Welck leads crowded Glass Blown Open leaderboard in Emporia

Parker Welck shot a 58 to reach 9-under and take the early MPO lead at the Dynamic Discs Glass Blown Open, but the numbers around him made the margin look anything but safe. In a field of 396 total players and 55 MPO competitors on the round-1 live board, Andrew Presnell sat second at 7-under with a 60, while Landen Carver and Logan Harpool were tied for third at 6-under with 61s.

That was only the start of the traffic at the top. Zachary Nash, Brenden Koontz, Isaiah Esquivel and Greyson Lifto were all tied at 4-under with 63s, followed by Trevor Hastert and Gracen Lomelino at 3-under and Colby Koehn at 2-under. With that many players clustered within a few strokes of the lead, one hot round in Emporia could flip the board in a hurry.

The event, a PDGA Pro/Am A-Tier scheduled for June 26-28 in Emporia, Kansas, listed Jackie Morris as tournament director. The live MPO sheet was still moving on June 27, making Welck’s position a snapshot rather than a finish, but it still showed how quickly the Glass Blown Open can separate the front-runners from the rest of the field and then close the gap again. Chris Clemons, Chase Farler and Chandler Kramer were among the players further down the board, another sign that the early standings mixed established touring names with strong regional talent.

That depth is part of why Emporia keeps drawing attention every spring. Dynamic Discs says the Glass Blown Open began in 2003 as a PDGA B-Tier with 88 competitors and has grown into what it calls the world’s largest disc golf event. The tournament’s original glass trophies were designed by Hal Berger, and after Berger’s death in 2006, Brice Turnbull took over the work.

The 2026 edition also spread across the city, with Disc Golf Scene listing play at Jones Park, Peter Pan Park and Champions Landing, along with side events such as a reunion round, welcome party, putting competition and other player programming. Visit Emporia describes the weekend as a community-wide celebration across Emporia’s parks and venues, a setting that fits a leaderboard this crowded. Welck entered the week as a seasoned touring pro from Lahaina, Hawaii, with a 1030 PDGA rating, while Presnell brought a 1029 rating and a long résumé from Ozark, Missouri. The two were near the top once again, and in Emporia that is usually only the first turn in a much longer race.