Young Guns Battle It Out at Rock Hill

The 2024 season has gotten off to a thrilling start at Rock Hill, with several young stars vying for the coveted PDGA Major title. The action-packed competition continued on Saturday, as Anthony Barela regained his lead over Gannon Buhr by a single stroke. This marks the third day of intense battling between the two top contenders, who had entered the tournament tied after the first two rounds.

Barela's resurgence was fueled by an impressive 9-under round, highlighted by an astonishing 12-of-13 conversions on putts from C1X and four clutch makes from C2. Buhr, meanwhile, remained bogey-free throughout the day but started slow, mirroring Barela's early struggles. In contrast, Ricky Wysocki did not experience any sluggishness, jumping five spots into solo third place with a sizzling 12-under round.

Wysocki's hot performance catapulted him into contention, leaving him just five strokes behind the lead going into Championship Sunday. His remarkable display included leading the day in strokes gained tee-to-green at 9.04 and a scorching 7-under stretch over six holes at the turn. Finland's Väinö Mäkelä also made a significant push, turning in an 8-under round to secure the final spot on the lead card.

Other players who managed to jump above the cut line include Simon Lizotte, Kyle Klein, Aidan Scott, James Proctor, Matthew Orum, and Linus Carlsson. Notably, three-time USDGC champion Barry Schultz also made a move into contention. As the competition enters its final day at Winthrop, all eyes are on Barela, Buhr, and Wysocki to see who will emerge victorious in the thrilling battle for the PDGA Major title.

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Anthony Barela started the 2024 season strong then Gannon Buhr took over.

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Barela reclaimed the lead over Buhr by one stroke on Saturday in Rock Hill, continuing the back-and-forth between the two young stars all week at Winthrop all while Ricky Wysocki firmly entered the conversation.

The two entered tied at the top after two rounds and Barela took back the lead with a 9-under round, highlighted by 12-of-13 putting from C1X and four C2 makes. Buhr (-8) went bogey-free on the day but started slow, as did Barela.

Wysocki did not.

Jumping five spots into solo third with the hot round of the tournament so far at 12-under, Wysocki enters Championship Sunday five strokes out of the lead. Wysocki led the day in strokes gained tee-to-green at 9.04 and went 7-under in a six-hole stretch at the turn.

Väinö Mäkelä turned in an 8-under round to take the final spot on the lead card for one more run around Winthrop.

Simon Lizotte, Kyle Klein, Aidan Scott, James Proctor, Matthew Orum, Linus Carlsson and 3-time USDGC champion Barry Schultz all made jumps above the cut line on Saturday.

This article was compiled from disc golf coverage with AI assistance. Source: pdga.com — https://www.pdga.com/news/grand-finale-tap