Dottie Ardina sets up best finish in LPGA Tour

MANILA, Philippines — Dottie Ardina kept her steady rise to a dream finish, shooting a second straight five-under 67 and moving from a share of 20th to joint 13th as the Thornberry Creek LPGA Classic headed to a wild, wooly finale in Oneida, Wisconsin.

Former world No. 1 Shanshan Feng of China fired a 65, Tiffany Joh of the US carded another 66 and Thai Ariya Jutanugarn shot a 67 as the troika caught world No. 1 Sung Hyun Park, who slowed down with a 69, at the helm at 20-under 196 with one round left in the $2 million event.

So crowded is the leaderboard that qualifier Yealimi Noh, also of the US, stood just a stroke behind at 197 after a 69 and Korean Amy Yang and American Mina Harigae at 198 after a 64 and 68, respectively, guaranteeing a thrilling finish to what has been a four-day shootout at the Thornberry Creek course.

Despite laying six strokes behind at 202, Ardina remains hopeful of at least barging into the Top 10 or hopefully end up better with another strong performance in the last 18 holes.

After an opening 68 that put her in joint 32nd Thursday, the ace shotmaker from Canlubang sustained her form and turned in a second round 67 to earn a spot in the top 20 then bucked a bogey mishap on the first hole in the third round with four birdies in the last five to close out her frontside stint.

Though she dropped another stroke on the 11th, the diminutive but talented Ardina came through with another four-birdie binge in a five-hole stretch from No. 13 to further improve her ranking.

Her 14-under total in three days proved to be Ardina’s best as an LPGA full card holder and those under-par cards underscored the Filipina’s big fighting heart and spirit coming off a series of missed cut stints that could easily break one’s resolve in going up against the world’s best and rising players.