harmony bends

The grass was lush and heavy, renewed by spring rains. Wind blew steadily at first, but receded with the clouds to allow the hundreds of spectators to bask in the warm sunlight.

The same rain that benefited the grass at Albert-Oakland gorged Harmony and Perche Creeks at Harmony Bends, the world-class course that was originally slated to host the Mid America Open. Because of the flooding, Harmony Bends was in no shape to host any kind of play, let alone a DGPT event. The back course at Albert-Oakland was hastily prepared to host, and as a result, many top pros dropped out of the tournament.

Paul McBeth, Ricky Wysocki and Calvin Heimburg, all among the biggest names in the sport, skipped the Silver Series event, instead opting to get a head start to Emporia, Kansas, for next week’s Dynamic Discs Open.

“Yeah, it feels really good right now,” he said after his round Friday. “I’m hoping it’ll stick. I know there’s a lot of good players out there right now, so we’ll see.”

Unfortunately for Borengasser, it didn’t stick. He shot a 1-over 56 on Saturday, plummeting in the standings to a tie for 54th place. Off the tee, Borengasser couldn’t replicate the booming drives of his first round and he said afterward his Saturday couldn’t have gone worse. Usually a backhand power driver, Borengasser just couldn’t find his release point in the second round.

“Everything was just kind of a sprinkler system off the tee,” he said. “I couldn’t throw it where I wanted to throw, which is bad if you’re playing a course like this where there’s (out of bounds areas) and woods.”

Despite the tough outing, Borengasser was smiling all day. He is confident that after a reset Saturday night, he can get back on form for Sunday’s final round.

Another local golfer, St. Martins native Jake Hebenheimer, is also confident about Sunday’s round, citing his years of experience playing Albert-Oakland and his strong driving.

“I’m still going to get top 10 for sure,” he said. “I’m still planning on playing well tomorrow. Just one hot round is all it takes.”

Hebenheimer says a hot round for him is 10- to 14-under. Like Borengasser, he shot 6 under Friday to put him in the tournament’s top 25. On Saturday, he tallied a 5-under 50, keeping him in the hunt in a tie for 22nd place.

George Smith, meanwhile, was just happy to be there. The owner of Show Me Disc Sports in Columbia, Smith has been a part of the Columbia disc golf scene for almost 40 years. He won the amateur division of the Mid America Open in 1987 when he was 16. He lives near Albert-Oakland and can walk to the course in just 2-3 minutes.

Smith said he’s won the tourney 13 times as a pro — enough to earn a banner with his name and image at the tournament — and says he has loved watching the sport grow.

Through two rounds, Smith is tied for 39th at 7 under.

Sitting at 7 under with Smith is another Columbia local, Brock Rohler. Rohler was even in Friday’s round, but birdied nine holes Saturday to climb beside Smith at 39th.

On the women’s side, Cynthia Ricciotti, a Battle High School senior who is the 14th-ranked player on the pro tour, had a tough second day. She entered Saturday tied for seventh in the tournament at 4 over par, but couldn’t repeat the strong showing.

Ricciotti started the day with a birdie but fell victim to six bogeys, two double bogeys, and a triple bogey on the 17th hole where a tree limb directed her tee shot into the middle of the water hazard.

Ricciotti’s frustration was visible down the stretch. She has spent most of the past two months traveling the country for the tour and may have just needed a night away from disc golf. Luckily for her, the weekend she was back in town was prom week at Battle, so she got to spend her Saturday night at the dance after another day on the course.

Other local golfers competing in the Mid America Open on the men’s side include Luke Sabulsky (6 under, tied for 45th), Adam Morrison (2 over, tied for 79th), Michael Natera (5 over, 88th) and James Mueller (6 over, tied for 89th). Other locals on the women’s side include Fresa Jacobs (22 over, 13th) and Alexis Kerman (26 over, 15th).

Heading into Sunday’s final round, Chris Dickerson of Limestone, Tennessee, and Kyle Klein of Wyoming, Michigan, are tied for the men’s lead at 17 under. Ellen Widboom of Brooksville, Florida, leads the women’s tournament at 1 over.