Bianca sets pace with solid 70; Ramos one down in men’s play

MANILA, Philippines — It took Bianca Pagdanganan quite awhile to settle down with her putting stroke but when she did, there was no stopping the Asian Games bronze medalist.

The Gonzaga U product was on target all day, hitting all but one green but it was not until she headed home at the front that she was able to find her touch, birdying three of the last five to fire a two-under 70 and wrest a one-stroke lead over Thai Kan Bunnabodee at the start of the golf competitions in the 30th Southeast Asian Games at Luisita Golf and Country Club in Tarlac yesterday.

Pressured to deliver early with Thai ace Atthaya Thitikul behind her group, Pagdanganan missed a couple of birdie chances at the back and dropped a stroke on the par-4 No. 15 but found her rhythm, range and feel in time and birdied the par-5 No. 5 and the next before banging another putt on the eighth.

“My ball striking was on point. I gave myself a lot of  opportunities to make birdies but I just made three. It could’ve been more,” said the former Philippine Ladies Open champion, who came into the event in top form, having hurdled the grueling four-stage LPGA Q-School.

“I think being able to hit 17 greens was really good for me. I was able to stay out of the rough where it was really tough,” she added. “Overall, I just got to work on my putting and roll in some more.”

Like Pagdanganan and the rest of the 17-player field chasing the women’s individual gold in the 54-hole tournament, Thitikul wavered, dropping two strokes on the par-5 12th and bogeying the next and No. 1.  But the reigning world No. 1 amateur failed to match the Filipina ace’s hot finish, making just one birdie for a 75, five shots behind.

Bunnabodee, however, kept Pagdanganan within sight, matching the Filipina ace’s fiery windup in hot conditions with birdies on Nos. 5, 7 and 8 for a 71.

Lois Kaye Go, who teamed up with Pagdanganan and gold medalist Yuka Saso in the Phl’s gold-medal romp in last year’s Asiad in Jakarta, actually set the pace with a gutsy backside 36. But the Cebuana find fumbled with four bogeys in a roller-coaster frontside stint that also featured three birdies, finishing with a 73 for fourth behind Malaysia’s Natasha Oon, who matched par 72 with a birdie on the ninth.

Abby Arevalo, the other Pinay in the fold, limped with a backside 40 and ended up with a 79 for joint 13th with two others in the 17-player field involving six nations.

Thitikul, also the first amateur to win a Ladies European Tour event in 2017 and winner of the inaugural Women’s Amateur Asia-Pacific Championship last year, failed to recover from a four-over card after 10 holes although she birdied No. 6 to salvage a 36-29 for joint seventh with Indonesia’s Ribka Vania with another Thai Pimnipa Panthong in joint fifth with Ida Ayu Putri, also of Indonesia, at 74.

Four players, meanwhile, forged ahead in men’s play with Thais David Boriboonsub and Nopparat Panichpol churning out identical four-under 68s to share the lead with Singapore’s James Leow and Hiroshi Tai.

But the Philippines’ Sean Ramos holed out with a birdie on the tough No. 18 to save a 69 and stay within striking distance of the leaders, guaranteeing a spirited battle for the gold in men’s individual play also set over 54 holes.

The three other Pinoys, however, will have a lot of catching up to do in the last 36 holes to figure in the medal race as Carl Corpuz, Aidric Chan and Luis Castro sputtered with identical 74s to lay six shots off the pace.

Thai Tanapat Pichaikool and Indonesia’s Almay Yagutah matched Ramos’ three-under card while Nicklaus Chiam of Singapore, Naraajie Ramadhanputra of Indonesia and Malaysia’s Rhaasrikanesh Kanavathi turned in similar 70s while three others shot 71s, including the Thai’s top bet, Vanchai Luangnitikul, who with Thitikul won the mixed team event gold in last year’s Youth Olympics in Argentina.