Steady Ed Challenge Heats Up as Leaders Emerge in Disc Golf Championship
Date Published
The weather may have been uncertain at first, but the excitement was certainly not as the Pro Women took to the course at the IDGC on Saturday. Under sunny skies with temperatures in the 80s, the competition heated up, and new leaders emerged in three of the four divisions. Heather Damron continued her strong play, pulling away from Sara Nicholson and Wendy Boutin by an impressive 8 throws in the Advanced Women's division.
The battle for fourth place was intense, with Emily Landherr, Candy Roque, and Leah Taylor all vying for position within just a few throws of each other. Meanwhile, Heather Damron's lead looked secure as she dominated on Steady Ed, while Sara Nicholson and Wendy Boutin struggled to keep up.
In the Open division, Avery Jenkins, who had taken an early lead, hit a rough patch in the morning but bounced back with a strong showing on Steady Ed to move into fifth place, just three throws behind leaders Nate Doss and Ricky Wysocki. The tied duo of Doss and Wysocki was not surprising given their impressive skills and experience.
Dave Feldberg made an impressive statement by scoring a 51 on Warner and following it up with a respectable 54 on Steady Ed to move into third place, tied with Cameron Todd. However, Ken Climo stole the show with a course-record 49 on Steady Ed, unofficially rated at 1069. Although he trails eight players, his impressive showing puts him firmly in contention for a top spot.
In the women's Open division, Valarie Jenkins took advantage of Page Pierce's slight stumble on Warner to take the lead by two throws, with Sarah Hokom closing in from third place. However, Steady Ed proved to be Pierce's undoing as she struggled with a tough round of 71, while Jenkins and Hokom scored impressive rounds of 60.
Stanhope made her move in the afternoon, throwing an unofficially rated over-1000 round on Steady Ed that brought her within two throws of Hokom. Valarie Jenkins now holds a commanding 5-throw lead over Hokom.
In the Advanced division, Charlie Coleman rose to the top with an incredible 62 on the Jackson course and followed it up with a 56 on Warner, which was his second-best score of the day. He has tightened his grip on the lead and will look to consolidate his position on Sunday.
Bryan Gort continued his strong play but trails by five throws from Coleman, while William Taylor is in third place, four behind Gort and just one throw ahead of a group of players tied for fourth place. On Sunday morning, they will compete on Steady Ed for a spot among the top players making the Final 10.
The day's action was marked by two impressive aces: Brian Miller's blind ace on hole 17 on Warner in the morning and Tony Ganger's ace on the easier #14 on Steady Ed.
This article was compiled from disc golf coverage with AI assistance. Source: pdga.com — https://www.pdga.com/2011-pdga-championships-day-two-summary