Juvic joint 3nd in Taiwan; Dottie 8 adrift in NZ

Juvic Pagunsan rebounded from backside struggle with six birdies in the last nine holes, finishing with a 68 for joint second, three strokes behind Thai Settee Prakongvech at the start of the Taiwan Masters at the Taiwan Golf and Country Club yesterday.

Pagunsan worked his way up with a sizzling fightback at the front, birdying the first two holes then rattling off four straight from No. 4 to wheel back into early contention. He had 30-38 card.

But Prakongvech turned in a solid eagle-spiked 65 to seize control with local bet Kao Teng and another Thai Danthai Boonma joining Pagunsan at second with a pair of 34s.

Malaysian Gavin Green shot a 67 late in the day to grab second place.

Tony Lascuña hit two eagles but had two bogeys for a 70 while Miguel Tabuena groped for form early and made a 74.

Over in Japan, Angelo Que carded a bogey-free 69 for joint 10th, three strokes behind Hyung Sung Kim and Koki Shiomi at the start of the TOP Cup Tokai Classic at the Miyoshi Country Club West Course in Aichi.

Kim and Shiomi each fired a 66 to post a onestroke lead over Junya Kameshiro, Shugo Imahira and Satoshi Kodaira.

In New Zealand, Dottie Ardina blew a three-under card after a seven as she fumbled with three bogeys and a double-bogey against one more birdie in the last 11 holes and hobbled with a 73 to fall eight shots behind England’s Jodi Shadoff and Canadian Brooke Henderson in the first round of the New Zealand Women’s Open at the Windross Farm course in Auckland.

Ardina looked headed for an explosive debut in New Zealand with birdies on Nos. 2, 3 and 6. But she bogeyed No. 8 then after birdying No. 11, she dropped two more shots on Nos. 12 and 17 that sandwiched her doublebogey on No. 15 to fall to joint 68th in the 132-player starting field.

Shadoff and Henderson paced the field with 65s.