PEORIA — The 2026 Discraft Ledgestone Open produced a first-time tour champion over the weekend in the pro division as more than 2,200 amateur and pro players powered through courses around the area.
Luke Taylor won his first Disc Golf Pro Tour event Sunday in a tight three-way finish on Eureka’s temporary course.
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“It’s just about like how everyone sums up their first win,” Taylor said in interviews after the tournament. “You don’t really know what to think. I can’t believe that last putt even went in. I felt like it had to. But I didn’t know how it was going to go in or how it was going to play out.
“It was everything I could ask for in a final round. … It was pretty obvious for a while that my putting stroke was not there. I was crumbling from the pressure, some might say. I made a little adjustment to my stance the last six holes, and it made the difference.
“I just did the best I could, and it ended up going my way.”
Michigan 18-year-old Luke Taylor won the 2026 Discraft Ledgestone Open tournament that played out in Eureka on Sunday, Aug. 2, 2026.
The 18-year-old from Shepherd, Michigan, has 44 career tour wins and headed into the weekend with $113,000 in career earnings.
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The Ledgestone had a total prize payout estimated at $150,000 distributed among the participants.
Taylor held off world ranked No. 1 and defending champion Gannon Buhr, whose final round was marred by two throws that slid out-of-bounds.
Fantastic Finnish
Finland native Eveliina Salonen won the women’s pro division of the 2026 Discraft Ledgestone Open tournament that played out in the Peoria area on Sunday, Aug. 2, 2026.
Eveliina Salonen conquered the pro women’s field with a four-round 237.
The Pirkkala, Finland native and No. 6 ranked player on the tour hit fairways on 86% of her shots.
She held off Ella Hansen, who was runnerup at 245, for her 13th career win on the Tour, ninth-most in tour history.
Finnish players have now won seven straight events on the pro tour.
Five-time Ledgestone champion Catrina Allen finished third.
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Check the tour site for more details from the Ledgestone tournament.
Dave Eminian is the Journal Star senior writer and sports columnist, and covers Bradley men’s basketball, the Rivermen and Chiefs. He writes the Cleve In The Eve sports column for pjstar.com. He can be reached at deminian@pjstar.com. Follow him on X.com @icetimecleve.
This article originally appeared on Journal Star: 2026 Discraft Ledgestone Open crowns its pro champions
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