Lauri Lehtinen Returns to Tour

Lauri Lehtinen, Team Latitude 64 Pro player and the third highest-rated player in Finland has officially returned to Tour. At the beginning of the season, due to a lingering finger injury and Finland’s National Service Obligation, Lauri decided to enter National Service in December with plans to return to Tour this summer.  

From Lauri, “Last fall, I got a bad stress injury to my finger that required a long break from throwing. Here in Finland, we have mandatory military service, so I decided to take advantage of the break to take care of my duty. I served six months, and it was definitely an awesome experience that I will not ever forget. I got to do so many things that wouldn’t have been possible as a civilian. This was also the first time in eight years that I was focusing on something else in my life than disc golf which was also a nice refresh for my mind.”

As of this week, Lauri has completed his National Service and will return to Tour full-time. For the past three weeks, Lauri has been taking leave from his service station to begin warming back up to the competition. In that time, he finished fourth, fifth, and first at a PDPT event and two EPT events. With three events under his belt and the freedom of Tour in his sights, the sky is the limit for Lauri. 

“Winning last weekend at Nokia Open was a huge relief and a sign for me that even after a long break, I’m still able to win and compete against the top players in Europe. Rives and Explorers were important in making the result at the Beast.”

With his successes in Europe, Lauri has made the difficult decision to stay in Europe to compete until the World Championships in Vermont. 

On making this decision, Lauri said, “[My] finger injury is still slightly bothering me, so I have to limit my full power shots to prevent it from getting bad again. Here in Europe, the courses we are playing are somewhat shorter than in the US, so I decided to play mostly European events this season. I will still travel to the Worlds and possibly to the USDGC.”

You can help support Lauri on Tour by purchasing one of his Tour Series Gold Orbit Explorers or a signed Opto-Ice Explorer.