Remember when “The Crush Boys” consisted of both Simon Lizotte and Eagle McMahon? The past few years, it seems like the title would be better served in the singular: “The Crush Boy.”
McMahon has come into his own. Last season alone, he won four National Tour events. This year, even with a bum shoulder, UDisc still has him down as the fifth-best golfer in the world.
On the flip side of that coin, Lizotte’s very much been a part of disc golf, but more in the way an Instagram model’s a part of New York Fashion Week: They’re “in the industry,” but they don’t do anything of consequence – if it weren’t for social media, they’d be irrelevant …
Sorry, Simon: Harsh, but true.
That all changed this weekend at the 2022 Jonesboro Open. Lizotte didn’t win, but he put a bow on his Jonesboro experience in a four-way tie for sixth at 20 strokes under par. Not bad, given that he shot one-under on Friday – that’s the Simon we’ve come to expect in recent years …
The second round, though?
Yeah, THAT was a much-needed trip down memory lane:
Just an absolute scorcher of a round for @LizotteDiscGolf on #MovingDay @DiscSideOHeaven! pic.twitter.com/EaiDXjWGmY
— Disc Golf Pro Tour (@DiscGolfProTour) April 23, 2022
Lizotte went bonkers.
He shot a 13-under to jump up 67 spots to a tie for fifth place – that was good enough for a 1093-rated round. The next-best MPO scorecard was a full four strokes behind him on the day. Say what you will about round ratings, but just to put things in perspective, McBeth’s 16-under during the final round of the PDGA Champions Cup at W.R. Jackson received a 1091 rating.
This would prove to be the seventh-highest rated round of Lizotte’s lengthy career. It was also the highest-rated round for Lizotte since the final day of the 2020 Las Vegas Challenge …
Remember: This is a dude whose last noteworthy win came nearly four years ago at the 2018 European Disc Golf Championships – to say he needed this would be an understatement.
And yeah, I know, I know …
The “sexy” story of the weekend was Paul McBeth and Calvin Heimburg going at each other in a one-hole playoff with Vinny bringing home some new hardware. The guy deserves it – awesome.
Think big picture, though – here’s what I know to be true:
Disc golf's better when Simon Lizotte's playing meaningful rounds.
— Green Splatter (@GreenSplatter) April 24, 2022
For far too long, Lizotte’s lived on YouTube as the big-arm guy who throws trick shots, goes “ace hunting,” creates random, viral quarantine challenges and goofs off with Casey White out on the East Coast – for the legions of new peeps to our sport, that’s all they know him for …
Ed Headrick’s rolled over in his grave a time or two, I’m sure.
Listen, there’s nothing better than marriage to the woman you love. Bringing a child into the world is right up there, too – disc golf doesn’t compare. But man, this feels right to me …
Welcome back, Simon – we’ve missed you.
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