BY EASTON STOCKFORD

With the Munis currently leading the franchise points race, a win from the team’s leading duo would go a long way towards holding onto that lead. However, with the next two San Diego teams finishing in a tie for 19th, Ryan and Lucas are likely going to need a little support down the stretch to clinch the league’s first season-long championship, and a number of teams have them hearing footsteps.

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The New York Blue Birds feature three of the tournament’s top ten pairings while only trailing the Munis by roughly 400 points. Alex Chiarella and Chad Hambright (44) are headmanning the charge, sitting at ten-under-par and in a tie for third place. The pair was rather mellow until dropping six straight birdies from holes two through seven.

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The Blue Birds are backed by Jake Byrum and Kurt Watkins (46), who are joined by Abe Candelaria III and Michael Herrera (46) in a seven-way tie for tenth at eight-under-par.

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The second-place Detroit Auto Aces are also trying to track down the Munis in the last 18 holes. Gabriel Salvanera and Ryan Macpherson (45) finished in sixth after the first round and will look to work with Daniel Ochoa and Skyler Finnell (46) — who are in tenth at eight-under — to gas the Auto Aces past the Munis on Saturday.

The most threatening duo to Ryan and Lucas is the Scottsdale Strikes’ Tony Hendricks and Joe Neuheisel (45), who are one shot in the lead in second place. Hendricks and Neuheisel played consistent golf through the first round, carding six birdies on the front and five on the back, putting them right in the thick of the championship race.

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The Strikers’ cross-town rivals in Phoenix United claim a couple of groups in the hunt as well. DJ Lantz and Cody Mussa (44) sit foremost in the standings for United in a third-place deadlock — largely due to a white-hot streak of five birdies. The two picked up each other’s slack all night, with both partners stepping up when they were needed most.

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Merely one shot behind in sixth are Will Krop and Sam Fidone (45), who overcame an early bogey by birdieing seven out of nine during a seven-under-par 20 on the back nine. The hometown team is sitting in fifth in the points race, but with two teams vying for the podium’s top spot, they have put themselves within striking distance of the league title.

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Last year’s defending champs in the Tampa Bay Swamp Dawgs are also back in the hunt — but it is not the team most people were expecting. The team’s owner, Ben Herman, and Brock Mackenzie (44) were firing on cylinders on day one, making nearly every putt they looked at.

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With a cigar between his teeth, Herman dropped a bomb for birdie on hole 15, sending the crowd into a frenzy and sparking a stretch that had the pair partying up the leaderboard, with music blaring all night long. Their teammates, Pete Ianello and Eric Hawerchuk (45), trail by one shot, priming the Swamp Dawgs to be in contention come Saturday.

The real shocker from Tampa Bay’s squad appears much lower on the leaderboard, as the reigning Grass League Champions — Billy Hanes and Dan Buchner (49) — are tied for 24th at five-under-par. The top two in the player rankings got off to a slow start but slowly found a groove, picking up back-to-back birdies to finish. Although it wasn’t an ideal start for Hanes and Buchner, don’t be surprised if they claw their way back up the leaderboard on Saturday.

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Another tandem that could find themselves contending in the season’s concluding 18-holes is the Los Angeles Roses’ brother-sister squad of Ryan and Gabby Ruffels (46). The siblings were able to piece together a solid round, and with both of them having professional experience, they have put themselves in a position to succeed on Saturday.

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The Minnesota Muskies also have a pair of teams in the top ten, led by Andrew Medley and Tony Bagneschi (45), who are in a tie for sixth. The Muskies were one of the premier teams in the Grass League last season, but have struggled this season — Medley and Bagneschi have a chance to revive the franchise’s year.

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Drew Stoltz and Drew Kittleson (46) are also in the mix for Minnesota, tied for tenth at eight-under-par. The pair finished runner-up twice at the USGA 4-ball tournament, so they have the chemistry to perform when the lights are brightest on Saturday, giving the Muskies two groups on the podium’s doorstep.

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Several storylines are beginning to present themselves through the first half of the GL Championship, but two are consistent through the whole field — the hottest hands and hottest putters are making a substantial difference.

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Four out of the top five teams in the tournament jarred five or more consecutive birdies in the opening round, and all five were making putts left, right, and center. Whoever raises hardware on Saturday will likely have both of those aspects going their way.

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Tee times for the final round begin at 12:12 p.m. MST Saturday, all the way until the final pairing of the Munis’ Lucas and Ryan and the Stingers’ Hendricks and Neuheisel hit the course at 4:00 p.m. MST. Live coverage of the event will begin at 5:00 p.m. MST on the Golf Channel.

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With the penultimate round of the 2025 GL Championship in the rearview mirror, a lot of question marks still surround the top of the leaderboard, and the Grass League’s crown is still up for the taking. With a winner being decided on Saturday and BigXthaPlug performing after, the grand finale of Grass League’s 2025 season is on track to be the biggest event in the league’s young history.

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18 holes are all that remain between a winner and the crown at the Grass League Championship from Grass Clippings Rolling Hills. The only question left to be answered is who is going to step up and take it.

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