2019 Mid America Open | RD2, F9, MPO | Locastro, Keith, Russell, Rathbun

hello and welcome everybody to the front nine coverage of the 2019 Mid America open this is round two we have Nate Perkins on the microphone as my co commentator how's it going Nate dude thank you so much GK Pro for coming out and filming this round I'm so happy to be watching disc golf here absolutely one of the best courses I've ever gotten to watch on film we have nikola castro emerson keith alex russell and gavin Rathbun from illinois on the lead kart has some pretty good scores at this course overall not as low as we're used to seeing out on the dot on tour yeah I mean it's it's amazing like watching a six down being one of the hot rounds yeah you know I very often six down is normally like maybe third card fourth card status depending on where we're at yeah so we have some players happen to play some golf here and on this course even though it's a really wooded track there is some serious placement golf on these par fours and par fives hole number one if you really want to get a four in this as we watched in round one you have to blast your first tee shot and then your second shot has to be very meticulously placed on this sneaking fairway yeah you can see just how much OB there really is and really the hardest thing about this hole is this final approach to the green right here the basket is only 10 12 feet in front of this OB ledge right here so if you don't clear that we saw a couple shots including Nico's come up short and I think with the OB right in front of the green with those flags I think it is going to force some players to play a little bit safer than if those flags were not there Nico looked like he was trying to go same hyzer flip as round one didn't quite get it over it's gonna be safe but just a little out of position and here is Emerson Keith from Dallas Fort Worth Texas if you don't know his name yet you will yeah that was the hyzer flip that Nico was looking to throw and that was pretty much exactly where you want to be he'll have a nice shot for his second placement there then Alex Russell who's been having a pretty consistently solid year signing with Innova in 2019 and he's really been putting on a show all season yeah ton of great finishes and this is a guy who I personally I try and model a lot of my shots off of him because he it's so simple everybody so simple and that putt is just so simple and effective and with a almost opposite play style of Alex Russell we have get Gavin Rathbun from Illinois up where I'm actually originally from he throws a country mile as some would say and that was a very solid tee shot it was a stardestroyer from gavin he's also pretty stoked to be back on in of a oh definitely just a little little early out of the hands similar to his tee shot and this is why I really love Alex's game right here he he added that Nate Sexton hop during the offseason and he told me that it was adding about 30 to 40 feet consistently to his forehand drives which is monumental in in one season and with the added power it's interesting to see that forehead he just threw is a flip-up forehand which is a really solid tool to have especially out of course like this with a boss oh absolutely driver nonetheless and Nico has been finding some cabbage very early on in this hole and he is still pretty out of position he's gonna have to throw something pretty solid to get up to that basket so Emerson went recoil up to T and then that is a stiletto right there and he loves to forehand the stiletto yeah that's a perfect position I mean he has a probably a putter approach to the basket for that birdie whoa and I'm not surprised to see this whatsoever from Gavin he any opportunity he can get to go over the top he's probably going to and he has an absolute cannon for an arm so be prepared for some very flashy shots from this kid yeah the kid loves to throw hard and he kind of took one took one back right there lady Madison laid off on it it's gonna be an AVR approach from Alex I think he stayed in a little too turned over looks like he might have found something and this is a touch dancer there you go kind of had his short arm that backhand but that's yeah that is a tough shot right there to get everything you see how he kind of like put his bob his full body into that one then Emerson I think this is his third shot correct yes it is and it's interesting to see him opt for this like forehand approach right here and no it looks like it lines up great for just like a little soft Heiser putter but this kid is so good at that little touchy forehand shot and he landed that super soft of yeah Gavin pitching up there may be given it kind of a half run then Alex I think he did lay it in bounds after that kind of turned over approach just off the top of the basket yeah alex has had some really solid finishes this year oh and he's been on camera multiple times I've I'm now beginning to learn his bag just from how many rounds I've been able to commentate with him on it so trying to recall believe he made the lead card at Texas States was one of them ledge stone as well edge dunk yeah he may have a lead card after after a pretty hot first round at Lake Eureka which we are about to embark on three round journey yes yep absolutely and then a very rare birdie on hole one from Emerson that was a pretty picture perfect play and moving quickly into hole number two we saw yesterday for hole number for round one this is a very challenging par-4 that these players are facing and I noticed that the tee is pushed way farther back and the basket is also pushed back about a hundred feet from where it normally is in the recreational layout as you can see it snakes down this tight corridor off to the right and the basket is way up in this beautiful rock green pretty much off the tee you have to lace this shot yeah you have to you have to cover ground because look look up here at this green Ryan it I mean it's maybe 25 feet from left to right