Who is winning the 2024 Ledgestone Open in MPO?
Tied 1st - Aaron Gossage at 9 under par
Tied 1st - Emerson Keith at 9 under par
Tied 1st - Chris Dickerson at 9 under par
Quote from the leader: “It wasn’t incredibly windy, but it was just enough to make us think about it,” Dickerson said. “If we come back out tomorrow with the same weather as today, the game plan doesn’t change. If it gets a little more windy, I’ll probably be throwing more overstable stuff. If the wind stays the same, I think 9 under each round will be enough to win.”
Game-changing moment: Gossage sat 1 under par after seven holes, but it was a story of missed opportunities for him with six birdie looks from inside 60 feet of which he was only able to knock in one. But everything changed on Hole 8. Even with a narrow green and a daunting OB slope just a few feet from the pin, Gossage aggressively ran his Circle 2 putt for birdie. Canning the putt, he was able to build momentum and birdie eight of the last 11 holes.
Summary of Round 1: Mason Ford set the pace very early with a 7:52 tee time, cashing in an 8 under par. Also from an earlier tee time, Gossage took advantage of a little more shade and less wind to shoot a 9 under par hot round. The heat and wind both picked up for the afternoon rounds and put a stranglehold on some of the scoring, causing 84 shots to go OB on Hole 6 alone. Keith and Dickerson figured it out toward the end of the day. Keith drained a 45-foot death putt for birdie on the final hole to show he means business, and Dickerson casually dominated the back nine with the exception of a wind-read error on Hole 16.
