Ardina cards 70, trails by 5

MANILA, Philippines — Dottie Ardina launched and closed out her first round campaign with a birdie and gunned down two more against a bogey in between for a three-under 70, five strokes behind the hot-starting duo of Haeji Kang of South Korea and Swede Madelene Sagstrom at the start of the ISPS Handa Vic Open in Victoria, Australia Thursday.

Ardina, whose victory in last week’s Ballarat Icons Pro-Am and a string of strong finishes netted her a huge 400-point lead heading to the final two events of the ALPG (Australian Ladies Professional Golf) series, birdied No. 10 of the 13th Beach Golf Links’ Creek course where she teed off, only to yield the stroke on the next. But the ace Filipina shotmaker broke a run of pars with birdies on Nos. 16 and 18 of the 36-37 layout to get back into the thick of things.

She, however, flubbed a couple of birdie chances at the front but drilled a long one on the ninth to complete a 35-35 round for joint 28th on a course that took a severe beating from the crack international field with 79 from the starting field of 143 breaking par.

Kang flashed a superb iron game and led the assault with eight birdies, spiked by a four-string feat from No. 13, while Sagstrom anchored her version of a 33-32 on four straight birdies from No. 7 with latter finishing with 27 putts, two better than the latter.

Taiwan’s Peiyun Chien also fired a 65 but at the par-72 Beach layout, the other course being used in the first event in the world that features the men and women clashing for equal prize money on the same course at the same time.

While the ICTSI-backed Ardina stood well inside the cutoff line of top 40 plus ties, Yuka Saso blew a solid backside start at the Beach layout with a cluster of bogeys, ending up with a two-over 74 and in danger of missing the weekend play of the AUD$3 million tournament.

The 2018 Asian Games gold medalist, one of the 13 invitees to the event and to next week’s Women’s Australian Open in Grange, actually birdied two of the first three holes at the back but bogeyed three of the next six.
She failed to toughen up at the front, mixing two bogeys against a birdie for another 37 for joint 108th. She, however, hopes to rebound strong at the Creek course.

Kang and Sagstrom, meantime, wrested a one-stroke lead over Linnea Strom, also of Sweden and American Haley Moore, who both shot 66s at Creek, while Klara Spikov of Czech Republic, Cheyenne Knight, Dana Finkelstein, Tiffany Joh and Christina Kim of the US and Thais Pornanong Phatlum and Pavarisa Yoktuan, Chinese Xiyu Lin and legend Laura Davies of England all carded 67s.