and it slopes severely from left to right straight toward an OB cliff yes so this place been off the tee to even give yourself a look at an upshot is crucial so whatever you can pretty much whatever your bread and butter is yeah and again during around 2:00 this one played a full stroke over par just a letter again I assume just a very consistent release next time when we see him throw a forehand just watch his footwork is the same every time in his little he actually looks down at his feet right before my throws and that's just to kind of reset himself and do not really look at the tree he's aiming at yep exactly and there's that Wraith that we saw from Nico during round one he was really lacing some roll my god first run strollers I've seen on camera to be honest with you and that does actually get pretty far up there if he can get creative he still might have a look at getting a birdie and this fairly actually lines up perfectly for Alex's favorite shot yeah this is another boss that's so smooth it's tiny pop up at the mid flight it's really impressive to be that that consistent was such a fast disc yeah and then Gavin going with the more overstable sidearm option and he has positioned himself pretty nicely yeah and even if they're in the middle of the fairway look at the shot that they have to pier if they want a birdie double tiered green thinking this is a rock that he's throwing and now looks like a beautiful release and as long as he's a bounce he has a circle to look at the baskets so pretty solid from where he was at believe this is gonna be an explorer from Emerson I imagine we're gonna see this disc quite a bit here in the woods that's gotta bend a little bit more oh and it does get a little kick that's the thing about this if you want to put this close to the basket you have to throw over that initial mound of rocks which is very challenging I like Gavin's play of trying to throw amid a little bit of higher through the fairway but it's a I guess at this point getting it up there for a look is pretty important and Alex was just trying to get himself out of trouble there and you know we really didn't give Andrew Presnell enough credit on his shot yesterday if you guys haven't seen round one go back to GK pros Channel and tune into round 1 coverage Andrew actually just laced this one from a similar position to Emerson right there inside circle one so go check that shot out and not to overlook Nico's beautiful forehand roller that he just snaked out of the woods there fortunately didn't have a look at a up shot to the basket and even that shot is so touchy and Alex lays one down really soft pretty much what we're saying here is this hole is pretty tough now Obi is just ready for anything that rolls Neko gonna try and toss this eNOS in and I'm sure he's pretty happy with just taking apart in this one this is definitely in this kids jump foot range and even now even a soft little putter jump cut like that has potential to kind of stand up and work actually if it hits the cage or any sort of metal and you know doesn't go in the basket so you could tell a lot of these runs that the players were making for the basket we're trying to make it but they were also trying to throw it in a little bit softer than they normally would taking the par here is probably going to save you some strokes in the field for sure moving into hole number three the tight woods does not let up on them 262 feet I believe pushing back into the woods sneaking through these soldier trees in the middle of the fairway looks like a little bit of a flex shot is the optimal route to get to this bucket such a tough looking pin position for such a short hole and a really fast green yeah seriously we saw a couple rollaways doing around one assuming that's an anchor retro anchor and he's just playing a straight hyzer he's not trying to get it to finish to the right he just wants to give himself some sort of look at a putt and he did he's about pin-high pretty solid and again just just coming out a little early you see those hips kind of opening up maybe a little too wide and well what's interesting is I've watched Nikko play for a really long time and he does it on purpose and I don't know if he knows that he's doing it but he opens his hips up on purpose to take pace off the disk to throw those little flex shots that he's known for throwing okay but when it comes to you know that type of body English if you're off and you're not feeling it yeah the disc is gonna go exactly where your hips are going and we saw Alex just a little late really showing you how tight this gap is and even on that shot Gavin you haven't ripped it and I mean he was Jane height right there just a few feet to the right what a great shot sneaking through a tree on the right side definitely a nice nice flight there from Gavin this does not look like a great spot to be no I agree with you on that oh yeah he's gonna have he's going full power overhand shot right there just to get back into the fairway I don't think he has a putt maybe maybe he does they're showing us a little replay maybe he's got a little something okay 5060 feet for par but it just goes to show you on this hole that if you kick any one of those little trees in the middle of the fairway you could just hit and roll all the way down there not a bad approach there this is this has to be just a layup yeah oh and even that tried to stand up and roll on him Wow okay look at this look at this Brian look how far to the left he's actually gonna bring this disc there his putt is so unique in the fact that he's got that extra hinge no no one really on the on the top level is committing to to a hinge the way that Emerson does a lot of spin putters do go straight into out when they're putting yeah I keep it as simple as possible but he's actually wrapping and almost like he's playing catch yeah he is he's tossing it in every time and it's not the way that you would teach it but he has it figured out and he doesn't