Originally published at: https://discgolf.ultiworld.com/2019/06/08/paju-mcmahon-locked-first-beaver-state/
Photo: Alyssa Van Lanen – PDGA
After two rounds and one day at Milo McIver State Park, Seppo Paju and Eagle McMahon are tied for the lead at 20-under par 102 at the Beaver State Fling. A.J. Risley is in second at 17-under par 105, and Calvin Heimburg in third place, a single stroke behind Risely at 16-under par 106. Paju and Risley are chasing their first PDGA National Tour wins.
Heimburg took the lead early with the morning round, shooting a 1082-rated 12-under par 49 on the West course, tying Paul McBeth’s 2016 third round for lowest score on the layout since 2013. Heimburg putted at 100% inside the circle, and was one of eight eagles of the day on hole 6, the easiest hole of round one. Heimburg threw his in with a heroic flourish, bagging the 3 with a 90-footer. Don’t remind Eagle McMahon of what could have been. The defending champion took a double-bogey 7 his first crack at hole 6.
McMahon struck back in round two, though. The Young Bird and Paju shared hot round honors, both shooting a 1060-rated 11-under par 50 on East. McMahon traded his double-bogey from round one for an eagle on hole 9, and Paju kept things simple with a clean card which included five straight birdies on holes 3 through 7.
After day one, Paju is second in the field in fairway hits, 82%, Circle 1 in regulation, 56%, and C2 in regulation, 81%. He’s also been outperforming his usual standards in C1X putting, connecting at a 91% rate. McMahon is 14th or better in every major UDisc Live category with the exception of scramble percentage.
Heimburg slipped to fourth after the second round, posting a 4-under par 57. He did not card a bogey, notching every scramble opportunity, and did not miss a C1X putt. It came down to his work off the tee, as he only made C1IR at a 17% clip.
Where Risley was consistent round-over-round, maintaining his lead card position for at least another 18 holes. Thomas Gilbert, who was one off the lead after one round, posted a 997-rated 2-under par 59 to fall to ninth place.
Over the past several BSFs, no player has come from more than five strokes behind after the first round to make a podium. Despite climbing seven spots into the top 10 heading into the third round, Ricky Wysocki, Simon Lizotte, and Nate Perkins do not have history on their sides.