Once again, the conditions were calm and the scores were hot for the second round of the 2023 DGPT — Dynamic Discs Open.

Both fields saw even lower scores and ended with ties for the lead, still leaving little to no breathing room going into the final round. While the FPO field saw multiple eagles on the day, the MPO field kept racking up double-digit scores.

Holyn Handley kept her spot at the top of the leaderboard after two rounds in Kansas. Photo: Kevin Huver / DGPT

Three-Way Tie

Scores were already tight at the top going into Round 2 of the 2023 Dynamic Discs Open, but by the end of the day, the FPO field finished with a three-way tie for the lead. Hailey King, Ella Hansen, and Holyn Handley are currently tied for first at 11 strokes under par.

King shot eight down for the day, jumping up seven spots for a share of the lead. After a 38-foot birdie putt on Hole 1 to kickstart her round, King kept the momentum going, scoring three more birdies and an eagle on the front 9.

Hailey King surged to the top with an 8-under round on Saturday. Photo: Kevin Huver / DGPT

“I like a circle 2 putt so I can give it a little jumper and get that round going,” King said after scoring the hot round on day two.

On the back 9, King scored only one par, otherwise taking six birdies, a bogey, and a double bogey on Hole 17. Despite shooting the best round of the tournament so far, King still feels like she can improve going into the final round.

When asked about her performance in Round 2, King said, “I feel like I’m not playing my best and I shot an eight down.”

King wasn’t the only FPO player to score an eagle on the day, Hansen finished her round with an eagle on Hole 18 to catch up to King and Handley. Hansen had a rocky start, taking a double bogey on Hole 1 but quickly recovered to score five birdies on the front 9. Sitting two strokes back of the pace set by King, Hansen saw her opportunity on Hole 18.

“I was a little scared of the OB on the left side the first day and today I just knew I needed to commit to it,” Hansen said of her tee shot on Hole 18.

Ella Hansen eagled 18 to jump to a tie for the lead. Photo: Kevin Huver / DGPT

After clipping an early tree off the tee, Hansen’s disc kept drifting while matching the slope to park the elevated basket and take the only eagle on the hole in Round 2.

Handley scored four-under on the day to maintain her spot at the top and join Hansen on the final round lead card.

“I’m looking forward to battling it out with Ella. We’re really good friends but we’re so competitive with each other,” Handley said after her round, “Maybe one of us will walk away with our first win.”

Handley and Hansen have each taken a podium finish in 2023 but both are still looking for their first Elite Series win. They will be joined by King and Missy Gannon on the final round lead card, two experienced winners on the tour. As well as a tie for the lead at 11-under, there are three additional players, including 2022 DDO winner Kristin Tattar, within three strokes of that lead. No matter what, it’ll still take one more phenomenal round for any of these players to take down the win.

As if the stakes weren’t already high enough, Hansen and Handley have their own bet on the line.

“Whichever one of us wins an Elite Series first gets to dye the other person’s hair whatever color we want,” Hansen said with a smile on her face, “I hope one of us at least gets some hair dye done tomorrow.”

Calvin Heimburg is looking for his third Elite Series win of 2023. Photo: Kevin Huver / DGPT

Two-Way Tie

Just like the FPO field, the MPO leaders finished Round 2 with a tie for the lead. Alden Harris and Calvin Heimburg finished day two tied at 21-under after shooting back-to-back double-digit rounds. Four other players were able to shoot double digits on Moving Day, including a 12-under hot round from Tristan Tanner.

“Usually, the challenge out here is wind but we’ve hardly had any of it, so just keeping it in bounds is the key for this weekend,” Harris said after tying for the lead.

Harris took his first and only OB stroke of the weekend on Hole 1, starting off Round 2 with a bogey. Harris kept it clean after that, birdieing 12 of the next 17 holes, including a circle 2 birdie putt to finish off strong. While the fairways at the Emporia Country Club Championship Course are fairly open, nearly every hole is surrounded by tight OB lines. Harris finished Round 2 with 90% fairway hits, taking advantage of the calm conditions and consistently giving himself birdie looks. Harris was able to take down a Silver Series event last year when he won the 2022 Mid America Open and is now in prime position to get his first Elite Series win.

Alden Harris kept it clean and has a share of the lead heading into the final round. Photo: Kevin Huver / DGPT

When asked what it’ll take to win on Championship Sunday, Harris said, “Getting the birdies and keeping it clean.”

Heimburg’s round started off much like Harris, going OB and taking a bogey on Hole 2, then proceeding to take 11 birdies throughout the rest of the round. Despite not feeling confident with long putts, only making one of his five putts from circle 2, Heimburg’s performance off the tee once again kept him in the lead. Heimburg has had a fantastic season so far and one more double-digit round on Sunday could get him his third Elite Series win in 2023.

“I think you’re going to have to shoot another round in the double digits,” Heimburg said when asked what it’ll take to win, “If we get the same weather, you’ve got to get a lot of birdies in order to win this tournament.”

Heimburg and Harris will be joined by Matthew Orum and Parker Welck who are tied for 3rd place at 19 strokes under par. While the leaderboard is seeing slightly more score separation than the end of Round 1, there are still four players including last year’s winner Ricky Wysocki tied for 5th at 17-under.

With only one round left, we’ll see who can keep it clean and become the 2023 Dynamic Discs Open Champion.