The MPO field will see a completely different lead card on Saturday after a leaderboard shakeup in Round 2 of the 2023 European Open.

Anthony Barela shot the hot round at 12-under to jump up 10 places and lead the tournament at 19 strokes under par. While nowhere near as big a lead as we saw by this point last year, Barela now has a two-stroke lead over Albert Tamm and Eagle McMahon.

“I was just throwing the disc great and making all my circle 1 putts. I was pretty happy with how I threw every hole except for that bounce and rollaway on 18,” Barela said after tying the course record in Round 2.

Barela was close to setting a new course record as he walked up to the tee of Hole 18 at 13-under. However, he went on to take two OB strokes on the hole and finish with his only bogey of the round. Before the unfortunate blemish on his scorecard, Barela went on multiple birdie streaks, finishing the round with 6.98 strokes gained tee to green and leading the field with 95% fairway hits.

Eagle McMahon shot nine-under on day two to finish in second place at 17 strokes under par. McMahon felt that he had some bad breaks and could have done better but knows the importance of getting into the lead early on.

“I’m really focused on just grinding through and making sure I make the best shot possible because I know every stroke matters and it’s all about just putting yourself in position in these early rounds,” McMahon said after improving by one stroke over his Round 1 score.

Barela has yet to win an Elite Series or Major but is often included in discussions of players due for a win soon. McMahon on the other hand, has won multiple Elite Series and Majors, including the 2022 European Open. While Barela has found himself in the lead multiple times over his career and has jumped into first with the hot round early in numerous tournaments in the 2023 season, he hasn’t been able to take down a win yet.

If Barela can keep up the pace he set in Round 2, he could join a small list of players to win a Major before winning an Elite Series Event. According to StatMando, in the last 10 years only two players (Gannon Buhr - '22 USDGC Nate Sexton - '17 USDGC) have won a Major with zero previous Elite/Major wins.

With two rounds down and two to go, the top of the leaderboard is still tight, leaving the opportunity for players to make a move in Round 3 of the 2023 European Open.

Live coverage of Round 2 begins at 2:30 p.m. EEST / 7:30 a.m. EDT on the Disc Golf Network.