Hokom's Narrow Lead Enters Final Round of Santa Cruz Masters Cup
Date Published
The third round of the Open Women's division at the Santa Cruz Masters Cup saw dramatic conditions, with a late Spring storm rolling in over the course of 24 holes at DeLaveaga Disc Golf Course. The weather made for challenging play, but it was par that proved to be an exceptional score on Saturday.
Three of the top players in the field managed to shoot even-par rounds, with Catrina Allen (+1) and Sarah Hokom (+2) maintaining their positions at the top of the leaderboard. Paige Pierce, meanwhile, used her solid round to move up into third place with a 6-over par total going into Sunday's final round.
The trio have been dominant throughout the tournament so far, but it was Catrina Allen who stood out on Saturday as she navigated the challenging conditions. Despite being caught off guard by a change in temperature, Allen shot even-par and has now achieved this feat seven times already this season.
Allen attributed her success to her ability to recover from bad stretches without letting the day get away from her. She carded back-to-back bogeys on holes 15 and 16, but managed to fight back to even par by the end of the round.
Sarah Hokom, meanwhile, was in survival mode as she ground out a solid round despite struggling with the rain-soaked conditions. Hokom has been known for her accuracy off the tee, but on Saturday it was her long-range putting that proved to be the key to her success.
She threw-in from 60 feet to birdie hole 26a and later added a 40-footer on 13, making her the only competitor in the field to achieve this feat. Hokom is third in the division this weekend in circle 2 putting (26%), and it was that accuracy that kickstarted her round.
The final round of the Open Women's event takes place on Sunday at DeLaveaga Golf Course, with the lead card teeing off at 10:30 a.m. The weather forecast is looking uncertain, with thunderstorms predicted to persist through the morning.
Paige Pierce will need to make a more aggressive effort if she hopes to chase down five shots and defend her title. She will be relying on her putting skills, where she has struggled this weekend with a 67% success rate.
In other news, Paige Bjerkaas dropped to fourth place after a 9-over par total, while Elaine King remained in fifth place at 10-over. Rebecca Cox made the biggest move of the day, jumping up six spots on the leaderboard and into a tie for seventh place.
The forecast is looking uncertain for Sunday's final round, with parts of the Santa Cruz Mountain region receiving over an inch of rain in the past 24 hours. Thunderstorms have already been observed in the area, and it remains to be seen how this will affect play.
This article was compiled from disc golf coverage with AI assistance. Source: pdga.com — https://www.pdga.com/news/allen-hokom-pierce-all-hit-1010-masters-cup