Ezra Aderhold wins Discmania Challenge by two strokes

Ezra Aderhold will leave Indianola with the Discmania Challenge title at 29-under, two strokes clear of Adam Hammes after three steady rounds at Pickard Park. The Disc Golf Pro Tour’s event page will list Aderhold first with a $12,500 payout and 150 points, a winning line that will reward control as much as ceiling scoring.

Aderhold’s round totals will read 52, 56 and 55, a profile that points to a player who never lets one round blow up the tournament. That kind of weekend matters on a brand-new championship layout, where Pickard Park will demand birdies without inviting reckless swings. Aderhold will not need a 14-under eruption to separate himself; he will instead stack three efficient rounds and keep the chase line just out of reach.

Hammes will finish second at 27-under, and that margin will say plenty about the level needed to win in Indianola. He will stay close enough to keep the final round tense, but Aderhold’s two-stroke cushion will hold when the leaderboard tightens. Hammes’s own history at this event will make that chase even more relevant: he posted a course-record 14-under round in the third round of the 2025 Discmania Challenge, proof that he can overwhelm the course when his putter heats up.

The broader value of the win will go beyond the check. A 150-point result will matter in the DGPT standings, where branded events like the Discmania Challenge can shape a player’s season arc as much as any single trophy. Aderhold’s first DGPT victory came at the 2025 Discmania Challenge, when he and Cadence Burge became first-time tour winners at the same event, the first such double breakthrough since 2011. Repeating at the same tournament one year later will make this look less like a one-week heater and more like a player turning a signature venue into a dependable closing stage.