Ardina, Guce 3 shots adrift in Michigan tiff with 70s

MANILA, Philippines — Dottie Ardina carded a quiet but solid 70, which Clariss Guce matched in scrambling fashion as the two Filipinas trailed Chinese Xiaowen Yin and Ruoning Yin by three at the start of the Firekeepers Casino Hotel Championship at Battle Creek in Michigan Friday.

Pauline del Rosario actually posted an early two-under card with back-to-back birdies from No. 6 but bogeyed the par-5 ninth, dropped two strokes on the closing par-4 18th and wound up with a 73 instead.

In contention in the early going, Del Rosario now found herself fighting to at least salvage a spot in the last two rounds of the 54-hole championship as she dropped below the projected cutoff line at even par.

But the ICTSI-backed Ardina and Guce are well within their target with the former birdying No. 17 and then holing out with another feat on No. 9 to lead the two-under scorers at 22nd place. 

The Copper Rock Championship winner in Utah last April missed just two fairways and three greens but struggled on the tricky greens of Battle Creek with 31 putts.

Guce, a two-time Epson Tour winner, matched del Rosario early two-birdie roll after five holes but the US-based daughter of a former top Filipino jockey, bogeyed the seen. She actually gained a crack at the lead with bridies on Nos. 9 and 10, both par-5s, but missed another chance on the last long hole on No. 15 and, like Del Rosario, fumbled with a bogey on the last for a 34-36.

The Chinese pair, meanwhile, took charge with 67s with Xiaowen spiking her 34-33 card with three birdies in the last five holes and Ruoning anchoring her charge with four birdies in the last nine holes at the front.

But Americans Alexa Pano and Gina Kim, Thai Jaravee Boonchant and Daniela Darquea of Ecuador shot identical 68s while 15 others, led by Canada’s Alena Sharp, Aussie Grace Kim and Taiwanese Jessica Peng matched 69s to make it a crowded leaderboard in the $200,000 championship.