Valarie Mandujano leads the Advanced Women's division by three heading into Thursday's round. Photo: PDGA

Three down, three to go. Rounds, that is. With cuts for the semifinals and finals on Saturday fast approaching and the largest three divisions now shuffled, the competitors at or near the top of their divisions will be stepping up the intensity for the next two days of the 2018 PDGA Amateur Disc Golf World Championships. The players and staff here in Charlotte are likely hoping for just the opposite when it comes to Mother Nature, as she has already shown more than her fair share of intensity since the competition began.

Weather has certainly played a role in the event thus far, affecting some divisions and pools more than others at times. With 10 courses being used in the greater Charlotte area, some pools were being pummeled by rain while others saw merely a light drizzle, despite playing at the same time. Severe thunderstorms have forced several delays throughout the week, and a flash flood on hole eight at Hornet’s Nest on Wednesday afternoon left the hole being thrown out of the event for the entire Advanced division.

The severe weather has been handled professionally by both players and staff with everyone working with the mindset of safety first. Now, with the forecasts taking a turn for the much, much better, we’ll really get to see what these competitors can do.

The Advanced Women’s field is currently led by none other than Valerie Mandujano, a three-time PDGA Junior World Champion now on the quest for her first Advanced Women’s title. After having to drop out of Am Worlds last year due to injury, she has once again risen to the top, but with fierce competition on her heels.

Deann Donaldson putting at Bailey Road Park during round three. Photo: PDGA

After three rounds, Mandujano only holds a lead of three over Virginia’s Alicia Knox and South Carolina’s Deann Donaldson. Donaldson grabbed her second Am Worlds Mixed Doubles title last weekend while playing with partner Ryan Wert and has been toe-to-toe with Mandujano since opening day. Donaldson held the throughout most of round three on Wednesday afternoon at Bailey Road Park until a quadruple bogey seven on hole 19 against Mandujano’s birdie allowed for a five-stroke swing.

The ladies get to sleep in on Thursday with only a 2:00 p.m. round to play for the day at the always incredible Hornets Nest Park. It is as beautiful as it is challenging and will put all aspects of their games to the test.

Luke Humphries cans a birdie on one of the elevated baskets at Hornets Nest. Photo by Heather Scruggs.

Leading the charge for the Advanced division is a name we’ve already seen several times this year, Texas’s Luke Humphries. He’s been on a quest in 2018 to tear up the Am circuit, grabbing a PDGA Major victory at Am Worlds Doubles with his partner Alex Ferreira in April and then coming in a close second place at the 2018 US Amateur Disc Golf Championships in June.

Now in Charlotte, coming in as the heavy favorite, Humphries is proving he has earned his PDGA Player Rating of 998, averaging round ratings thus far of 1012 that included a 1057 opening round at Kilborne on Tuesday. Humphries has a post-shuffle lead of five over Georgia’s Zach Haynes and sits two more ahead of third place’s Bryan Jenkins of Illinois. North Carolina’s Brandon Little will round out their lead card for their morning round at Robbins Park.

There’s still plenty of golf left and several tightly contested battles to be fought as the 2018 PDGA Amateur Disc Golf World Championships driven by Innova pushes on. Follow pdgalive.com for scores, updates, pics, and videos.