A Driving Force for Team Innova 

Eveliina Salonen has been a top FPO athlete for years, but in 2024, she raised her game to a new level. She had the best season of her career, leading driving statistics at almost every event and showing significant improvement on the putting green. With two Major titles (including the World Championship), two Disc Golf Pro Tour wins, the Finnish National title, and six DGPT & Major podiums, Eveliina was the main driving force of Team Innova’s success in 2024. 

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Back in the Winners’ Circle

Eveliina began her best season yet with a win at the Pro Tour opener, the 2024 Chess.com Invitational. That victory ended a four-year win drought, opening the flood gates for a season of victories to come. She set a course record in the final round, overcoming a two-stroke deficit to ultimately win by a margin of 5. Eveliina’s newfound confidence on the putting green proved she had been grinding in the off season. In the final round, she did not miss a putt from inside the circle except her layup for the win.

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Major Magic

Two months and five DGPT top tens later, Eveliina secured the most important win of her career (at that point) at the 2024 Champions Cup. This was Eveliina’s 2nd PDGA Major title and she was joined on the podium by teammates Henna Blomroos and Ohn Scoggins. Eveliina’s accuracy and distance off the tee made her hard to catch at the difficult and wooded Northwood Park. In general last season, the tougher the tee shots, the bigger the advantage for Eveliina.

 

 

 

 

 

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Clutch Putts for the Win in Copenhagen

Just two weeks later, at the next tournament Eveliina entered, she won overseas at the 2024 Copenhagen Open. She made a clutch C2 putt on hole 18 to force a playoff and drained another C2 putt for the win. Those moments were indicative of Eveliina’s season as a whole; pressure putting was no longer holding her back. She had the 3rd best C2 Putting percentage in the FPO for the event. 

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Achieving Every Pro Disc Golfer’s Dream

At this point, Eveliina was already having the best season of her career, but she wasn’t finished yet. She rounded out her year by achieving a goal she had since she was a little girl, winning the PDGA Pro World Championship. Eveliina became the first Finnish player to win a World title, coming from a country that has one of the most enthusiastic, committed disc golf communities anywhere. 

Eveliina hardly needed to putt at Worlds due to her stellar performance off the tee. She led Strokes Gained Tee to Green at a staggering 41.44 strokes, compared to 28.14 for second place in that stat. By winning Worlds, Eveliina permanently inked her name in disc golf history, capping off a season any player would be thrilled to call their own.

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Additional Accomplishments

In 2024, Eveliina finished in the Top 5 of all four FPO Majors and took 3rd at the Throw Pink Women’s Disc Golf Championship. She had 6 DGPT and PDGA Major podiums and she only missed the top ten at one event all year. She also earned her fifth Finnish National title, against a competitive field.

Eveliina led the FPO in C2 Hits in Regulation for the 2024 season. She was 2nd in C1 Hits in Regulation and 3rd in Parked percentage. Her putting saw significant improvement, with a nearly 7% increase in C1x makes compared to last season.

 

 

 

 

 

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Defending in Finland 

Eveliina is among the top few contenders in the FPO. With a significant portion of the 2025 season taking place in Europe, she will be an even heavier favorite next year. The 2025 PDGA Pro World Championship will be held in Finland, meaning the reigning World Champ is playing on her own home turf. As they say in Finnish, Onnea, Eveliina!

The post 2024 Season Spotlight: World Champion, Eveliina Salonen appeared first on Innova Disc Golf.