Saso, Ardina fail to mount charge as Ewing wrests control in Ohio

MANILA, Philippines — Yuka Saso and Dottie Ardina slipped off the leaderboard with shaky windups, stymieing their bids for strong finishes even as a new leader emerged in the third round of the Kroger Queen City Championship in Cincinnati, Ohio Saturday (Sunday, Manila time).

Saso, who scrambled with a 70 Friday (Saturday in Manila) to barely make the cut for the first time in a long while, rebounded from an early miscue with three birdies in a four-hole stretch from No. 4 but failed to survive a rollercoaster backside stint of two birdies against the same number of bogeys with another mishap on the closing par-4 18th.

Though her 34-37 card moved her from a share of 61st to joint 50th, the 2021 US Women’s Open champion lay 14 strokes behind Ally Ewing, who took control at 200 after a 67 marred by a bogey on No. 18 at Kenwood Country Club's Kendale course.

But the American’s 33-34 round that featured six birdies after 15 holes proved enough to shove her to the top of the pack although Mexico’s Maria Fassi also fired a 67 to stalk her at 201 and first round leader Xiyu Lin of China stayed in the hunt with a 70 for a 202.

Four others, however, pooled 204s to make it a crowded leaderboard, guaranteeing another fierce, wide-open battle for top honors in the inaugural $1.75 million championship. They include American Megan Khang and Thai Ariya Jutanugarn, who matched 69s, Aussie Sarah Kemp, who put in a 70, and Korean halfway leader Jeongeun Lee, who fumbled with a 73.

Ardina sparked hopes for a big weekend charge after shooting a solid 67 in the second round to jump from below the cutoff line to joint 45th. But the ICTSI-backed ace found the going a lot tougher in the pivotal round, ending up with a two-birdie, two-bogey card for a 72 and dropping to Saso’s group at two-under overall.

Ardina actually fought back from an opening-hole bogey with birdies on Nos. 6 and 12 but failed to add any, dropping another stroke instead on the tough par-4 17th for a pair of 36s.

She continued to impress off the mound, missing just two fairways on a restrained 246-yard driving norm — for just five mishits in three days. But she went out of regulation six times and wrestled with her putting for a 30-putt showing, six more than her splendid performance Friday (Saturday, Manila time).

In contrast, Saso powered up off the tee and posted a 293-yard average but missed four fairways. And like Ardina, she struggled on her way to the green, dumping her approach shots into the bunkers four times. She, however, saved all but one of them.