Evan Walker leads tight MPO race at Greater Peoria Open

Evan Walker grabbed the early MPO lead at the Greater Peoria Open with a 3-under 65, but the first round on the Black Short layout looked more like an opening probe than a breakaway. With the tournament in progress in Morton, Illinois, and the lead cards set to tee off at 10:30 a.m., Walker was only one scorecard deep into a field that had already compressed behind him.

The first published PDGA Live update showed Toby Mergen in second at 1-under with a 67, Josh Menne in third at even par with a 68 and Nathan Feldheim in fourth at 1-over with a 69. Collin Thompson sat fifth at 2-over with a 70, while Benjamin Callaway and Zack Finwall were tied for sixth at 3-over with 71. Stephen McCracken followed at 4-over, Myles Miller IV was ninth at 5-over, and Thomas Earhart and Brandon Brown were tied at 6-over with 74. Walker was the only player on the board in red numbers at that point, but the gap was still small enough to leave the door open for a chase pack that included several players with 1000-plus ratings.

That matters at a stop like Morton. The Greater Peoria Open is one of the stronger late-June A-Tiers on the schedule, and this year’s event drew 95 players for June 26-28. Dalton Sackett is serving as tournament director, with Chris Knott as assistant tournament director, and the MPO leaderboard was being tracked on PDGA Live from the Black Short layout. On a demanding setup like that, a clean first round can establish position, but it rarely settles the tournament quickly.

The course context makes Walker’s start more interesting. PDGA describes Northwood Black as a 10,500-foot par 68 built from the Gold course that became famous during the 2019 PDGA Pro World Championships, and says the greater Peoria area has more than 15 courses suitable for major events. That depth has helped the region support bigger fields, even as the Greater Peoria Open shifted between venues and divisions. The 2025 event in Pekin drew 114 players and was won in MPO by Adrian Chevalier at 7-under, while the 2023 edition in Morton drew 209 players as a B-Tier. Walker’s 65 gave him the headline position, but with Mergen, Menne, Feldheim and the rest stacked close behind, the real test was whether he could turn a promising opening into separation over the final two rounds.