IN one of her best performances in months, Bianca Pagdanganan fired a scorching seven-under 64 to wind up in a four-way tie for third at the close of the Walmart Arkansas Championship yesterday (Sunday in the US) at the Pinnacle Country Club in Rogers, Arkansas.
Coming up with a remarkable putting performance, Pagdanganan offset bogeys on holes Nos. 2 and 12 with two eagles on Nos. 10 and 18 plus five birdies to tame the par-71, 6,438-yard course and bag a whopping $112,775 (around P6.4 million) for her biggest prize so far on the LPGA tour.
The long-hitting 2019 Southeast Asian Games double gold medalist finished the 54-hole tournament with a tally of 198, just four shots behind South Korean rookie Hae Ran Ryu, who emerged a wire-to-wire winner with a final round score of 66.
Ryu, 22, emerged with a three-shot win over Swede Linnea Strom (64-197), pocketing the grand prize of $345,000 (P19.5 million).
Former Philippine amateur champion Dottie Ardina wasn’t too shabby either, checking in with a 67-101 to share 10th place with seven others and earning $37,933 (P2.1 million).
Pagdanganan was accurate on her drives anew, hitting 11 of 13 fairways, 14 of 18 greens and completed her round with just 26 putts.
Both former national team standouts hope to sustain their strong performance in the next stop of the tour, the Ascendant LPGA Benefiting Volunteers of America Championship scheduled Oct. 5 to 8 at Old American Golf Club at The Colony, Texas.
