Pagdanganan falls short as Korda powers into joint lead

MANILA, Philippines — Bianca Pagdanganan’s bid to make the weekend rounds at the Mizuho Americas Open ended in heartbreak after another late-round stumble saw her miss the cut by a single stroke, even as world No. 1 Nelly Korda surged into a share of the lead halfway through the $3-million LPGA event in Jersey City, New Jersey on Friday (Saturday Manila time).

Pagdanganan, who opened with an impressive 70 at the Liberty National Golf Club, appeared poised to stay above the projected one-over-par cutline after navigating the back nine, the frontside of her game, with a steady even-par 36 under grey skies. She then reeled off four straight pars on the front side to remain on track.

However, disaster struck at the par-4 No. 5, where a costly double bogey pulled her below the line. She momentarily redeemed herself with a birdie on the par-5 sixth, only to falter again with a bogey on the par-5 eighth, ultimately settling for a two-over 74 and a 144 total.

The narrow miss left the ICTSI-backed shotmaker among several big-name casualties, including Brooke Henderson (71-144), Ingrid Lindblad (72-144), Ayaka Furue (73-144), Allisen Corpuz (71-145), Sei Young Kim (77-151), and even defending U.S. Women’s Open champion and fellow ICTSI stalwart Yuka Saso (78-156).

Saso, gearing up for her US Women’s Open title defense in three weeks, struggled to find any rhythm while grouped with the world’s top two players, Korda and Atthaya Thitikul.

She opened her second round with a brutal bogey-bogey-double bogey stretch from No. 10, and three straight bogeys from 14 to 16 compounded the slide. Though she clawed back with birdies on Nos. 18 and 2, another dropped shot on No. 5 capped a 42-36 card for a disappointing second straight over-par round.

In stark contrast, Korda once again proved why she’s the top-ranked player in the world. After consecutive bogeys on Nos. 17 and 18 negated early birdies on 11 and 14, she stormed back with a birdie blitz on Nos. 1, 5, 6 and 8 to card a four-under 68 and move into a share of the lead at eight-under 136.

Joining her at the top were Somi Lee of Korea and Andrea Lee, who fired rounds of 67 and 68, respectively. The trio holds a one-stroke edge over first-round leader Atthaya Thitikul, who struggled to replicate her flawless opening 64 and slipped back with a 73.

Thitikul is now tied at 137 with Stephanie Kyriacou (69), Jenny Bae (70), Carlota Ciganda (70), Julia Lopez Ramirez (70), and Celine Boutier (71) heading into what promises to be a thrilling weekend showdown.

Just a shot behind are Hira Naveed, Kristen Gillman, and Yealimi Noh at 138, while a tightly packed leaderboard sees another wave of contenders lurking within striking distance, setting the stage for a high-stakes moving day battle.