The W.R. Jackson Memorial Course laid down the law this afternoon here at the International Disc Golf Center for Round 2 of the 2015 Disc Golf Hall of Fame Classic, presented by MVP Disc Sports. A strong mental game was the key to success, as those that kept their heads on straight quickly moved up in the rankings.

All of the courses at the International Disc Golf Center are more forgiving now than they have been in years past, as much of the rough has been thinned out by the IDGC groundskeepers, one of them being the 2015 HOFC presented by MVP Disc Sports Tournament Director himself, Jason Allind #21568. That might save someone a few strokes here and there, but the Jackson course is as much about endurance as it is about staying out of trouble. At just under 10,000 feet and coming in at a par of 69, it is 18 holes of blood, sweat, and tears before your disc hits the chains on the 18th green.

Michael Johansen #20300 and Paul McBeth #27523, both starting on the chase card, turned in the hot rounds of the day, shooting 12 under par and 11 under par, respectively. McBeth managed a bogey-free round while racking up his 11 birdies. Johansen however, was absolutely on fire. After a bogey on Hole 6, he carded birdies on 10 of the remaining 12 holes. A truly amazing feat on the gold level WR Jackson.

Disc Golf Hall of Fame member Barry Schultz #6840 and Will Schusterick #29064 played well enough to keep their spots on the lead card for the final round tomorrow, but are now three and four off the lead. Heading in to the WR Jackson again tomorrow, no one is safe. There are 20 players within single digits of the lead card scores, three of which are tied for 5th place, just one throw back.

Perfect drive on hole 13 from @ValarieJenkins. Parked. #2015HOFC #wrjackson pic.twitter.com/t7jY9Vz5H4

— PDGA Live Scoring (@pdgalive) September 12, 2015

Val Jenkins #17495 threads a driver through the tress for a tap-in birdie on Hole 13.

The Open Women’s division was an up and down battle all afternoon, with five different women taking the lead at some point throughout the day. Paige Pierce #29190, Catrina Allen #44184, Sarah Hokom #34563, and Val Jenkins #17495 made up the lead card to start the day, and each held a spot at the top of the leaderboard during the round.

Hokom held the lead for much of the back nine, but gave up three strokes to Jenkins over the last three holes due to a double bogey on the 16th. Meanwhile, 1997 Disc Golf Hall of Fame inductee Elaine King #3090, starting from the chase card with Sarah Cunningham #30397 and Lesli Todd #13526, was quietly gaining ground on the leading ladies, keeping bogeys to a minimum and snagging birdies where ever possible.

King, along with Jenkins, would both finish with the hot rounds in their division, turning in impressive scores of one over par (70). Hokom finished with a 71 and is now tied with Jenkins for the lead. King’s strong play allowed her to jump from 5th place to being tied for 3rd place with Pierce, with only one throw separating them from Jenkins and Hokom.

Last but not least, there are another 133 men and women competing here at the same time, playing in the 2015 HOFC presented by MVP Discs A-Tier, including several Disc Golf Hall of Fame members. We’ll have all the details for you about their stories from the weekend in the final wrap-up story tomorrow evening.     

Hole-by-hole scoring on pdgalive.com will be the best way to keep up with the action. The Open Women's division tees off tomorrow morning starting at 9:00am EDT, playing the W.R. Jackson Memorial Course once again. The men will follow, teeing off in ten minute intervals until the last group takes to the course at approximately 12:50pm. Watch and cheer on your favorite players as the 2015 PDGA National Tour comes to an end tomorrow!  

Jomez Pro coverage of Rnd. 2 with commentary by Paul McBeth #27523 and Nate Sexton #18824.