A Star Emerges From The Pack

Saturday’s lead card was a treat to watch, not only because McBeth was focused and played well, but because of the caliber of each of the three other players. After a hot round on day one, Manabu Kajiyama continued to impress the gallery with his smooth and consistent play.

Spectators often wowed and commented how “buttery” his form is, as he makes shooting 1000+ rated rounds look easy. Despite playing a steady round with only one bogey, Kajiyama’s -3 score wasn’t enough to keep him at the top of the pack for Sunday. He moved down the ranks to a three-way tie for 7th.

Nate Doss surely wanted to make some moves yesterday as he knows DeLa like the back of his hand. It seemed that he had a hard time really getting his game going, as his 24 holes were sprinkled with bogeys and birdies alike. His frustration was visible throughout the day, and after finishing at 2 down, he will begin the final round in 10th place.

One of the more talked about players from moving day was Northern California’s Christopher Watson, who made his way onto the lead card by shooting a 1056-rated 8 down on Friday. Watson proved himself to be cool under pressure, as he was on the card with some of the sport’s top players and had his performance captured on film. He shot -4 on Saturday which was just enough to secure his spot once again on the lead card for the final round.

What Happened Elsewhere?

The rest of the day held an interesting turn of events, as spectators were shocked to see Ricky Wysocki card 11 pars in a row. Despite this uncharacteristic play, he still managed to shoot a -7 and is currently sitting in second place with 13 down.

As the scores were tallied, it was discovered that a few players made some big moves, as we saw another NorCal native with a super hot round. James Proctor started the tournament at a slow pace and ended Friday with a 994-rated performance. He more than made up for it his second time around, matching McBeth for the hot round at 11 down.

Carding a bogey-free round and turning up the heat, Jeremy Koling also played exceptionally well, so well in fact that he boosted himself to Sunday’s lead card with a 10 down after his round of 24 holes. Koling and Watson are both tied for third place.

The Masters Cup/Worlds Connection

You can’t help but see a pattern starting to emerge between success at the Masters Cup and how that translates into championships at Pro Worlds. The four consecutive years that Paul McBeth won in Santa Cruz also saw him take down the World Champion title, while in 2016 both events were won by Wysocki. What will this year hold? We’re pretty sure Paul has this weekend in the bag, so only time will show if there’s a true connection or not.

The men’s final round tees off at 2:00 pm local time. Be sure to catch the action hole by hole on PDGAlive.com.

Written by Courtney Elder