Simon Peter Lizotte (born November 17, 1992) is a professional disc golfer based in Shrewsbury, Massachusetts, United States. Lizotte was born in Bremen, Germany but also holds Canadian citizenship through his father.[1]
He has won seven Elite Series titles in the last three seasons on the Disc Golf Pro Tour, with career tournament winnings of over $300,000.[2] 2022 was his most successful season to date, with four Elite Series wins, as well as five other top ten finishes.[2]
In January 2023 he signed a ten-year sponsorship deal with MVP Discs,[3] reported to be worth more than $1M per year;[4] for the previous ten years he had been sponsored by Discmania Discs.[5]
Lizotte has acquired a significant following for his disc golf-related videos on YouTube, reaching 200,000 subscribers in early 2024.[6][7] He is also noted for holding the disc golf distance world record on several occasions.[8]
Professional career
National Tour/DGPT Elite Series wins (9)
| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | To par | Margin of victory |
Runner(s)-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | August 23, 2015 | Ledgestone Insurance Open | 54-47-47-53-32=233 | −32 | 4 strokes |  Paul McBeth
|
| 2 | February 28 - March 3, 2018 | Memorial Championship | 47-49-42-51=189 | −39 | 3 strokes | Eagle McMahon
|
| 3 | May 20–22, 2022 | OTB Open | 62-58-58=178 | −20 | 2 strokes | Calvin Heimburg
|
| 4 | June 2–5, 2022 | Portland Open | 55-58-58-59=230 | −34 | 1 stroke | Garrett Gurthie
|
| 5 | August 19–21, 2022 | TruBank Des Moines Challenge | 54-57-54=165 | −27 | Playoff | Robert Burridge
|
| 6 | September 22–25, 2022 | MVP Open at Maple Hill | 62-52-50=164 | −16 | 1 stroke | Corey Ellis
|
| 7 | April 7–9, 2023 | Music City Open | 59-59-54=172 | −23 | 1 stroke | Anthony Barela
|
| 8 | August 17–20, 2023 | Discraft Great Lakes Open | 60-61-54-55=230 | −30 | 3 strokes | Eagle McMahon
|
| 9 | April 19–21, 2024 | Music City Open | 59-55-57=171 | −30 | 5 strokes | Paul McBeth
|
A-Tier wins (8)
| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | To par | Margin of victory |
Runner(s)-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | August 18, 2012 | European Championships | 54-58-58-61=231 | −33 | 3 strokes |  Karl Nybo
|
| 2 | May 14, 2014 | Dynamic Discs Glass Blown Open | 50-49-52=151 | −36 | 5 strokes | Paul McBeth, Jeremy Koling
|
| 3 | April 24, 2016 | Nick Hyde Memorial | 51-54-54=159 | −30 | Playoff | Paul McBeth, Nate Sexton
|
| 4 | May 7, 2016 | Konopiste Open | 55-57-57=169 | Playoff | Paul McBeth, Karl Nybo
| |
| 5 | March 26, 2017 | The Open at Temple | 55-57-52=164 | −25 | 5 strokes | Nikko Locastro, James Conrad
|
| 6 | March 3, 2018 | Memorial Championship | 47-49-42-51=189 | −43 | 3 strokes | Eagle McMahon
|
| 7 | June 3, 2018 | Battle of Seattle 5 | 52-46-58-28=184 | 2 strokes | Kevin Jones
| |
| 8 | August 19, 2018 | European Disc Golf Championships | 53-50-51-54=208 | −32 | 5 strokes |  Seppo Paju
|
World distance records
Lizotte set the world record for longest throw of a disc golf disc on October 27, 2014, at 863.5 ft (263.2 m).[9] This beat David Wiggins Jr.'s previous record of 836 ft set in 2012. Lizotte broke his own record on March 27, 2016, with a throw of 903.9 ft (275.5 m), a record that stood for two days until Wiggins Jr. threw for 1,108.9 ft (338 m). Lizotte then set a personal record of 1030 ft.[10]
Wind has played a significant role in world distance records. Wiggins' 2012 record was set with a 14.5 mph tailwind,[11] while Lizotte's 2014 record was aided by an 18 mph tailwind. His 903.9 ft throw took place in a 30 mph wind, and the two players' throws over 1,000 ft were in a 38-42 mph wind. Both Lizotte and Wiggins have stated that new distance records must be established with wind limits.[12]
Summary
| Competition Tier | Wins | 2nd | 3rd | Top-5 | Top-25 | Events* |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| World Championships | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 5 |
