Ardina fights back as Saso salvages weekend play; Pagdanganan cut in Kroger Queen City Championship

MANILA, Philippines — Facing another early ouster on the LPGA Tour, Dottie Ardina slashed her way into the weekend play in scorching fashion, shooting a bogey-free five-under 67 for a share of 45th halfway through the Kroger Queen City Championship now paced by Korean Jeongeun Lee6 in Cincinnati, Ohio Friday (Saturday, Manila time).

Ardina kept her steady stint off the mound then endured a day-long struggle with her irons and wedges with exceptional putting, ending up with 24 putts to crash into the Top 61-plus ties cast in a big rebound to her failed bids in the Meijer LPGA Classic, Women’s PGA Championship and the Dow Great Lakes Bay Invitational.

Last year’s US Women’s Open champion and ICTSI teammate Yuka Saso barely made it to the final 36 holes of the inaugural $1.75 million championship at the short but challenging 6,515-yard Kenwood Country Club’s Kendale course as she carded a 70 for a 143, the cutoff score in the weather-delayed round.

But Bianca Pagdanganan, the best-placed Filipina after 18 holes and tied 64th with a 72, made another exit the way she did at Dow Great Lakes and Dana Open as she hobbled with a 75 marred by a double bogey and four bogeys against three birdies. She missed five fairways on a 290-yard driving clip. She went out of regulation seven times and her 32 putts led to a 38-37 for a 36-hole total of 147.

Saso hit all but three fairways but somewhat made up for her five missed greens, including one from the bunkers that led to a bogey, by coming through with 29 putts.

Staying in control with her long game that saw her miss just three fairways after 36 holes, Ardina continued to grapple with her iron game as she missed seven greens. But the diminutive but talented shotmaker made the most of her stint on Kendale’s tricky surface, finishing with 24 putts to anchor her solid 34-33 card.

The Cangolf pro, however, stood 11 strokes behind Lee6, who stormed past erstwhile frontrunner Xiyu Lin with a blistering bogey-less 63 for a 131, one shot ahead of the Chinese, who slowed down with a 68 after a 64 for a 132.

Ally Ewing of the US, on the other hand, fired a 64, highlighted by six straight birdies from No. 2, as she gained solo third at 133, setting the stage for a fiery chase in the last two days.

Mexico’s Maria Fassi and Aussie Sarah Kemp matched 134s after a 66 and 68, respectively, while Americans Megan Khang and Andrea Lee both shot 66s, Thai Ariya Jutanugarn put in a 67, Korean A Lim Kim shot a 68 and Japanese Nasa Hataoka turned in a 70 for joint sixth at 135s.