Bianca Pagdanganan climbs to joint 6th, boosts bid for Olympic golf medal

MANILA, Philippines – Bianca Pagdanganan stayed in the medal mix through the second of four rounds in the Paris Olympics women’s golf competition as she improved to joint sixth at the Le Golf National on Thursday, August 8.

Once again shining on the back nine, Pagdanganan fired a 3-under 69 to climb seven spots after ending the first round with a par 72.

Garnering a 141 aggregate, Pagdanganan shared sixth place with five others, including France’s Celine Boutier and South Africa’s Ashleigh Buhai, who fell in the standings after going one-two in the opening round.

Pagdanganan shook off a shaky start that saw her record two bogeys in the first four holes as she ended the front nine with an even 36, then went on to sink three birdies in the last nine holes.

Dottie Ardina, meanwhile, remained at the bottom half of the 60-woman field despite improving four places to joint 36th.

Ardina shot a par 72 as she compensated for a double bogey at the second hole with birdies at 11th and 18th for a 4-over 148.

Japan’s Yuka Saso, who represented the Philippines in the Tokyo Games, struggled anew and dropped a spot to joint 47th.

Ranked No. 10 in the world, Saso needed seven strokes at the par-4 12th and finished the round with a 74 for a 151 aggregate.

From joint third, Switzerland’s Morgane Metraux propelled herself to the top with 136 following a stellar second round that saw her score 66.

China’s Yin Ruoning (137) and New Zealand’s Lydia Ko (139) improved to second and third, respectively, while Colombia’s Mariajo Uribe and Slovenia’s Pia Babnik ended up tied at fourth with 140.

Action resumes on Friday, August 9. – Rappler.com