Las Vegas Challenge: McMahon Lights Up Back 9 To Swoop Lead On Moving Day

Round 3 Recap

February 28, 2021 by in Recap with 0 comments
Eagle McMahon. Photo: Alyssa Van Lanen – DGPT

The longest course of the four round Las Vegas Challenge definitely dampened the low scores from Friday, but there were plenty of moving day fireworks.

  • Eagle McMahon was three strokes off the lead heading into the turn. After a better than perfect 10-under par back 9 he is in the lead by one stroke heading into the final round at 35-under par total. The entire lead card was slow to start on Saturday, McMahon especially with an opening bogey. A 50-footer through the wind on hole 1o for birdie really sparked the Coloradoan’s day, however. From there it was a clinic. McMahon leaned on his — we’re going to say it — world’s best forehand to get in scoring position off the tee and on approaches. He pinned his second shot on hole 12 with a sidearm shot for an easy eagle, the only 2-under score from the lead card as others all carded pars. McMahon’s forehand on the drive of 14 curled toward the basket for another birdie to pick up strokes on his card mates. And he closed out the day with another lock-hitter with a forehand approach to the island of hole 18. The 12-under par 49 score was the hot round of the day and comes in at 1079-rated.
  • Can’t say Ezra Aderhold looked rattled on Saturday coming in with the lead, but a 3-under par round was not going to be good enough to keep pace. He dropped three spots into a tie for fourth at 29-under par total and will be on the chase card for the final day. A couple bad breaks early could have gone the other way and maybe Aderhold is able to string a couple birdies together. Instead he struggled to convert chances over the back half of the course.
  • Calvin Heimburg and Paul McBeth were both bogey-free, yet only Heimburg kept up with McMahon. He remains in second at 34-under par total after a 10-under par round 3. Hole 11 may be the easiest hole on the course relative to par, but Heimburg also was the only player to get the eagle on the par 4. He found the outside edge of Circle 2 off the tee and converted the putt over a golf course ridge to pick up a stroke on the field. McBeth on the other hand was too often in C2 on his scoring looks, and even though he made three of those chances for birdie, he also missed eight and two putted inside C1X twice. Note the 5-time world champ putting we’re used too. McBeth is in third at 31-under par total.

Heard

“I started and ended up a little bit poorly. Windy conditions were a little bit more challenging than yesterday so I think that I’m happy with it. Got myself up on the lead card for tomorrow, so that’s gonna be a big confidence booster for me playing under the pressure.” – Ricky Wysocki, on his 9-under par day. He is tied in fourth place at 29-under par total.

Statline

McMahon’s strokes gained from tee-to-green leads the event through three rounds at 15.69. Heimburg is just 1.5 strokes behind McMahon in tee-to-green SG, and leads McMahon in strokes gained on the putting green by a similar 1.3 strokes margin. Like any Vegas tournament, the first player to flinch on Sunday may be taking home second place.

Highlights

Calvin Heimburg earns the lone eagle on hole 11.

calvin heimburg hole 11 putt rnd 3 lvc

Exhibit 1 in the case of Eagle McMahon has the best forehand in the game.

eagle mcmahon hole 14 drive rnd 3 lvc

  1. Bennett Wineka
    Bennett Wineka

    Benn started playing disc golf in the '90s but has somehow never gotten any better. He lives in Decatur, Georgia and cares too much about Atlanta United and UNC basketball. Email him at [email protected]

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