UO junior Jake LaPutka is the 2014 Professional Disc Golf Association amateur world champion.

 On July 26, after six days and 7½ rounds of disc golf, the business administration major finished 51 under par and placed first out of 272  other disc golf participants. LaPutka described his win as unbelievable.

“It was an amazing experience; I can’t believe it happened,” he said.

LaPutka joined the UO Disc Golf Club during his freshman year and began playing in more tournaments.  He participated in enough disc golf tournaments to earn an individual spot at the PDGa Amateur Disc Golf World Championships.

In each disc golf tournament, players earn points based on their performance and participation. In order to qualify for the PDGA Amateur World Championships, individual players had to earn 500 points, and LaPutka said he earned thousands.

LaPutka played in his first professional disc golf tournament Aug. 2. Next summer, he hopes he’ll earn enough points to qualify for the professional world championship. 

“I’m now playing in the professional division, and I’m working on possible sponsorship opportunities,” LaPutka said.

PDGA sanctioned tournaments occur year round, but most disc golf tournaments take place between February and October. LaPutka will continue to play in disc golf tournaments throughout the summer. 

―By Corinne Boyer, Public Affairs Communications intern