Before the 2023 Texas State Disc Golf Championships, I’d heard of Sai Ananda. But beyond the surname that appears misspelled, I knew next to nothing about her. In fact, my first memory of her hearkens back to the 2022 United States Women’s Disc Golf Championships in Madison.
She was on GK Pro’s chase-card coverage for the third and final rounds. Eight strokes back of the winner, Hailey King, Ananda finished in a three-way tie for seventh place – a fine result.
But again …
That’s it.
After that, I’d all but forgotten she existed …
This past weekend changed all that.
Taking down Texas States is great and all, but Ananda by no means lucked her way into a Silver Event title. Take a look at the post-tourney data, and one thing’s for certain – she dominated.
Check this out:
- She was first (0.019) in OB rate.
- She was first (43%) in circle-two putts.
- She was first (43%) in birdie percentage.
- She was first (100%) in scramble percentage.
She even shot a 1,001-rated round on Saturday: The third-highest-rated round of her career. It was the highest-rated Silver Event, Elite Series or Major of her career, too. Admittedly, that’s not saying much, though. Dating back to last season, she’s only ever competed in five of them.
But I digress …
The most impressive thing out of Houston for Sai?
The way she held off a charging Kristin Tattar on Sunday.
Does THIS look like somebody phased by final-round action?
Sai Ananda held on to her lead for the entire round today 💪
— Disc Golf Pro Tour (@DiscGolfProTour) March 26, 2023
Here are some of her best moments from Championship Sunday! pic.twitter.com/tmMKUo6RJ3
To put things in perspective, I routinely lost my cool watching an over-the-hill Tom Brady lead a fourth-quarter drive last season in the NFL – and this from the comfort of my living-room sofa.
No, Paige Pierce, Ella Hansen, Henna Blomroos and Eveliina Salonen weren’t there. But let’s be real about the state of the FPO Division: Even with Pierce’s early-season takedown of the Open at Austin, Tattar’s staked her claim on the women’s field – everyone else is playing catch-up.
So does this make Ananda the future of FPO disc golf?
Probably not.
But there’s plenty of room within the division for a new, household name …
You’d be wise to commit Ananda’s to memory.
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