Catrina Allen and Paige Pierce made some of the biggest moves during Wednesday's Round 2. Photo: Justin Anderson / PDGA Media

Kristin Tattar Stays Put

After 36 holes of play, Kristin Tattar stands exactly where she did after 18 holes – on top of the FPO leaderboard with a 2-shot cushion – but the ground beneath her feet may have shifted.

The Estonian star, who many saw as the favorite coming into the tournament, picked up right where she left off on Wednesday, cashing putts from seemingly everywhere and stringing together birdies like an Edison power line.

An errant tee shot on hole 9 led to her first bogey of the round – the first since hole 2 of the opening round, 24 holes prior – and it was really the first time that any crack in the armor could be seen. It wasn’t a major setback, but for a player that was 15-under par after 26 holes to come in at 13-under par after 36-holes – the slowdown opened the door for her competitors.

“I felt a little bit of fatigue near the end of the round,” Tattar said of her struggles on the back 9. “I did make two stupid mistakes. One with my jump putt that ended up with a bogey and then on another hole I threw my upshot to OB and it made a big difference that I slipped up there.”

The Field Strikes Back

Ella Hansen made the switch from ultimate to disc golf during the early days of the pandemic in 2020. Photo: Justin Anderson

Ella Hansen, who started the day in third place, was one of the players looking to take advantage of any slip-up from Tattar. The former Ultimate star turned disc golfer used her world-beating length off the tee to keep pace on a course where distance is at a premium.

This was nowhere more apparent than on 582-ft (uphill) hole 2, where Hansen laid down a backhand roller to get to within a short chip shot of the basket, whereas her card mates could not even see the basket for their approach shots.

Hansen would ultimately tie things up with Tattar briefly after hole 16 before back-to-back bogeys to finish the round set her back trailing by two.

But the story of the day belonged to two former world champions—defending champion, Catrina Allen and five-time champion, Paige Pierce.

Allen shot the hot round of the day at 7-under, charging 23 spots up the leaderboard, while Pierce was right behind her at 6-under.

With Tattar battling a nagging arm injury that has seen her relying heavily on her forehand—along with the doubts that creep in as a player approaches their first world championship—the sight of two world champions in her rearview mirror still with 54 holes to play cannot be very settling.

Round 3 coverage of the FPO lead card kicks off at 9 a.m. CT only on DiscGolfNetwork.com