Driving the road that leads down to the clubhouse here at Bayonet & Blackhorse, it’s hard to believe that we’re all here to play disc golf. To top it off, we’re here playing disc golf to support the kids of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. With an incredible view of Monterey Bay as the backdrop, a meticulously manicured golf course, and perfect weather, what more could we ask for? Even the warm-up area is amazing!

The beauty of Bayonet & Blackhorse is complimented this weekend by two enormous and very challenging disc golf courses, customed designed for the St. Jude Disc Golf Charity Invitational: “Steady” Ed DGC (Pros) and Dr. Stancil Johnson DGC (Ams). With the winds of the bay endlessly blowing across the course, long holes become that much more difficult, especially when most of the baskets on strategically placed around OB bunkers.

In a similar fashion to the “Steady” Ed Memorial Masters Cup last weekend, finishing well has a lot more to do with avoiding bogeys than carding birdies. It’s no coincidence that the top three players in the Open division were the only players to end the round with just one bogey each.

Nate Doss #11794 was one of those three, finishing with a hot round score of 56 (-8). Nate shredded the course, snagging birdies when they were available and happily carding pars almost everywhere else. Playing side-by-side with his wife, Val Jenkins #17495, nine birdies and one bogey was more than enough to move him to the top of the leaderboard.

Yes, you read that correctly. Val Jenkins, as the only player in the Open Women’s division, played on the same card as her husband. Perhaps her presence helped Nate? Maybe, but as a 3X World Champion, Nate doesn’t need much help.

Slow-mo forehand drive off the tee of Hole 7 by Jared Roan. Parked. #stjudediscgolf pic.twitter.com/SbISz0rvar

— PDGA Live Scoring (@pdgalive) May 27, 2016

Slow-mo forehand drive by Jared Roan #49210 off the tee of Hole 7. Parked.

Nate Sexton #18824 and Jared Roan #49210 are currently tied in 2nd place, having both finished Round 1 at 59 (-5), carding six birdies and just one bogey. Rounding out the lead card will be Nikko Locastro #11534, one throw back of Sexton and Roan at 60 (-4). Will Schusterick #29064 finished the round with a 59 as well, but took a two stroke penalty after accidentally calculating his score as 60, leaving him with a new total score of 61.

Hole-by-hole scoring complimented by live updates, pictures, and videos starts at 10:30am PDT/1:30pm EDT on pdgalive.com. Photos from the opening ceremony and Round 1 are available for viewing and/or download on the PDGA Flickr page.

Last but not least, a big thanks to everyone who has donated and to those that have continued to push for more donations for the St. Jude Disc Golf Charity Invitational. Donations have been sharply on the rise since we arrived earlier this week, with the grand total now sitting at $162,460!

Donate now at pdga.com/give!