“Today was a battle on the course,” said Kristin Tattar after the fourth round of the 2023 PDGA Professional Disc Golf World Championships presented by L.L.Bean.

As the FPO division returned to Fox Run Meadows on day four, it seemed that Tattar and Missy Gannon had left the field behind as they battled for 1st.

Once again, Tattar was strong off the tee with 8.62 strokes gained tee to green and Gannon kept it clean on the putting green with 100% C1X putting and 3.97 strokes gained putting overall. However, both players would lose strokes from their hard-earned birdies as they each went out of bounds four times throughout the round. Tattar started the fourth round with a four-stroke lead but Gannon made a charge to close the gap, eventually shrinking the lead down to just one stroke by hole 15.

“I kept the pressure on, I was getting strokes when she wasn’t, she got a couple on me. All in all, I think it gives me good momentum and confidence going into tomorrow,” Gannon said of chasing down Tattar.

Faced with the pressure of losing the lead, Tattar finished strong as she birdied three out of the last four holes. Gannon, on the other hand, took two OB strokes to finish her round with a double bogey on hole 18. After the three-stroke swing, Tattar had expanded her lead to five strokes. Although Gannon has come close, Tattar still hasn’t given up the lead yet and is now in the lead at a Major for the 17th straight round.

When asked if she had to dig deep to finish strong after watching her lead shrink, Tattar said, “I was just trying to stay calm, telling myself ‘It’s just disc golf. You have practiced, you know how to do it. Just pick yourself up and keep going no matter what comes in your way.’”

So far, Gannon has taken a bogey or worse each time she’s played hole 18. Gannon and Tattar have completely separated themselves from the rest of the field so it could all come down to the last hole as the FPO field returns to Fox Run for the final round. Despite a disappointing ending to her round on day four, Gannon remains optimistic.

“Just keep pushing, don’t be afraid. If she makes a big putt in front of me, I’m going to make a big putt right after her,” Gannon said when asked about her mindset going into Championship Sunday, “Keep that killer mentality and try to get the birdies.”

While the FPO field was separated into two pools for the first four rounds, there will now be a cut with the top 36 players returning to play the final round at the same course.

“I know deep down that I still have all those skills and everybody on the lead card has those skills. It’s going to be an exciting battle between us,” Tattar said going into the final round.

There are just 18 more holes before a champion will have their name etched into history at the 2023 PDGA Professional Disc Golf World Championships.