Surprise 2019 Dutch Open winner Stanislaus Amann has inked his first manufacturer sponsorship with Innova Europe.

“I’m very very happy to be able to announce my new sponsor for the next two years,” the Austrian said. “I will be out there for pretty much all the big events in Europe. It’s going to be an amazing year!”

Amann would go on to win the Central European Championship and raise his rating 20 points over the course of last season.

Hannah McBeth has left Innova to join Discraft discs for 2020.

“I’m continuing to work on my game and further my career as a professional disc golfer. I will be competing in about 5-6 less tournaments than 2019 to make sure I stay in shape and have time to practice in between events,” McBeth said. “My goal for 2020 is to keep improving and putting in the work necessary to succeed. ”

McBeth hit a career high rating of 919 in July.

Team Finland World Games Athlete of the Year

Last August, Team Finland won the World Flying Disc Federation’s World Team Disc Golf Championships over Team Germany. Now, the team is Flying Disc’s candidate for the World Games 2019 “Athlete of the Year.”

You can vote for Team Finland on the World Games website once per day. (more…)

On the heels of a big 2019 in which he won the United States Amateur Disc Golf Championship and Next Generation Tour National Championship, Kyle Klein was promoted to the Tour Team on his sponsorship with Discmania and will hitting the road in 2020.

“I’m really excited about the opportunity to tour the country in the Maniac RV with Kyle Griffin and Connor Mitts to play disc golf professionally,” Klein said. “It will be a huge year for me as this is my first time touring like this, but I’m stoked to give it a whirl!”

The Michigan teen will start his season with a couple one-off A-tiers in Florida and his home state before hoping on the RV at Pro Worlds in June.

It’s not as bad as it could have been, but Paul McBeth will continue to be sidelined to start 2020 while his ankle heals.

“A recent MRI revealed the full extent of my injury. Prior to the MRI the doctor suspected an issue with my peroneal tendon,” McBeth said. “It turns out that the bone area behind that tendon where the ankle joint is, is bruised. She decided the best course of action is to prevent my ankle from moving and I will be wearing a boot for the next 4 weeks to rest it.”

McBeth says there is still a chance he can be back for the Wintertime Open but will not be rushing the recovery.

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2020 Vision: Presenting the Innova Star Team! 💫 “The 2020 Innova Star Team represents the top 14 players on Innova’s extensive roster. These eight men and six women are an extremely talented group ready to take on the world this coming season! I am personally thrilled to welcome our Finnish 1-2 punch of @eveliinasalonen and @hennablomroos to the top team in disc golf! As captain, I am looking forward to an exciting season, I know I speak for our entire team when I say we appreciate our fans so much, and we pledge to put on a great show!” –Nate Sexton @frisbeenate Team Captain. More team announcements are coming in the weeks ahead so stay tuned! #teaminnova #innovadiscs

A post shared by Innova Discs (@innovadiscs) on Jan 7, 2020 at 6:32am PST

One of the more intriguing known players out of contract this offseason was Calvin Heimburg, who had a coming out party in 2018 and bookended 2019 with PDGA National Tour victories.

A promotion to Innova’s Star Team for 2019 didn’t guarantee Heimburg would stay with the manufacturer, but a promotional video this week featured the lanky Floridian as part of the 2020 team.

Ultiworld Disc Golf confirmed with Innova Team Manager Jonathan Poole that Heimburg signed a 2-year extension with Innova to keep him under contract through 2021.

Dustin Keegan joins the group of players leaving Dynamic Discs this offseason, announcing that he has agreed to a deal with Discmania for 2020.

“This is truly full circle for me as they were the first company I ever reached out for a sponsorship back in 2013,” Keegan said.

Keegan joined DD before the 2018 season. He had a top 10 finish at last year’s PDGA National Tour opener in Las Vegas.

Coda Hatfield Discraft

Oklahoma legend Coda Hatfield is making a sponsor change from Westside Discs to Discraft for the 2020 season.

GK Productions released a casual round with Hatfield at the N.E. Lions Park in Norman as he tried out a new bag of discs as part of his announcement.

In December Hatfield voiced some frustrations with sponsor support and his wish to be able to tour full-time. Hatfield added 12 wins in 2019 to up his career total to 132, including the Norman Pro-Am and Buffalo Run A-tiers.

Only one season into his sponsorship, Grady Shue announced today that he would be parting ways with Latitude 64.

“Coming into 2020, there’s a lot going through my head and a lot of changes happening,” Shue said.

Speculation that Shue was no longer sponsored by Lat64 started in late 2019 when his profile did not appear on the team section of the Swedish company’s website. Shue was previously sponsored by Discmania and his wife, Paige Shue née Bjerkaas, is sponsored by Dynamic Discs.

A successful first season with Discraft sees Austin Hannum extending his Elite Team contract for two more seasons, keeping him with the Michigan company through 2021.

“This decision was so easy for me and I wouldn’t have it any other way,” Hannum said. “I am stoked for the 2020-2021 seasons. I’m honored to be a part of this team and the moves being made.”

Hannum raised his rating 11 points to a career-high 1027 in 2019. He had a top 10 finish at the European Open and nine top 15 finishes combined at PDGA Majors, National Tours, and Disc Golf Pro Tour events.