Pagdanganan flounders as Korda takes command with 2-eagle feat in Meijer LPGA Classic

MANILA, Philippines — Bianca Pagdanganan fell farther back with a second straight 72 even as Nelly Korda took charge with a two-eagle feat for a 65 and moved 18 holes away from keeping the Meijer LPGA Classic crown in Belmont, Michigan Saturday (Sunday, Manila time).

Pagdanganan struggled off the mound and to the green for the second straight day, missing seven fairways and seven greens and compounded her third-round woes with mediocre putting. 

She ended up with 30 putts for a 38-34 in a day when Korda made her move to wrest control in just her second tournament after a two-month hiatus.

The ICTSI-backed Pinay power hitter actually recovered big from a three-bogey, one-birdie card at the front of the Blythefield Country Club course, birdying the first two holes at the back then regaining a stroke from a mishap on No. 12 with another birdie on the 14th.

She, however, missed her chance on the closing par-5 hole which she birdied in the first two days, the first anchoring her impressive opening 67 that put her at joint seventh but an even par round in the second day dropped her to a share of 24th.

With a 211 total, Pagdanganan slipped to joint 41st with 16 others, including world No. 6 Japanese Nasa Hataoka, who carded a 71, and No. 9 Hyo Joo Kim of Korea, who rallied with a 69.

The long-hitting Korda, meanwhile, pressed her title-retention drive with a 66 she punctuated with eagles on Nos. 8 and 18 for a 198 as she drove past fellow American and erstwhile leader Jennifer Kupcho, who dropped to second at 199 with a 69 while Canadian world No. 8 and last week’s Carolina Golf Classic winner Brooke Henderson fired a 67 to seize solo third at 201.

World No. 7 Lexi Thompson, also of the US, likewise stayed in the hunt with a 68 for a 202, while Minjee Lee and Lydia Ko, the world Nos. 3 and 4, respectively, shared fifth place at 203 after a 66 and 65, respectively, guaranteeing a fierce final round battle for top honors in the $2.5 million championship.

Over on the Epson Tour, Fil-Am Clariss Guce stumbled with a 73 and wound up tied at 26th in the Ann Arbor’s Road to the LPGA ruled by first-time winner Kiira Riihijarvi of Finland in Michigan, also Saturday.

Guce, a two-time winner in the LPGA’s farm league, bounced back strong from a bogey on No. 2 and a double bogey on the fourth with three birdies in a five-hole stretch from No. 5. She went one-under with another birdie on the 14th but lost her rhythm and bogeyed two of the last four for a 36-37.

She finished with a 217.

Riihijarvi, meanwhile, sustained her big second round charge, battling back from a bogey on No. 2 with four birdies in the next eight holes, her 34-35 card proving more than enough to net a two-stroke victory over first round leader Pavarisa Yoktuan on a 10-under 206 total.

The Thai cracked under pressure and bogeyed three of her first 11 holes although she rebounded with two birdies to save a 73 for solo second at 208 while amateur Ashley Lau of the US shot a 68 to snatch third place at 210.