Idlewild has a way of taking and not giving and the women of round two did their best to hang on. The previous seven Pro Tour events have averaged winning scores on the FPO side of 15 down. Two rounds in, it is clear that Idlewild even par would be a great score. Through 13 holes, Paige Pierce (Dynamic) was one under par and had closed the three stroke deficit to Catrina Allen. “I’m still having trouble off the tee. My putts are good but I need to clean things up off the tee.”, Paige Pierce said. She was 80% on fairway hits, which is critical to success at Idlewild. She was also 100% in C1X and hit a Circle 2 putt for birdie on hole 9.

Meanwhile, Catrina Allen (Prodigy) carded a double bogey early, going OB on hole 2. Her card was very clean other than that, with par seeming to be the order of the day. Through 13, she carded just two birdies and two bogeys.

Madison Walker (Innova) put herself in position to be in contention should both Paige and Catrina stumble and Jessica Weese (Innova) recovered very well from a trio of consecutive of double bogeys on holes 3, 4 and 5, carding four birdies on the final ten holes and putting herself in a three-way tie for fourth. Madison said, “I played well today, minimized my doubles and played well on holes that I had trouble on in round 1. I’m excited to be back in the woods.” Sarah Hokom (MVP) struggled today but maintained her position. She sits in fourth.

Catrina kept her parbecue (thanks YouTube chat) going on hole 14 with a clean drive and upshot while Paige went wide and was unable to scramble, losing one stroke. Paige scrambled for par on hole 15. Catrina set herself up for par on 15 with two controlled shots and missed her third C1X putt in a row, making this her fourth shot lost on the putting green to Paige and tying them up.

As Paige prepared to drive on hole 16, the tension was thick as we imagined Dixon Jowers and Robert McCall discussing Paige’s quadruple bogey on this hole yesterday. Paige’s drive flew flat and far but hyzered out of bounds, going about 150 feet farther than her round one drive before going OB. Everyone watched in anticipation to see if Paige could save the par or if the wheels would fall off on hole 16 again. The live coverage bounced back and forth between cards as the tension mounted. Paige’s third shot (counting the OB stroke) was crushed and put her in C2 putting for birdie! She hit the front cage but improved by four, and the pressure shifted to Catrina.

Where Paige through flat and straight, Catrina played hyzer the whole way, landing on the left side of the fairway and skipping OB. Her distance was very similar to Paige’s, jumping out of bounds at the almost identical spot. Her next shot, however, was very different, flying OB again, then failing to get up and down, carding the double bogey. With just two holes left in the round, Catrina had not only lost her three-stroke lead; she was now down by two to a particular round by Paige.

After pars on hole 17, hole 18 came up and bit in every way. Paige went off the fairway early and never recovered until carding the triple-bogey seven. Meanwhile, Catrina put herself in an excellent position to take the lead back on the final hole. Her 50-foot putt for par and a one-stroke lead was a putt of beauty, catching chains pro side. As Catrina picked up her mini, the disc sliced through the chains and dropped out the backside. Catrina’s reaction showed her disbelief and left her tied with Paige Pierce for the lead. Paige predicts, “one over will win it. Every time I make a bogey, I know I can get a birdie.” When asked where she has the advantage on the field, she replied, “I think holes 13 and 14 are ones I can get.” We will get to see tomorrow if that comes true.

Meanwhile, Madison played a very consistent round, one stroke worse than her day one score, and finds herself just one stroke off the lead. 100% C1X putting, draining a Circle 2 putt for birdie on hole 4, and only having one double bogey or worse were her keys to staying in the mix. Heather Young, who tied Catrina Allen’s +6 for the third-best round of the day, moves up five spots and secures a place on the lead card. She is five shots back.​

The final round starts at 9:00 Eastern on Sunday, July 28th. Watch it here !