Representatives from Flames Disc Golf Team compete in national tournament in Bedford

Bedford, Virginia hosted its annual Bluechip Technologies Battle for Bedford Professional Disc Golf Tournament Oct. 27-29. Professional disc golfers from all over the country came to the Mountain for a weekend of challenging disc golf at New London Tech Disc Golf Course and Ivy Hill Golf Club. 

With clear skies and warm temperatures, the athletes were in store for a beautiful weekend. Each day, the golfers took on a different course. For example, if one golfer played New London Tech on Friday, he would then play at Ivy Hill on Saturday, being back at New London Tech on Sunday. 

While this was an individual event, Liberty University had some strong representation in the tournament. Of the 15 members Liberty Flames Disc Golf team who participated in the tournament, three of them, sophomore Jonah Burdick, senior Clayton Lewis and graduate Tim Schmidt competed with some of the best disc golfers in the country in the professional division. 

Playing with professional athletes is not easy in any sport. However, in a sport as technical as disc golf, the nerves can run high and out of control for a college student.

Liberty’s Schmidt finished the tournament tied for 48th place, Burdick managed to close the weekend tied for 18th, and Clayton Lewis had a magnificent weekend, finishing tied for 12th. 

“It’s always a good experience to play with people that are better than you,” Lewis said. “I could have finished better. I made some mistakes that I could have corrected myself on, but overall, it was very fun and a good learning experience.” 

When he looks at the weekend as a whole, Lewis feels there remains a lot of room for improvement.  

“Rounds one and two, I would give a B plus,” Lewis said. “Sunday was like a C minus. I could’ve managed the course better (on Sunday). I missed a couple of short putts I don’t normally miss. Overall, I’m okay with this weekend, but I definitely could’ve done better.” 

The annual Bedford classic had no shortage of big names on the leaderboard, as 10th-ranked Chris Dickerson finished on top at 12-under-par, besting his closest opponent, Matt Hammersten, by seven shots. 

Dallas native Brodie Smith finished in third place at 2-under-par after a strong Sunday round of 63, or 5-under-par. What might be more impressive than his scores, however, is the fact that he went so low in the condition he was in this weekend. 

“I have the flu,” Smith said. “I was feeling a little bit better (Sunday). I threw a couple better shots off the tee, which is really important out here. If you get off the tees, it’s really hard to make birdies and definitely difficult to make pars on some of the holes. I didn’t make too many mistakes and had a clean round.” 

Smith, currently ranked 39th in the country, does not have any other tournaments scheduled in the near future. 

For the Flames disc golfers, however, the experience of taking the course with professionals was a valuable one, as the team now sets its sights on the spring season. 

Weissinger is a sports reporter for the Liberty Champion. Follow him on X