The 2017 Santa Cruz Masters Cup trophies; created by Zimbabwean stone sculptor Tapiwa Mapranga.

The looming morning fog has already burned off and the dew on the fairways is slowing evaporating as we prepare for the final round of the Santa Cruz Masters Cup this morning here on the beautiful grounds of DeLaveaga. The DeLa DGC will host the Masters, Grandmasters, and Senior Grandmasters divisions while the Open and Open Women competitors take on the championship 18-hole layout set up on the breathtaking DeLaveaga Golf Course

Adding the golf course layout to the mix in 2016 broke the long-standing tradition of finishing the event from the “Top of the World” and faced some resistance from the players, as one might expect. However, what the golf course brings to the table, the disc golf course simply cannot. On top of providing larger, more open holes it also allows for a much bigger gallery – something that must be considered in a city/region obsessed with the sport. Not to mention, it is indisputably and incredibly gorgeous.

After a course record-breaking opening round followed by another double-digit under par finish yesterday, Paul McBeth now leads the Open division by 13. With only 18 holes remaining, that’s a gap that will be difficult to close. Possible, sure. Probable, not really.

What we have instead is an exciting battle for second place and beyond. Ricky Wysocki holds the 2nd place position at 13 under par overall but has the likes of Jeremy Koling, Christopher Watson, Kyle Crabtree, Josh Anthon, James Proctor, Nikko Locastro, Manabu Kajiyama, and man, many more all within a few strokes.

Japan's Manabu Kajiyama has been a main contender all weekend.

In the Open Women’s division, Paige Pierce is also looking to seal up a wire-to-wire victory after her opening round left her five ahead of the field and her second round added an additional stroke of padding to her lead.  With Jennifer Allen and Catrina Allen six and seven strokes back, respectively, Pierce will need to minimize risk this morning on the high-speed fairways lined by OB on the golf course.

An ankle injury during the opening round could have meant the end of the tournament for Sarah Hokom, but she has pushed through and will round out the lead card this morning after an impressive round of 79 yesterday afternoon.

The women’s lead card will tee off at 10:30am PDT with the Open lead card later in the afternoon at 2:00pm PDT. Tee times are posted! Follow along and experience one last day of DeLa disc golf here at the Santa Cruz Masters Cup 2017! 

Paige Pierce saves par on hole 15 with a putt from the circle's edge. #DeLaMastersCup pic.twitter.com/4UJHY0UddE

— PDGA Live Scoring (@pdgalive) May 21, 2017

One of many great putts hit by Paige Pierce during round 2.