IN a heartbreaking ending after two superb rounds, Dottie Ardina collapsed with a 75 yesterday (Sunday in the US) to plummet into a 14-way tie for 44th at the close of the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship at the Pinnacle Country Club in Rogers, Arkansas.
Just a shot behind the leader entering the third and final round, Ardina bogged down as early as the front nine with three bogeys on holes Nos. 5, 4 and 6, adding two more on Nos. 10 and 13, before compounding her miseries with a double bogey on the next hole of the par-71, 6,438-yard layout.
The Paris Olympic Games veteran’s only birdie was on No. 14 as she finished with a 54-hole tally of 207, worth $11,004 (around P615,910), her search for her first US LPGA tour triumph in 11 years remaining elusive.
Thailand’s Jasmine Suwannapura won a playoff duel with youthful American pro Lucy Li with an eagle on the second extra hole. They finished tied at 196 with sizzling final-round scores of 61 and 60, respectively.
