blistering 8-under front nine effectively sealed the MA1 division early. Matt Hodson claimed victory in the POCCA closest-to-the-pin challenge, adding to an already action-packed day.
Off the course, the evening social once again proved to be a highlight of the event. With close to 40 people in attendance, pork baps from the Old Shed and the ever-popular Cotswold View quiz provided the perfect end to the day.
Sunday brought more sunshine and the conclusion of a fantastic weekend, as champions were crowned across all divisions. Courtney Bryan impressed on her tournament debut with three excellent rounds to win FA3, while Andrew Upmalis produced a superb final round to take MA3, having started just one stroke behind the joint leaders.
In MA2, Sam Morton secured victory with the sole under-par performance, and Scott Parnell – after fitting in an impressive seven practice rounds on Friday – played strong second and third rounds to claim the Amateur Masters title. Dan Brown delivered one of the standout performances of the weekend in MP40, shooting 115 points above his rating on Sunday afternoon to take the win.
The Female Open division saw Elva Preston complete a successful return from injury, putting together three great rounds to claim the title. Jessica Riley also deserves a notable mention for her second-place finish, highlighted by a superb 915 rated final round.
In the Open division, Jamie Matthews, similarly battling back from injury, set the tone early with a career-best 1035 rated, 10-under-par. Connor McHale and I stayed close behind, setting up a tightly contested battle heading into Sunday afternoon. In the end, I was able to edge ahead to take the win, with Jamie finishing second and Connor completing the podium.
A huge thank you goes to Tom Hayek for stepping up as co-TD and running the event so smoothly across the weekend, as well as to Andrew Malcolm for once again giving his time to support UK disc golf.
