Hokom Defends Bottle Lake Crown with Back-to-Back Even-Par Closers
Sarah Hokom successfully defended her MVP Discs Bottle Lake Open title with a masterclass in consistency, firing her second consecutive even-par 64 to finish at +2 overall and claim a four-stroke victory at Bottle Lake Forest in Christchurch, New Zealand. The 2012 World Champion, who had shown dominant form throughout the Tour Down Under season including leading multiple rounds at the Taranaki Disc Golf Open, became the only player in the nine-woman FPO field to shoot even par all tournament—and she did it twice, posting back-to-back 968-rated rounds to close out the TDU season finale. Her victory was built on elite course management through the demanding pine corridors that define this technical masterpiece, where tight fairways and strategic tree placement punish errant throws and demand precision.
The final round delivered tense drama as Sofia Donnecke, the reigning Tour Down Under series champion who had posted consistent finishes at Taranaki earlier in the season, mounted a charge that cut Hokom's tournament lead from two strokes to just one. But the pivotal stretch came on holes 16-18, where Hokom's clutch pars on the 112-meter 17th and 187-meter 18th expanded her advantage to two strokes and then secured the four-stroke final margin. Donnecke finished runner-up at +6 overall, unable to match Hokom's closing consistency despite her late push in the championship battle.
The tournament's three-round arc saw 15-year-old Junior World Champion Alison Tweedie seize the Round 1 lead before fading to third place, while Taylor Chocek capped a strong TDU season with a steady fourth-place finish after leading multiple rounds at the Taranaki Disc Golf Open earlier in January. Throughout the field, Chandler Reigh delivered putting brilliance with back-to-back 52-foot Circle 2 conversions on holes 3 and 4, while Molly Ellis sank an 85-foot Circle 2 putt on hole 16—the longest make of the round despite her 779-rated performance.
Bottle Lake Forest continued to show its teeth with a field average of 72.7 (+9) in Round 3, highlighted by hole 7 playing as the hardest all tournament at 6.22 average on the 261-meter par 5. Both Tweedie and Reigh fired 3.7 shots better than the field average, while Hayley Flintoft struggled to an 842-rated round that represented a 57-point drop below her average. The course's sandy soil provided exceptional drainage as always, creating the focused, technical challenge that has made this venue the crown jewel of New Zealand disc golf.
Hokom's title defense cements her status as the dominant force in New Zealand disc golf this season, completing a comeback from five shots down after Round 1 to win by four. Donnecke's runner-up finish at the TDU season finale adds another strong result to her series championship resume, while Tweedie's third-place showing marks an impressive A-Tier debut for the young Junior World Champion. The Bottle Lake Open once again proved why it stands as the premier event of the Tour Down Under series, testing the field with its relentless combination of tight fairways, strategic tree placement, and the mental fortitude required to navigate one of disc golf's most demanding technical challenges.