Ardina makes cut with 73

MANILA, Philippines — A fine start and a gutsy windup saved what could’ve been another disastrous stint for Dottie Ardina, who banked on her solid putting to salvage a 73 and barely make the cut in the British Women’s Open in Scotland Friday.

Swede Dani Holmqvist fired a 70 in another punishing day at Royal Troon when howling winds and rains made the conditions rougher and tougher, turning the second round of the $4.5 million event into a virtual survival of the fittest.

No player could best typify the day-long struggle on the links course made more daunting by its unreceptive surface than American Amy Olson, impressive with a lead-grabbing 67 Thursday but flopped with a birdie-less 81 to tumble to joint 33rd at 148.

She safely made the cut pegged at 151, the output put in by the ICTSI-backed Ardina, who fought back from a wobbly opening 78 with a two-over card to advance in her second major championship after finishing tied at 62nd in last year’s US Open. She missed the cut in the PGA Championship, also last year.

Holmqvist pooled a 141 to seize control.

From joint 107th, Ardina worked her way back despite a late start, birdying the opening hole for the second straight day then gaining another stroke on No. 3 to join a slew of players scrambling their way for spots in the last two rounds at joint 40th.