A professional 麻豆社国产disc golfer has claimed victory at the Gerry Boomer Memorial tournament.
Briana Ainsley took first place in the open women鈥檚 division.
鈥淩eally motivated,鈥� the 27-year-old said, when describing how the win made her feel. 鈥淛ust being able to come in mentally it was a bit of an emotional day as well.鈥�
On March 24, tournament day, it all boiled down to a winner鈥檚 mindset.
鈥淛ust believe that you cannot miss,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 was just in that mentality where I just felt like I could just do anything that I wanted to do.鈥�
And the effort paid off 鈥� it shows on the scoreboard.
Ainsley captured a total score of 110 while her two other opponents finished with totals of 139 and 141, respectively.
It was one in a series of well-played tournaments that Ainsley has found herself in.
Before the Gerry Boomer, she captured third and fourth place in international tournaments in Thailand. In the tournament where she captured fourth, she was up against the top female disc golfer in the world.
Not bad, for an athlete who was a stranger to the game just five years ago.
Ainsley got her start when her mother鈥檚 boyfriend developed an interest in the sport.
Her mom started badgering her to give it a try, and despite the fact that Ainsley turned her nose up to the idea, she eventually gave in.
Ainsley tried playing a game, and within a few shots, she fell in love with the sport.
Since then, Ainsley started putting in the time. She learned fast, given her prior extensive experience playing sports in high school.
Around four years ago was a turning point 鈥斅爄n 2014, she placed well in a series of pro-am tournaments, and soon after made the switch to professional.
鈥淚 just wanted to just always get better and try and the best that I can possibly be,鈥� Ainsley reflected.
It also helps to have a little friendly competition. As it happens, the sport seems to run in the family.
Ainsley鈥檚 little brother is Erik Wendland, who鈥檚 also an accomplished local disc golfer.
However, competition aside, the main draw for Ainsley is the sense of community around the sport.
鈥淚t鈥檚 just turned into such a community,鈥� she said. 鈥淓veryone that I know that鈥檚 in it, if they鈥檙e moving, it's disc golfers that are helping them move, if they鈥檙e having a baby or something, it鈥檚 disc golfers that are coming around鈥�.It鈥檚 a lifestyle for a lot of people.鈥�
However, there are still things to improve on.
Ainsley said that 麻豆社国产is still lacking a reliable field for disc golf.
One place that used to be a regular disc golf location has been thrown into uncertainty because of development, she said.
鈥淚鈥檓 a touring pro and I don鈥檛 have a course to play on promote the sport with or introduce the community to,鈥� she said.
鈥淚t would literally be just giving us space, giving us baskets,鈥� she said.
The disc golf community will take care of the rest, Ainsley said.
She also added that she would like to thank her sponsors for their support.
