Birdies and Scrambles
Able to hold onto 1st is Eveliina Salonen, who started the day at -11 and finished at -14. Round 2 did not go as well as round 1, with 2 OB shots on hole 9 and 17. However, a scramble on hole 9 saved her from losing her lead to Blomroos, who eagled the hole. Some notable shots were a laser drive on hole 4, giving her an effortless C1 putt for the birdie. Salonen hit the bullseye on the 282’ hole 6, giving her another C1 putt for the birdie.
The pivotal moment of the round for Henna Blomroos arrived on hole 11, where Blomroos had a chance to seize the lead. She skillfully parked her drive in C1, but unfortunately, her putt for an eagle narrowly missed the mark. Luckily for her, Salonen bogeyed the hole, and Blomroos took 1st. The victory was short-lived, after a bogey on holes 14 and 16, followed by a double bogey on 17. Blomroos has maintained her lead by getting more birdies than any other TPWDGC competitor thus far.
Kristin Tattar, despite having an impressive 38’ putt on hole 1 and solid drive that landed in C1 on hole 14 for a birdie, fell 3 spots to 6th. 4 bogeys with a lack of birdies to make up for it led to a short fall on the leaderboard. She finished the round -9.
Ella Hansen took her place on the lead card with a whopping 11 birdie round. She had a scramble on hole 2, but was able to trust her game and save par. She wasn’t as lucky on hole 17, when the OB led to her only bogey of the day. She wrapped up the day 10 under par.
Holyn Handley, a 1st time TPWDGC competitor, found herself rising from the chase card to the lead card during round 2. She had an impressive 5 OB scrambles and an eagle on hole 9.
A Sprinkle of Aces
Joel Freeman continues to hold 1st, with a 1 point lead over Klein and 2 over Tipton. So far in the tournament, Freeman has remained consistent shooting only 1 point better than Round 1. The pro shot another eagle on Hole 10, proving that he’s mastered that hole, and 9 birds. The two bogeys came from holes 5 and 14.
20-yr-old Kyle Klein started his round -9 and had an electric round with an 89% fairway hit rate and an astonishing 22% of shots parking right on target. Hole 2 and 12 proved troublesome for Klein, with a bogey on 2 and an OB shot resulting in a double bogey on 12. The professional swiftly recovered, achieving par on the 13th hole and then securing consecutive birdies for the remainder of the day, surpassing all other players in the tournament with the highest number of birdies. Most impressive was his putt on hole 16. Despite a nearly out-of-bounds drive, he executed a phenomenal C2 putt.
Starting the day -9, Sullivan Tipton didn’t have the round he needed to catch up to Klein and Freeman, but was able to maintain 3rd with an epic ace on the 284’ Zuca, Inc. hole 7.
Robert Burridge, who started -9, did not have as much luck, finishing the day -8. Burridge had a +1 round with bogeys on top of bogeys and 3 OB shots, resulting in a T27 finish.
Bradley Williams jumped 11 spots, taking the 4th place position from Burridge. Williams started the round at -5, but was able to land 11 birds giving him a round score of -10. The only hole that gave him a run for his money was hole 9, where he went OB.
With scores differing by only 1 or 2 points, the championship remains wide open for anyone to seize. A single misstep or off day can swiftly remove a player from the lead card. As we enter Round 3, brace yourselves for an exhilarating competition filled with aggressive plays from athletes striving for that coveted 1st place position. Tune in to the live coverage on the DGN broadcast or witness the excitement in person with a pass from DGU!
