Washington man wins pro disc golf event in Henderson

Nate Sexton of Olympia, Washington, finished 44 under par over four rounds to win the disc golf Las Vegas Challenge on Sunday at Wildhorse Golf Club in Henderson.

Sexton, who has competed in the sport since 2001, defeated Garrett Guthrie of Gainesville, Florida, by two shots to win the open division and $4,000. Sexton has more than $190,000 in career earnings and more than 80 victories.

A total purse of $82,000 was on the line, the third richest Professional Disc Golfers Association event in 2020, according to tournament director Jeff Jacquart.

“This is truly a big deal in the disc golfing world,” said Jacquart, who co-founded the event 21 years ago. “That first year we had a few dozen participants. This year, we had more than 500, including 30 from Canada and 20 from Europe.

“Disc golf is one of the fastest growing professional sports in the world, and we are seeing that with such strong interest in this event.”

Three disc-course layouts were used, but on a typical day at Wildhorse, two are in play, one in the morning and another in the afternoon. Disc golfers and ball golfers play at separate times, and rounds are $10 to “throw it” around Wildhorse.

Top college stars

Golfweek’s top five teams in the country and six of the top seven will play in the UNLV men’s home tournament — the Southern Highlands Collegiate — from Sunday through Tuesday. Top-ranked Oklahoma is followed by Georgia Tech, Pepperdine, Texas and Duke, and Texas Tech is seventh. UNLV is 72nd.

“This is as good as it gets,” UNLV coach Dwaine Knight said.

Admission is free.

The final round will be live-streamed by Golfweek, and the individual champion receives an exemption into the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open in October at TPC Summerlin.

Eyes on Trent

UNLV junior Jack Trent, the defending Southern Highlands Collegiate champion, is on the Ben Hogan Award watch list.

The award is given to the top men’s NCAA golfer, taking into account all collegiate and amateur competitions during a 12-month period from June to May.

Former Rebels All-American Ryan Moore won the award in 2005. UNLV’s Andres Gonzales was a semifinalist in 2006, as was Shintaro Ban in 2018.

The golf notebook appears Wednesdays. Freelance writer Brian Hurlburt has covered golf in Las Vegas for more than two decades. He can be reached at bhurlburt5@gmail.com or @LVGolfInsider.