Pagdanganan powers way to early contention, shoots 68

MANILA, Philippines – Bianca Pagdanganan delivered a stellar performance in the Mizuho Americas Open, firing a 68 to tie for second place, just two strokes behind So Mi Lee in New Jersey Thursday (Friday Manila time).

Pagdanganan’s impressive round is one of her strongest starts on the LPGA Tour, especially after a series of mediocre performances marred by three missed cuts in her first eight events this season.

Kicking off her campaign in the $3-million championship at the backside of the Liberty National Golf Club, the ICTSI-backed Pagdanganan birdied Nos. 10 and 11, immediately putting herself in contention among the world’s elite players. She added birdies on Nos. 17 and 1, balancing out bogeys on the 16th and second holes.

A superb approach shot on No. 5 and a dominant performance on the par-5 ninth culminated in a pair of 34s at the par-72, 6,656-yard layout.

Noted for her immense power, Pagdanganan averaged 285 yards off the tee and hit 11 fairways. Despite struggling with her irons and wedges, which led to eight missed greens, she compensated with an outstanding 24-putt performance.

This enabled her to tie Mao Saigo, Gabriela Ruffels and Andrea Lee, all of whom shot four-under rounds in varied styles, as they trailed So Mi Lee, who sizzled with a 66, highlighted by eight birdies against two bogeys.

Several top players, however, are close behind, including world No. 3 Celine Boutier, who bucked two bogeys with five birdies to lead the 69 scorers, who included Patty Tavatanakit, Meghan Khang, Ashleigh Buhai, Minjee Lee, Linn Grant, Jenny Shin and last year’s runner-up Jennifer Kupcho.

Defending champion Rose Zhang withdrew after three holes at the back due to illness.

World No. 1 Nelly Korda shot a 70 on three birdies against a bogey as she tied for 18th with former No. 1 Jin Young Ko, Atthaya Thitikul and Ayaka Furue.

While Pagdanganan thrived, ICTSI teammate Yuka Saso, the 2021 US Women’s Open champion, endured a roller-coaster round. After a solid start of two birdies in the first six holes, she struggled, bogeying two of the next three holes and losing further strokes on Nos. 13, 14 and 16 after hitting two more birdies on Nos. 10 and 12.

She managed to birdie the 17th to save an even par 72 and tie for 41st alongside Danielle Kang, Sei Young Kim, Lexi Thompson, Carlota Ciganda and Lydia Ko.

Saso’s difficulties off the tee, hitting only 11 greens and needing 27 putts, placed her at tied 41st in the 118-player starting field.

In Utah, Clariss Guce birdied four of the first six holes but slowed down with two bogeys against another birdie over the next seven holes, settling for a 69 and a share of 15th after 18 holes of the Copper Rock Championship paced by Alena Sharp and Kaleigh Telfer in Hurricane, also Thursday.

Despite her blistering start, Guce struggled with consistency, missing seven fairways and failing to hit the green in regulation six times. However, she managed to finish with 27 putts, including a rescued par from the bunker, her 33-36 round left her five strokes behind Sharp and Tefler, who matched 64s to wrest a one-stroke lead over Daniela Iacobelli, who fired a bogey-free 65.

Ardina, who won this tournament in 2022 for her first Epson Tour victory, turned in a two-birdie, two-bogey card for a 72, placing her in a tie for 57th while ICTSI stablemate Abby Arevalo squandered a two-under card with a bogey-bogey-bogey windup at the front to drop to joint 68th with 73.

Pauline del Rosario also floundered in a backside finish, losing two strokes each on the 14th and 18th to end up with a 76 for a share of 107th, putting her at risk of missing the cut for the first time after successfully advancing in her first six tournaments on the LPGA Tour’s developmental circuit.