Originally published at: https://discgolf.ultiworld.com/2021/09/26/music-city-velediaz-keeps-pressure-on-1st-place-king/
Macie Velediaz at the 2021 Music City Open. Photo: PDGA
Moving day and a move over to the more wide-open Mill Ridge meant big changes on the leaderboard at the Music City Open.
- Leader Hailey King didn’t find any trouble on Mill Ridge until hole 18, and tied for the hot round of the day at 5-under par to stay in first place at 12-under par total. She had two two-putts on the first five holes but otherwise looked like she was on cruise control. King was third best for the round in strokes gained from tee-to-green and strokes gained putting, and led the division in fairway hits, parked shots, and finding C1 in regulation. Her only mistake came on hole 18, missing the OB-surrounded green from the tee, and then missing the green again on her first approach accounting for two OB strokes on the way to a triple-bogey 6.
- Playing on the chase card, Macie Velediaz nee Walker had actually caught and passed King for the lead with a 5-down start through five holes before giving a couple strokes back with a double-bogey on hole 6. Her only bogey after hole 6 was on hole 18. After electing to lay-up off the tee, Velediaz left her approach short and missed the C2 par save. Velediaz topped the division in strokes gained from tee-to-green Saturday at 7.2.
- Sarah Hokom drops back two spots into third place by staying at 7-under par total. She wasn’t able to get into as many scoring opportunities as other players, finishing with the lowest C1 in regulation rate of the top eight players at 22%. Hokom’s strokes gained C1X putting was fourth best of the day at 2.08.
- It was a real roller coaster for Missy Gannon at the start of round 3. She was 2-over through seven holes with back-to-back double-bogeys and three birdies, but also had two made C2 putts, one a birdie and another a comebacker to stop the bleeding on the hole 7 double-bogey. Hole 7 was her last blemish, and a five hole birdie streak from hole 11 to hole 15 got her daily total back into the negatives to 3-under par. She moved up five spots into solo fourth at 6-under par total, one stroke ahead of Catrina Allen.
- Had it not been for a 10 on the par 5 hole 8 Valerie Mandujano may have otherwise held onto her podium position. Removing the big number, she was 3-down with five birdies, including parking the treacherous hole 18 for a tap-in birdie. Mandujano is tied with her sister, Alexis, and Juliana Korver in sixth place at 3-under par total.