miss much oh just kind of a real kind of a real jerk movement right there at the end to hit hit top yeah and really not characteristic from you know what we remember Nico as when we were kind of coming up in the sport watching him play he used to be the putter that would knock down absolutely everything within 70 feet to be honest with you that was a bit of a shame to watch and what was that a was that a double from Nico double bogey from Nico single bogey from Alex yeah I think so quite a big swing and that was buried it and took three on on him and he's up four after after three holes yeah and you know with this course it really especially when you're in this stretch of the woods it doesn't quite let up on you so you have to snap out of it quick hole number 4 we saw Nico pure this line yesterday with a subtle hyzer flip pushing downhill doesn't allow you to throw straight nose down especially as a right-handed player so we're gonna see a couple different strategies yesterday we saw that Trevor horrible go putter hammer yeah yeah those are some epic shots from Trevor doing around one Emerson I'm assuming is going a little bit more textbook play looks like the line looks nice sirs it's gonna drift long yeah just a little long but a really well controlled shot yeah the line was really smooth should be about 30 to 35 to the basket yanked on it a little bit but it looks like it is sneaking through those trees and no way he had is a gift from trees as Christ himself oh my goodness and you take what you can get on this course for sure it's there's so many trees out here that you can't really think twice about a good kick or a bad kick that missed everything let's see if Alex can do the same may vary trees a very blessed fairway there's a lot of thick trees back there with a lot of you know overgrowth too so I mean to sneak through was really nice to have an eco can respond to that double oh wow almost so we are Imogen who shot yesterday yeah beautiful shot just under the cage totally canon yeah it's in yeah with spin putters there's a lot of different types of spin putters but he is definitely one of the more aggressive spin putting strokes that we see in the NPO division and that that is much more of what you're used to seeing right there the way that Alex brings it right down to right below his waist right down on that right hip and just straight up and straight back yeah we're seeing a lot of players with you know developing putts similar to Alex's done eagle McMann a few other players like that are notable with that kind of it's a spin push I would say but it's more heavy on the spin Niko cashing in his birdie putt and you know as I'm sitting here watching these players and commentating on them I'm I'm trying to learn as much as I can from them because I want to putt like these guys yeah especially knocking down those 30 footers consistently like we're seeing Emerson Gavin also knocking down his birdie on a very challenging par-3 did we go all sir we did I think we did star frame not too shabby there folks hole number 5 pushing uphill really far bending to the right and the basket is gonna be tucked back into the woods so the designer is really wanting to players to throw an aggressive tee shot here I just love that rock work it's stone work right in the middle of the hole yeah and shoutouts to the to the players in the area I know Zach Johnson especially has been out here numerous times whenever I've been out there doing coursework and trimming and weed whacking and doing stuff like that so you can tell the people who live in the Columbia area take a lot of pride in this place that's another recoil a little bit too much Heiser angle there but still should have a look to get up and down for a par I'm guessing it this is a I forget what this yellow disc is I think it's a boss but he throws the longest flex with this that I've ever seen from a forehand player yeah that's definitely a boss I think that says slow draw neutral boss but yes such a beautiful flight he's got out of that little rough ground play on that but pretty solid positioning Gavin's throw is fun to watch it's super fun and he hits the disc so clean and he's just so lanky that whenever he is on it's crazy how many revs he gets in the disc and I think that was a rock that he threw it looked like I was dead straight and you know it's funny these both Emerson and Gavin are I don't know what you would say but they're they're somewhat apprentices of Nico Nico has taken both players under his wing and kind of you know showed him the ropes a little bit on the tour life and in taught him a few things and just just having fun with him out on the road so it's really cool to see them all playing together and Nico fading a little bit off to the left Emerson trying to play a little bit more aggressive and trying to go with that forehand roller to potentially give him a shot at birdie but he is gonna get stopped up in that fairway lining up beforehand roller was going really over stable oh wow that looks gorgeous is that gonna get there kind of a nasty reaction off that little tree but he'll have definitely circled to look and that was such a beautiful shot to the the line to get there is is so tough you have to penetrate straight for so long yeah it's almost like the holes wanting you to throw a big you know flexing Anheuser off the tee and then a flexing Anheuser with a forehand kind of a crazy shape right past the cameraman today bullseye completely negating my description of the hole just going straight straight and there's that Bruins justice this saves saves him quite a few strokes especially in the woods it's gonna get him to about 20 and you know the thing about this whole Brian is it it only has access from from the left and right I mean Nico's just outside Circle one and he has almost nothing yeah it's a really interesting I guess you could call it the shape of the fairway I mean the green is really really protected and yeah you have to push you can't