Elias Lukkonen and Paul McBeth talk during round two of the Krokhol Open.

MPO

Youth to power!

It was not difficult to assume that two experienced American players of a very high level, such as Paul McBeth and Bradley Williams, would be on the leader card of the PDGA Euro Tour Krokhol Open (Norway), but that they are accompanied by two young 18-year-old Finns such as Elias Lukkonen and Miro Ryhänen is a clear example of the extensive reserve that European disc golf has in general and Finnish disc golf in particular.

Elias Lukkonen

Scores as low as those of round one were not seen between the leaders; in fact, the best card was presented by the Norwegian Knut Valen Håland with 8-under and the start was especially difficult for Lukkonen, who accumulated plus-2 in the four first holes.

As he commented in the interview, the launch mechanics were good, but the crosshair was missing. And sure enough, he was able to correct it to end the round at 3-under.

Paul McBeth

Paul McBeth already led the Finn by three shots at the end of the front nine, but it was in the back nine where he did not quite find the birdies he needed, with three occasions in which the disc touched the band or the cage but not the chains.

Bradley Williams also had a brilliant front nine, with a somewhat more discreet end of the round weighed down by a double bogey on the long, ascending 16th hole.

And another of the young values of Finnish disc golf, Miro Ryhänen, confirms his upward line after winning the second round of the Prodigy Disc Pro Tour, the very strong Finnish circuit, last week, and will play with all the honors on Championship Sunday on the lead card.

Will experience or rebellion prevail? Will the youngest bear the pressure of playing in an international tournament with a six-time PDGA World Champion? Ticket sales confirm that we will have a historic audience; the difference of just three strokes between the top four will bring excitement, and all we have to do is enjoy the show, either in person, live on Disc Golf Network or next day on MDG Media. Do not miss it!

Silva Saarinen

FPO

The Finnish Silva Saarinen discreetly earned her place on today's leader card and has given a coup of authority by signing a round of 6-under which, with a rating of 990, is the best of her career and brings her closer to the select "Club of 1000”.

With a very complete and safe game near the basket, she is already seven shots away from her pursuers, despite which she has declared that on Championship Sunday she will not play conservatively but attack, like during round two..

The final part of the round marked great differences between the Finn and the rest of the top five, as she won between five and eight shots over them only between holes 14 to 18 — holes to watch closely on Sunday

Sofie Björlycke

Sofie Björlycke (Sweden) remains faithful to her philosophy of compensating for the greater distance reached by some of her rivals with a higher percentage of success in the approach and in the putt and remains very comfortable in second position with great aspirations to place leader in the general classification of the PDGA Euro Tour.

Jenni Karppinen

Another young Finnish player, Jenni Karppinen, is also tied for second position, weighed down by a pair of double bogeys on holes 12 and 17. During the final round, there will be a nice battle between the two.

The British Rachel Turton, whose round went awry from the seventh hole onwards, and she needed six more strokes than yesterday to complete the course, is now four away from fighting for second place, a distance far from being insurmountable. Tied with her in fourth place is the Norwegian player Ingvild Lønvik, who has barely gotten off the podium in the 13 national tournaments she has played in her country and now has the opportunity to measure herself against some of the best players on the continent.