2017 Masters Worlds saw a day of mixed conditions on Thursday, with patches of heavy rain and gusting winds ripping across the greater Grand Rapids area several different times throughout the day. Perhaps it was the weather, or just the wear and tear of fatigue setting in that created some significant scoring separation for many of the divisions. Either way, some major moves were made that make today’s “moving day” action that much more exciting.

The most significant change as far as the top of the leaderboards go took place at Fallasburg Park yesterday in the Masters Women division, where Elaine King put on a clinic in the rain-stricken morning round. Fallasburg’s layout contains a nice mixture of different shot types, and there didn’t seem to be any that were bothering Elaine. Finishing with a bogey-free score of 44 (-10), she quickly moved from tied for second place and one off the lead to alone as the leader, four ahead of Des Reading.

Elaine pushed on in the afternoon, taking on Fallasburg once again in better conditions and shot the round for the second time; a 46 (-8) that left her eight ahead of both Lesli Todd and Des Reading as they head into their final full round at Blue Gill before the semifinals on Saturday.

Tee shots off hole 6. pic.twitter.com/QgF4ahac6q

— PDGA Live Scoring (@pdgalive) August 17, 2017

Tee shots on Hole 6 at Fallasburg Park by Elaine King, Courtney McCoy, Lesli Todd, and Des Reading.

The Masters returned to the treacherous Black Falcon DGC for their fourth round on Thursday, with JohnE McCray teeing off as the leader of the division for the first time all week. JohnE played great disc golf all day, as usual, but had one too many putts that didn’t stick. JohnE’s round of 62 (E) against Robert Bainbridge’s and Barry Schultz’s scores of 57 (-5) means that Bainbridge now leads Barry by three, with JohnE one behind Barry and Mike Moser rounding out the lead card for this morning’s Round 5 at Riverside.

The Masters are the only division that will compete in two rounds today, meaning the players in all of the other divisions will be giving it their all this morning in an attempt to make the cut for either semis or finals. The top 24 (+ ties) will earn a spot in the semifinals in both the Masters and Grandmasters division while only the top 12 (+ ties) will make the cut for semis in Senior Grandmasters.

Robert Bainbridge bridie putt on 13 at Black Falcon. He was the only one that landed in bounds #2017MastersWorlds pic.twitter.com/OXIMzT2hGF

— PDGA Live Scoring (@pdgalive) August 17, 2017

Bainbridge cans the solo birdie on hole 13 at Black Falcon.

For the Masters Women, only the top four after today’s morning round will make the cut for the Final 9, meaning if there is a tie for the fourth place position by the end of the round, a playoff will ensue to determine who gets the spot for the Final 9. The same applies to the Grandmasters Women and to the Senior Legends, except with only the top two advancing.

Last but not least, a World Champion will be crowned this afternoon in Legends, as their division’s size of only three competitors means they do not meet the PDGA World Championships criteria for a semifinal or a Final 9. Terry Calhoun leads the Legends by five heading into their final round this morning at Riverside Park, with Carlos Rigby and John Parcak trailing by five and 14, respectively.

It’s going to be a nail-biting type of day here in Grand Rapids as the 2017 PDGA Professional Masters Disc Golf World Championships gets one day closer to the semifinals and finals!

• Event Info: pdga.com/2017mastersworlds
• Tee Times/Results: pdga.com/2017mw
• Hole-By-Hole Scores: pdgalive.com