DESPITE her not so impressive performances in her last five tournaments, Bianca Pagdanganan maintained her No. 38 ranking in the International Golf Federation Olympic women’s qualifying ratings released last Tuesday.

Pagdanganan, who reached the third round and finished tied for 56th in the last T-Mobile Match Play presented by MGM Rewards in Las Vegas last weekend, was well within the top 60 golfers eligible to play in the Paris Olympic Games opening in July.
Should the 2019 Philippine Southeast Asian Games double gold medalist maintain or surpass her present standing by the June 24 cut-off date set by the world golf body, the power-hitting Filipina golfer is assured of a return trip to Olympics after making her debut in the Tokyo Games in 2021.
She shot a 72-hole total of 285 (69-71-71-74) to finish in a three-way tie for 43rd, 14 shots behind American gold medalist Nelly Korda, in her maiden Olympic outing at the par-72, 7,466-yard Kasumigaseki Country Club in Saitama located north on the outskirts of the Japanese capital.
Backed by ICTSI, Pagdanganan, 26, will be keen on firming her grip on an Olympic ticket as she returns to action in the Chevron Championships, the first of the US LPGA’s five majors this season, set from April 18 to 21 at the challenging par-72, 6,842-yard The Club at Carlton Woods in Woodlands, Texas.
At total pot of $5.1 million (roughly P286,719 will be at stake, with a mouth-watering $765,000 (P43 million) going to the champion after the four-day tournament on the layout designed by golf legend Jack Nicklaus.
Besides American defending champion Lilia Vu, who also won the British Women’s Open last year, a cluster of stars will also be vying in the tournament, bannered by world No. 1 and streaking Korda, who is gunning for her record-breaking fifth tour title after ruling the previous competition in Las Vegas.
Korda will lead 40 Tokyo Olympic veterans who are also competing in the prestigious championship, including Japanese silver medalist Mone Imani and Kiwi bronze medalist Lydia Ko.