Dottie makes cut despite 5-over 78

I’ve been hitting the ball really well the past few months really so I’m just looking to keep doing that tomorrow and try to make some more putts

Dottie Ardina made the cut despite a five-over par 78 on Friday in the Mission Hills Resort Club Championship in Howey-In-The Hills, Florida.

The 26-year-old Ardina made only one birdie against six bogeys to sneak into the final round with a two-day, five-over par 151, just one stroke shy of the cut-off line.

She is in joint 50th in the company of Karolina Vickova, Michelle Piyapattra, Kristy McPherson, Meghan MacLaren and Janet Mao.

Despite hitting 11 of 14 fairways, Ardina missed eight greens and needed 32 putts.

I was hitting good shots all day, had a lot of good opportunities to make birdies and wasn’t really close to making a bogey.

Clariss Guce, the other Filipina in the field, failed to make the cut after shooting an 80 that included a triple bogey on 18.

Matilda Castren of Finland retained the lead after a second straight 68 and built a three-shot lead over Maddie Szeryk of Canada who also shot a 68.

Castren had a bogey-free round that included five birdies.

“I’ve been hitting the ball really well the past few months really so I’m just looking to keep doing that tomorrow and try to make some more putts,” said Castren.

“I just feel way more comfortable playing now. My first year and a half or two years, I was putting a lot of pressure on myself and I wasn’t really performing how I wanted so I wasn’t really enjoying it that much. I had to change my mindset, and last year I got my LPGA card. It was it was really a result of a lot of like mental work and also improvements and my golf game, too.”

Szeryk, on the other hand, collected seven birdies against two bogeys.

“It felt really good to put a good score together. I’ve been struggling but feeling like it was kind of close to it was nice to see it all come together,” said Szeryk.

“My putting was way better and that is something I have struggled with past couple of tournaments. My stroke felt really good today, I was matching the lines and the speed perfectly and had a couple others just on the edge.”

Linnea Johansson and Vicky Hurst were tied for third on five-under 141. Both shot similar 71s.

Castren, Szeryk and Johansson form the final threesome in the final round.

“I was hitting good shots all day, had a lot of good opportunities to make birdies and wasn’t really close to making a bogey. I didn’t really make a lot of putts today but I played very consistent so that was good,” Johansson said. “I’m just focused on my long-term goals and take one shot at a time and one round at a time. I have four events in a row, including this one, so I am just trying to make each and every round as good as I can and go as low as possible.”