Saturday finally provided calm conditions in round 3 of the 2023 Discraft Great Lakes Open as the FPO field saw Scoggins continue to stay on top while the MPO field got a new co-leader.

Lucky Number 7

For the third time in a row, Ohn Scoggins shot a seven-under hot round to stay in the lead at the 2023 Discraft Great Lakes Open. The lead card will remain the same on Championship Sunday as Scoggins will once again be joined by Ella Hansen, Kat Mertsch, and Holyn Handley.  

“This is probably the first time I shot 7-7-7 on this course, normally I’m kind of up and down,” Scoggins said after round 3, “I guess maybe it’s my lucky number.”

While 7 may be her lucky number, Scoggins doesn’t seem to need luck out on the course as her consistent ability to execute her gameplan has kept her from making mistakes. Scoggins’ only bogey on the round came on hole 5 when she had her first missed putt inside the circle in the tournament so far. The tight OB on the Toboggan course has proven difficult for most players but Scoggins was the only player in the field to avoid taking any OB strokes in the third round.

Day 2 was Scoggins’ first time coming into a round with the outright lead at an Elite Series event. It’s common for a player in this position to show some nerves and give up a few strokes but Scoggins has maintained her lead through Friday’s swirling wind and Saturday’s calm conditions. With experience winning Majors in the FP40 division including both the 2023 Tim Selinske US Masters Disc Golf Championships and the 2023 Professional Masters Disc Golf World Championships earlier this year, Scoggins has shown confidence coming down the final stretch.

Hansen was able to match Scoggins’ seven-under hot round, finishing six strokes back of the lead. Hansen had a few more ups and downs in her round, taking her first par on hole 8. Hansen showed just how scorable the Toboggan course is when the conditions are calm, taking 11 birdies on the day, but made a few costly mistakes along the way.

“If Ohn keeps doing what she’s doing, I’m six strokes back so it’s going to take 13 or 14,” Hansen chuckled after being asked what it would take to catch up to Scoggins, “I mean there are eagles out here on the course, I think it is doable.”

If the final round turns into a battle for 2nd place, Hansen’s chances are looking good with three podium finishes at Elite Series events this season and a three-stroke lead over Kat Mertsch.

Will Scoggins stay consistent and score one more hot round or will Hansen clean up a few bogeys and close the gap? There’s still one more round to find out at the 2023 Discraft Great Lakes Open.

Lizotte Breaks Double-Digits

While the FPO lead card remains the same, the MPO leaderboard saw a new name jump up to the top for a share of the lead on day 3 of the 2023 Discraft Great Lakes Open. Simon Lizotte took advantage of the calm conditions to shoot 11-under, the first double-digit round in the tournament.

Lizotte started his round with seven birdies in a row and successfully scrambled multiple times to keep from taking a single bogey in round 3.

“Today I got away with some and I just made the putts that I had to make. Obviously after seven-down through seven, things were just going my way. You get into this flow zone where you just play,” Lizotte said after shooting the hot round.

With 78% percent fairway hits, 3.40 strokes gained tee to green, and 2.90 strokes gained putting, Lizotte displayed a balanced game. He gave himself opportunities to score, didn’t make many risky choices, and was able to clean up for par even when he didn’t execute his plan off the tee.

When asked if he felt pressure to continue birdieing after his perfect start, Lizotte said, “It depends on the day and your mindset. I feel like some days it would get easier; some days it might get tougher. Today definitely felt like it got tougher.”

Lizotte’s hot round bumped him up into a tie for first with Eagle McMahon, who shot six-under in round 3 to once again maintain his share of the lead. According to StatMando, this is the first time Lizotte and McMahon are tied together for the lead heading into the final round on tour. Going into the final round, McMahon seems focused on his own game rather than worrying about how his competitors will perform.

“It’s going to be me versus myself, I really don’t care what anyone else does,” McMahon said as he thought back to the mindset that helped him win both of his previous DGLO appearances.

Lizotte’s last two wins on tour (The 2022 Open at Maple Hill and the 2023 Music City Open) have been from the chase card so this could be his first lead card win at an Elite Series event since the 2022 Des Moines Challenge.

“If I have a good finish tomorrow, then obviously that momentum boost into Worlds would be awesome.”

After three rounds with a tie at the top of the MPO leaderboard, a winner will finally be crowned in the final round of the 2023 Discraft Great Lakes Open.