you can't be short of the pin and hope for a putt and Emerson is feeling that 28 to 33 foot putt knocking down his third of the round and that's a pretty solid par say for how far back he was yeah and he just seems so relaxed yeah he looks like he's definitely feeling in control Alex knocking it apart as well he got some rough ground play I thought that forehand he threw was gonna get way up there and a little bit of mustard on it just the way that enters so flat and on the pole we've we've definitely over the years seen quite a few of those 15 footers of he has come back out it potentially could be like how he how low he does release and he does kind of throw one of those rising putts but it does come in pretty nose down so if you do hit dead center pole it could potentially pop out but moving into hole number six again I spoke about it yesterday I love the way that the designer is making the players throw a subtle Heiser with something medium stability or understable if they want to actually Park the hole or they can try playing a flare with something faster and more overstable it's definitely one of those one of those learning curves you start to figure out as you as you played longer and longer that overstable doesn't always mean it's going to get further left exact sometimes it actually means it's gonna get less left yeah Ganon looks like he threw a solid shot didn't quite catch the catch cam there but it looks like it potentially got up there so Emerson is going with the Explorer it looked a little too flat to really push as far left as he was hoping yeah a little bit too far forward but still circled - look that's annex Excalibur so alex is going for that over stable kind of skip play yeah and he doesn't throw as many backhands as he does for hands so I'm assuming when it comes to the you know those types of Heiser shapes he's just gonna try to play something as simple as possible and this is the gateway spirit from Nico and you could tell he with a spirit being as overstable as it is he was trying to play some sort of flair and everybody really seemed to push their shots to the exact same spot which to me shows that this hole is shaped for something very specific which is really enjoyable Gavin has put his flick a little bit too far away he should have some sort of circle to look and that was Niko left with nothing just had to pitch that one out here's Alex from a similar spot also just laying that one up let's see if Emerson has any kind of line oh and he's definitely wide open here he's going with the straddle on the hill doesn't quite cache it Javan for par it's a pretty tough bogey yeah tough bogey and like we were saying like on this hole hitting the gap is not enough you have to hit the gap and you also have to match the shape of the fairway which is definitely a pro caliber par 3 we see you know Emerson playing the one medium stability to understable this that he has and he was the closest one of the basket so a couple bogeys and some pars and we're gonna move into hole number seven this is this is one that I'm interested to see the scoring spread on because I I see 510 feet and I see elevation you think that but you know these players of power can get down there but these trees overhanging the gap are making it so the players have to throw super low so I don't know if this is gonna play more of a three and most of the players I'm just trying to get out of the gap yeah we even saw you know top players yesterday during round one throwing mid range off the tee and just playing this one for a three yeah this is one where the players are gonna probably take their medicine and not necessarily go for the four or go for the three to here got to get my numbers right Emerson does have driver there's that recoil and that's that's just a little early it's got a good flight to it snakes do the left side and the tricky part about the hole is that distance was good but he's circled too though right there that's definitely further than we see anything we saw yesterday and if anyone can reach it it's it's this line right here it's gonna be a flip up forehand he's gonna throw this one low and try to get it back up to flap it look how much that thing actually turned if he hits that right he could definitely track this pin down yeah oh and and there's not many players at this event that has you know that have that shot yeah and I'm assuming Nico's gonna try to take a same strategy as Emerson yeah and height here is really important you see he threw a beautiful shape if he gets that one just a few feet higher he's he's getting all the way down there and I dunno Gavin if he gets ahold of a sidearm can absolutely smash them a little bit more conservative play but still circle to looks like he does have a look at it alex is gonna try and toss this pig in here I know he's been loving this disc oh and I love that play to actually run the basket was something that overstable because if you miss you're right next to the basket yeah and you know I actually misspoke earlier Brian Gavin's actually playing with him a mixed bag this year that's what I was that's what I was wondering because Gavin has been playing with a mixed bag for quite some time he has been sponsored by numerous companies and yeah for a little while in Illinois he did take a brief hiatus from the game I think he was just working and saving some money and now he is back on tour I believe and he'll be hitting some of the bigger tournaments this year yeah and he's putting with a gateway warlock right now very interesting yeah very interesting I believe that's a beaded or a beatless putter I think it's a compliment to the wizard of their lineup yep there were some taps in his par believe Gavin is gonna be doing the same and if you are on sponsored I think there is definite merit to not necessarily picking one company I think it's great to try what you know what discs are out there and won't work for you and Gavin definitely takes full advantage of that Alex