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BIANCA PAGDANGANAN failed to win her first Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) title in her rookie year and settled for third place solo at the Drive On Championship-Reynolds Lake Oconee headed by American Ally McDonald on Sunday in Georgia.
The mighty Filipina birdied the final two holes for the second day in a row for a total of 70 and 274 under par at Great Waters Course in Greensboro.
McDonald dominated the tournament with a 272 outing that topped off with a 69 finish for a one-shot victory over World No. 5 Daniella Kang (68-273).
Pagdanganan pocketed $ 83,557 (P4 million), nearly matching the $ 83,765 he racked up for a joint ninth-place finish in the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, one of the biggest on the Tour, two weeks ago in Pennsylvania. He now has a profit of $ 186,266 in six tournaments.
Pagdanganan regretted the missed opportunity to go all the way as his short irons and wedges failed to click and he was unable to take advantage of the par 5 of the field as he did in the second round.
“It definitely got a little frustrating, but that’s okay,” said Pagdanganan, who birdied all four par-5s on Friday to get within one of the leaders. “I suppose I could have birdied the par 5s, but actually I only birdied the last one.”
But he emphasized that the other three opportunities weren’t necessarily possible, as they were between 25 and 30 feet apart.
“I should have taken advantage [of the par-5s] but I don’t want to punish myself for that either, “he added.
That allowed McDonald to beat Pagdanganan and Kang behind on a three-birdie run from No. 10.
Despite her struggle to knock down birdies, Pagdanganan remained on the hunt in a thriller of a final round so crowded that at least six players had a shot at the title.
Until McDonald birdied 16 to go 3 up on Kang, who came close to one with consecutive birdies from No. 13.
Pagdanganan, the Tour’s driving leader, normalized 293 yards from the tee, leaving McDonald and Kang by 30 to 35 yards based on their average driving distance. Although it went out of regulation five times, there wasn’t much concern about saving pairs for the International Container Terminal Services Inc. backed player.
“I really had a save pair, but the rest were almost bugs,” said Pagdanganan, who broke that game even with a 9-iron tee shot at No. 17 and shot out of the bunker at 18. both within one foot for birdies.
The title chase also heated up on a flight ahead when Mina Harigae, also from the USA, threatened two with a 33 forward but ran out of holes despite adding two more birdies to the rear for a solid 67. She tied for fourth at 275 with Spain’s Carlota Ciganda, who birdied three of the last four for a 69.
Ariya Jutanugarn of Thailand, a two-time major winner, charged off five attempts to one of McDonald’s with a birdie-birdie-par-eagle-birdie run from No. 3. But the former world No. 1 fell back with a double. -bogey in the ninth and canceled another birdie at No. 15 with a closing bogey for a 69 and a 277 for the sixth set with Australian Katherine Kirk, who loaded a 70.
From team ninth in a major event to third solo, things are looking up for Pagdanganan, whose Tour campaign is also backed by Skyflakes, Ping, Titleist, Footjoy and Swingdish.
“I hope so [getting closer to that first win], “she said.” But I still have parts of my game that I need to work on. “
Pagdanganan said she was satisfied with the way she handled the pressure by playing against seasoned activists.
“I really enjoyed being in contention this week. I had mixed feelings, but I like where my game is heading, “he said. “I haven’t hit the ball that well in a while, so there are still a lot of positives to take away this week.”