| Other Majors | 0 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 15 | 17 |
| National Tour | 4 | 4 | 3 | 13 | 19 | 21 |
*Through September 2022
Career summary
| Season | Starts | Wins | Top-10 | Earnings ($) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 8 | 1 | 8 | 1,285 |
| 2009 | 9 | 4 | 6 | 2,216 |
| 2010 | 15 | 9 | 13 | 4,428 |
| 2011 | 7 | 2 | 7 | 1,912 |
| 2012 | 9 | 7 | 8 | 1,777 |
| 2013 | 25 | 17 | 22 | 7,021 |
| 2014 | 21 | 4 | 18 | 17,759 |
| 2015 | 26 | 8 | 20 | 24,090 |
| 2016 | 12 | 3 | 12 | 12,029 |
| 2017 | 22 | 3 | 19 | 28,762 |
| 2018 | 20 | 3 | 14 | 22,340 |
| 2019 | 26 | 1 | 21 | 26,132 |
| 2020 | 14 | 3 | 10 | 12,146 |
| 2021 | 12 | 0 | 4 | 8,586 |
| 2022 | 17 | 4 | 9 | 64,467 |
| 2023 | 18 | 4 | 9 | 60,632 |
| Career* | 260 | 80 | 200 | 295,402 |
*As of 1/21/2024[2]
Equipment
Bags
- GRIP EQ AX5
MVP/Axiom Discs[13]
- Distance Drivers:
- Wave (Neutron)
- Defy (Neutron)
- Panic (Neutron)
- Delirium (Neutron)
- Dimension (Neutron)
- Fairway Drivers:
- Fireball (Neutron)
- Terra (Neutron)
- Tesla (Proton)
- Crave (Cosmic Neutron)
- Midranges:
- Deflector (Neutron)
- Pyro (Prism Proton)
- Matrix (Cosmic Neutron)
- Hex (Neutron)
- Hex (Proton)
- Putters:
- Pixel (Electron)
- Glitch (Neutron Soft)
- Proxy (Neutron Soft)
- Spin (Neutron)
Signature Discs
Lizotte is sponsored by Grip Equipment and has a signature bag. From 2013 to 2022, Lizotte had a sponsorship contract with Discmania Discs originally slated to end in 2026. With Discmania, Lizotte helped produce a number of signature series discs, including three in the Creator Series. On January 12, 2023, Lizotte and MVP Disc Sports announced that Lizotte had signed a 10-year sponsor contract, which included a buyout of his Discmania contract.[14][15] Lizotte announced on August 30, 2023, the creation of a new line of discs with MVP Disc Sports called SimonLine.[16]
Grip Equipment:
- Grip EQ Simon Lizotte Signature Series AX5
Discmania:
- Sky God 1, C-Line P2
- Sky God 2, Swirly S-Line P2
- Sky God 3, Color Glow C-Line P2
- Sky God 4, C-Line P2
- Doombird 1, Swirly S-Line FD3
- Doombird 2, Swirly S-Line FD3
- Doombird 3, Swirly S-Line FD3
- Doombird 4, Horizon FD3
- Crescent Falcon 1, Glow C-Line MD4
- Crescent Falcon 2, Glow C-Line MD4
- Sky Rider, Swirly S-Line PD2
- Mind Bender, Metal Flake C-Line MD1
- Shadow Titan, Forge Method
Discmania Creator Series:
- Tilt, Hard Exo Vapor
- Tilt, Meta
- Full Tilt, Lux Vapor
MVP:
- Official Team Series Leapin' Lizottl, Eclipse Hex
- Trick-or-Treating Leapin' Lizottl, Total Eclipse Hex
MVP SimonLine Series:
- Time-Lapse, Neutron
- Pixel, Electron
References
- ^ https://www.dgpt.com/news/mind-of-a-champion-simon-lizotte-and-the-memorial/ [bare URL]
- ^ a b c "Simon Lizotte #8332".
- ^ Eisenhood, Charlie (2023-01-12). "Simon Lizotte Signs 10-Year Contract with MVP". Ultiworld Disc Golf. Retrieved 2023-02-25.
- ^ https://discgolf.ultiworld.com/2023/01/12/inside-the-simon-lizotte-mvp-deal-the-contract-how-it-came-together-and-whats-next/ [bare URL]
- ^ "Thank you Simon for this Journey of a Lifetime". Discmania. Retrieved 2023-01-07.
- ^ "Faces of the Game: Influencers Grow the Sport by Grabbing Eyeballs". 4 February 2021.
- ^ "Simon Lizotte - YouTube". YouTube.
- ^ "Simon Lizotte sets two disc golf distance world records; Allthingsdiscgolf". allthingsdiscgolf.com. 27 October 2014. Archived from the original on 2016-06-17. Retrieved 2016-06-14.
- ^ "Distance World Record Shattered! 863 Feet!". 27 October 2014.
- ^ "David Wiggins Jr. blows away distance world record, throws over 1,100 feet". 28 March 2016.
- ^ "David Wiggins Jr. Sets New Distance Record with Blizzard Champion Boss". 16 April 2012.
- ^ "David Wiggins & Simon Lizotte Talking About Wind and World Records". YouTube.
- ^ "IS MY BAG FINALLY COMPLETE?!?". YouTube.
- ^ Brandon DaGrosa. "Simon Lizotte Signs a Ten Year Deal with MVP". Penn Disc Golf.
- ^ Charlie Eisenhood. "Inside The Simon Lizotte MVP Deal: The Contract, How it Came Together, and What's Next". Ultiworld Disc Golf.
- ^ "Lines. Camera. Action". YouTube.