snagging a par here and that's and that's what I'm saying about this hole right now it's and I think the three is what the players are looking for potentially takes something a little bit more aggressive to get the two but three is not shabby moving into eighth you know this is one that the players want to get a birdie on and potentially if you're feeling a little frisky running at the basket for an ace we did see Jacob Sanders yesterday in round one nail the cage so let's see if these players have something to offer here Iverson going justice right online yeah I think if you're going for a birdie that's a no-brainer shot shape and obviously Alex is gonna go for it as well I think is that a pig that he has in his hand yes really similar similar discs to what Emerson just through really just over stable you know glide list cutter didn't quite get the ante up the hill that he wanted yeah this is a if you have the shot here this is definitely what you're doing all these great backhand players are opting for the forehand and that's actually a zone from Kevin it is a zone yeah he does throw some disc craft in his bag and I think with a mixed bag you know a zone or any disc of that type of stability is really really important to have in the bag it's the cage and luckily sits down next to the basket yeah no surprises here this whole eight was playing once again the easiest hole on the course during round two almost half a stroke under par and you can see why it's pretty straightforward there is some danger you can bogey it definitely if you hit early there's a nut sure yes um but any of these ways uphill par threes where there is a backstop you can kind of jam it driver and do it whatever you're comfortable throwing at the basket not really too much need for speed control in this a whole number nine so we go from the short hole in the course to a bit longer of a shot double fairway Nate what exactly are we seeing here from the players yeah like you said you've got a couple options off the tee and based on where you land you can decide to take that left gap looks a little tighter or this right gap right here is really the more open one but you're gonna want to you have to decide whether you're gonna lay that second shot up and play for the birdie for or whether you're gonna attack this one it is 684 there is an opportunity here for an eagle if you can pipe that second kept getting higher waggly and and there is a couple options off the tee as well we saw a Trevor horrible yesterday go middle gap and I think if you do want the ankle that's what you're gonna go for and he ripped it yesterday with a crane right definitely and I think that is the aggressive Eagle play we have a recoil in his hand here so Emerson is going that little huh and this this is kind of like a kind of like an end of a race Emerson was telling me it's got a little bit of high speed turn and good stability and we're seeing a lot of players on tour reach for those types of slower distance drivers because they have this spin control to keep it gliding at the mid flight that was a great shot from Emerson and Nico is trying to match that shape it just clips another tree he seems to be just a tiny bit off on those drives yeah and just a tiny bit off can can really Wiggly out here woods yeah and Alex really does lean on that forehand in the woods especially when there's a gap like this I'll fatigue no surprises to see him try and flip that boss up just punches it so forward doesn't he Wow that's all I have to say after watching that I say his crimes oh yeah he is definitely if he wants to throw that Flex forehand to the basket he definitely has permission from me this looks pretty tasty though oh and it is he's up there in the second landing zone what a beautiful forehand rollers how Alex sticks to his game and he doesn't let anybody face him if anyone throws a aggressive shot Alex sticks to his game plan sticks to what he knows yeah Nico just ripping a hyzer all the way up there and laid a little topspin getting a forward roll and from that middle section of trees though it looks close to the basket you do have to get creative on that that shot to pick to the green so looks like Emerson is lying up the forehand Anheuser that you were talking about oh and if he had crested that hill I think he would have been off to the races and this eagle is in sight for Gavin this is a touchy shot though he hit it pretty pure oh my goodness he's inside circle one my jaws dropped yeah this holding tough Wow and even after that major misfire from Emerson he puts that justice right at circles edge and he still has an opportunity for a birdie for no surprise he reaches for the pig hear it so that's gonna sit down Oh putting from the rock right on the edge of the cliff that'll be interesting hopefully he's not afraid of heights and as short of a shot is that was the little tiny nose up tiny Anheuser and flat finish is something that I love watching Nikko throw so when she's been control in the disk oh and he gets it to fall is it any surprise this round race curled oh wow that's I mean it's so unique and so specific to him and yeah you know with a spin putter if a spin putter is on they can rain putts from pretty much any distance and he's feeling it right now Gavin for Eagle let's go I've said Wow probably too many times on this hole but I've done worse and I've played this hole and I've been okay taking fours and fives on this with pretty decent shots that was an amazing three from Gavin hey we did say it was possible I actually was just saying that it wasn't quite sure if it was possible but now we do know that it is possible he has proven us proven us correct but eat Emerson Keith five down through the front line it has dating this card by three even after that eagle from Gavin so this is great golf absolutely cutting clinic he's putting on and thank you so much for joining us make sure to subscribe to gk pro and we will catch you soon for the back nine of this round