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Great Lakes Open: Jones & McMahon Knotted Up, Pierce Separating

Originally published at: https://discgolf.ultiworld.com/2020/07/26/great-lakes-open-jones-mcmahon-knotted-up-pierce-separating/

Photo: Alyssa Van Lanen – DGPT

The low scores continued in Michigan at the Great Lakes Open as the pros put a hurting on Toboggan.

Open Women

  • With another round in the 980s and a stroke better than Friday, Paige Pierce added to her lead with a 6-under par showing, extending her lead to five strokes over the field. Her inside the circle putting could be sharper, 63%/20th, but her ability off the tee and on approach shots is the major difference. She’s first in Circle 1 and Circle 2 in regulation and parked percentage, and second in fairway hits.
  • Catrina Allen is the only other player from the lead card to hold her position after round 2, sticking in second place with a 3-under par round. Her lone bogey came early on hole 1, and she finished the round 2-under over the final three. She is at 6-under par total.
  • Heather Young moved up into third with a bogey-free 4-under par. She has the lowest percentage of holes over par, 6%, and is first in the division with a 94% C1X putting rate.
  • Ellen Widboom went 5-under par with three bogeys and is tied with Young in third at 4-under par total. Widboom is second in the tournament in birdie percentage.

Statline

Pierce’s opening 985-rated round is her lowest-rated at the event over the last two seasons. She was 1000 or better all three rounds last season in a 12-stroke win, averaging 1003 for the weekend.


The lead card of Pierce, Allen, Young, and Widboom tees off at 4 pm on the Disc Golf Network and YouTube.

Open

  • We’ve said it already, but Eagle McMahon’s first shot at Toboggan has been going well. He tied four other players with the hot round 11-under to move into a tie for first at 22-under par total. He added three more C2 putts for birdie on a bogey-free round. He took advantage of a Kevin Jones miscue on hole 18 and hit a 38-footer for a share of the lead going into the final day. He’s yet to bogey.
  • Jones was alone in first until a bogey on 18 dropped him to 10-under on the day and the tie with McMahon. He had an incredible seven C2 putts, converting 70% of his 10 attempts, seven percentage points higher than his C1X putting stats, 63%. He leads Open in fairway hits and is second in C2 in regulation, a category he is taking advantage of.
  • Day one leader Calvin Heimburg posted a bogey-free 7-under which wasn’t enough to keep pace. He was unable to convert C2 putts and fell to a tie for third at 20-under par. James Conrad and Ricky Wysocki join Heimburg in the third place bunching, still in contention. Wysocki recorded his first bogey but also tossed one in from more than 100 feet out for birdied on hole 12. Conrad tied Jones in finding C2 in regulation.
  • Also within striking distance are Chris Dickerson and Corey Ellis in a tie for sixth at 19-under par total after both turning in hot round-matching 11-under pars. Dickerson’s lone bogey on 18 also kept him from the third place group and sole possession of the heater. Ellis earned some video coverage at this event in 2018 but would finish in 31st.
  • Two-time defending champ Paul McBeth dropped six spots into a tied for 21st with a bogey-free 5-under par round.

Statline

McBeth has putted 80% or worse from C1X in five of 11 rounds recorded by UDisc Live in 2011, including the 67% effort Saturday that included zero C2 putts.


The lead card of McMahon, Jones, Conrad, and Wysocki tees off at 2 pm on Disc Golf Network and YouTube.