By Michael Angelo S. Murillo, Senior Reporter

FILIPINA golfers Dottie Ardina and Bianca Pagdanganan ended their respective campaigns at the LPGA Marathon Classic in Sylvania, Ohio, strong on Monday (Manila time).

Ms. Ardina carded a 4-under 67 on the final day of the tournament at the Highland Meadows Golf Club to finish at joint 20th place while Ms. Pagdanganan, playing in her second professional tournament, scored an even par 71 for joint 59th place.

Twenty-six-year-old Ardina, who turned professional in 2013, was steady throughout the tournament, improving her scores in each of the rounds.

She opened her campaign with a 1-over par 72 then improving on it in the second round with 1-under par 70. Ms. Ardina scored a 2-under par 69 in the third.

In the final round, Ms. Ardina had a bogey on the fifth hole but recovered on her way to her best output of the tournament for an overall total of 278, nine shots off champion Danielle Kang of the United States.

Ms. Ardina was joined in 20th place by Xiyu Lin of China, Stephanie Meadow of Northern Ireland, Jenny Shin of South Korea, and Peiyun Chien of Chinese-Taipei.

For her efforts in the just-concluded tournament, Ms. Ardina received $18,138.

FINDING HER FOOTING
Ms. Pagdanganan, meanwhile, continued to find her footing as a pro tour player at the LPGA Marathon Classic.

Her final round push in the tournament was hit by two double bogeys on the sixth and 16th holes, making it tougher for her to make up for lost ground after a rough third round where she had a score of six-over par 77 and fell to 62nd place.

Interestingly, Ms. Pagdanganan, who won gold medals for the Philippines in the 2018 Asian Games and 2019 Southeast Asian Games, started strong in the first two rounds, carding a 69 and 67 in the opening and second rounds, respectively, which saw her barge into the top 10.

Her second round 67 was punctuated by consecutive eagles on the 17th and 18 holes.

After four rounds, Ms. Pagdanganan had a total score of 284.

She is joined in 59th spot by Angel Yin, Cheyenne Woods and Amy Olson of the United States and In Gee Chun and Haeji Kang of South Korea. Ms. Pagdanganan received $4,125 for her efforts.

The LPGA Marathon Classic was the second tournament on the Tour by the University of Arizona graduate Pagdanganan.

She made her Tour debut at the LPGA Drive On Championship at Inverness last week where she finished at joint 28th place. Ms. Pagdanganan impressed in her debut, topping the tournament in average driving distance at 295.33.

Back in 2018 in the Asian Games in Indonesia, Ms. Pagdanganan teamed up with Yuka Saso and Lois Kay Go to win the gold in women’s team golf.

She then bagged another gold medal in individual golf for the country in last year’s SEA Games held here.

The LPGA moves to Scotland for the next two weeks with the Aberdeen Standard Investments Ladies Scottish Open (Aug. 13-16) and AIG Women’s Open (Aug. 20-23).

The Tour returns to the United States for the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship Presented by P&G (Aug. 28-30).

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