[Frisbeegolfmedia] A 15-year-old FPO player from Finland is making the trip to Rock Hill for Throw Pink – Disc Golf Pro Tour

This article was written by Lauri Alasaukko-oja, co-founder of Frisbeegolfmedia, a Finnish disc-golf-focused media outlet. For more news on disc golf in Europe and coverage of the Disc Golf Pro Tour’s European events, check out their website: frisbeegolfmedia.fi.

The Finnish disc golf community has had to blink twice this season as a 15-year-old, Iida Lehtomäki, has made a big splash at professional tournaments in Finland and across Europe.

Lehtomäki has only been playing disc golf for three years. She first came onto the radar of the disc golf community last year when she won the European Amateur Open, which qualified her to compete in the 2023 European Open. Last summer, at just 13 years old, she also celebrated winning the Junior European Championship.

At the start of the 2024 season, the young player set her sights on the Finnish Amateur Championships. She also competed in professional tournaments during the summer but chose not to accept prize money. Lehtomäki won her final amateur Finnish Championship on September 15, 2024. Now, at 15 years old, Lehtomäki has decided to go pro.

Iida Lehtomäki explains the motivation behind her decision:  “I couldn’t really get into the competitive spirit at amateur tournaments anymore. I didn’t see any point in continuing to play them.”

Background
• Age: 15 years
• Playing disc golf for 3 years
• Discovered disc golf through school sports
• Turned professional in September 2024
• Junior European Champion (2023)
• Finnish Amateur Champion (2024)
• Junior Finnish Champion (2024, 2023)

A Standout Season
Lehtomäki opened the 2024 season with a strong performance, winning the first event of the national Prodigy Disc Pro Tour at Jämijärvi. Her summer season also saw a win on the DGPT Europe circuit when Lehtomäki, hailing from Petäjävesi, secured victory at the Silver event held in Estonia.

Photo: Marika Salmi / DGPT

The Silver event win earned Lehtomäki an invitation to the prestigious Throw Pink Women’s Disc Golf Championship (TPWDGC) in the United States, taking place October 10–13, 2024, in South Carolina. 

Now in her ninth year of secondary school, Lehtomäki is preparing for the invitational tournament in the U.S. alongside 48 of the world’s top female players. Other Finnish players on the starting line include Eveliina Salonen, Henna Blomroos, Silva Saarinen, and Heidi Laine.

“At the beginning of the season, I thought I’d just play some of the Finnish Pro Tour events and stub like that, but then I ended up in a couple of those (Disc Golf Pro Tour events). And this is how it turned out,” Lehtomäki laughs. Regarding the competition, Lehtomäki isn’t putting too much pressure on herself: “I see it as an experience. I haven’t really thought about placement, but if I’m not the last one, then I’ll be happy.” 

“Of course, I’ll try to make everything work in a way that I can play at a good level. I want to avoid any major ups and downs, but I’m not putting too much pressure on it,” Iida Lehtomäki explains. “I’m just going to see how things are done in the bigger world.

The Throw Pink Women’s Disc Golf Championship (TPWDGC) begins on Thursday, October 10th, at the Winthrop Arena course in Rock Hill, SC. Complete coverage of both the U.S. Disc Golf Championships and Throw Pink will be available exclusively on DGN Pro.

For more information on the USDGC and TPWDGC media plan, read the article below. 

Everything You Need to Know about Disc Golf Network’s Coverage of the 2024 USDGC & TPWDGC