- Nikko Locastro
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Nikko Locastro Born September 16, 1988
St. Louis, MissouriNationality American Occupation Professional Disc Golfer Nikko Locastro is a professional disc golfer from St. Louis, Missouri. He has been playing the sport professionally since 2006. As of October, 2011, Nikko is ranked fourth in the world, and has the highest rating, currently at 1043.[1] Although he has only been playing professionally, for six years, Nikko has improved quickly and added several Major wins to his name. In 2009, and then again in 2010, he broke Barry Schultz's season winnings record. He is currently sponsored by Gateway Discs.
Contents
Amateur career
Nikko ascended quickly through the amateur ranks. In 2004, he worked his way through divisions, starting in Juniors and ending in Advanced, where he would stay until turning pro in 2006. While he was not dominant as an amateur nationwide, he was competitive. In 2005, he placed 34th in the Bowling Green Amateur Championships, held in Bowling Green, Kentucky, the largest disc golf tournament in the world. 2006 was his best year as an amateur. He won three tournaments and finished third at Bowling Green and sixth at Worlds. After worlds, Nikko decided to go professional.
Professional career
2009 Season
Nikko's 2009 season is without a doubt his breakout season. In this season, he played 43 events and won 16 of them. Of these wins, six were A Tier tournaments, and one was a National Tour event. His most notable event, however, was his win in the United States Disc Golf Championship, his first major. His win made him only the fifth different winner in this tournament. He also bested the previous record for earnings in a year, beating Barry Schultz's total by over $2,000.
2010 Season
Somehow, Nikko improved upon his previous year. In fewer events, he managed more winnings, besting his previous record by nearly $4,000. In addition to earning more, he was much more consistent, finishing no lower than 13th. Among his fourteen wins were 5 A Tiers, a National Tour event, the Vibram Open, and his second major, the 2010 Japan Open, held in Tochigi, Nasu Highlands, Japan. He also finished second at the USDGC and Scandinavian Open, both majors.
2011 Season
While no majors were won this year, Nikko still had a very solid year. In 31 events played as of November 11, he has won 15. Of these 15 wins, 5 were A Tiers, and two were National Tour events. One of the A Tier wins included the Stockholm Open, held in Stockholm, Sweden. This was Nikko's only international win in 2011. As of the September and August updates, Nikko's player rating reached 1045, the second highest rating of all time, behind David Feldberg's 1046.[2]
Notable Wins
Date Tournament Tier Location Earnings March 5, 2009 The Memorial [1] NT Scottsdale, AZ $2,500 Results October 7, 2009 US Disc Golf Championship [2] M Rock Hill, SC $15,000 Results June 10, 2010 Japan Open [3] M Tochigi, Japan $5,450 Results August 13, 2010 Vibram Open [4] NT Leicester, MA $3,000 Results April 2, 2011 Texas State Championships NT Hitchcock, TX $1,410 Results May 13, 2011 Alabama Disc Golf Championship NT Athens, AL $2,065 Results Annual Statistics
Year Events Wins Top 3 Earnings $ / Event Rating 2006 15 2 5 $2,646 $176.40 996 2007 21 2 8 $5,536 $263.62 1008 2008 26 8 18 $13,848 $532.62 1024 2009 43 16 30 $42,926 $998.28 1032 2010 37 14 27 $46,757 $1,263.70 1040 2011 31 15 21 $27,360 $882.58 1044 Career 173 57 109 $139,073 $803.89 x - The above information was gathered from Nikko's player page. [5]
References
- ^ PDGA (2011-10). "PDGA World Rankings". http://www.pdga.com/WorldRankings. Retrieved 2011-11-14.
- ^ PDGA (2011-03-29). "He Made It!". http://www.pdga.com/he-made-it. Retrieved 2011-11-14.
External links
Categories:- American disc golfers
- Living people
- 1988 births
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