Bianca sets up date with destiny
Filipino golfer trails leader by 1
Power-hitting Bianca Pagdanganan closed with back-to-back birdies for three-under par 69 and a date with destiny in the final round of the LPGA Drive On Championship in Greensboro, Georgia.
Playing in the final flight for the first time on Saturday, the 22-year-old rookie more than held up her own against a pair of seasoned rivals to stay just one shot behind American leader Ally McDonald and a stroke ahead of world No. 5 Danielle Kang.
She is 12-under through 54 holes and could win her first LPGA title playing alongside McDonald and Kang on Sunday.
“My irons are solid and probably the most solid I’ve hit in a while,” said the reigning Southeast Asian Games champion who will turn 23 next week.
Pagdanganan, who averaged 310 yards off the tee, briefly took the lead with a birdie on the par-5 second hole, reaching the green with a hybrid from 286 yards.
My irons are solid and probably the most solid I’ve hit in a while.
She missed the greens on 3 and 5 for bogeys, but did not drop a shot the rest of the way while making four birdies, including two from 20 feet out.
“I did miss around four makeable putts,” she rued. “It was a little frustrating not to be able to convert my birdies but at least I was able to give myself a lot of opportunities.”
Despite the missed short putts, Pagdanganan stayed unruffled and finally made her first birdie on the 17th hole after seven consecutive pars.
At the 17th, a par-3 measuring 157 yards over the water, Pagdanganan stuck a nine-iron within 15 feet while Kang and McDonald hit 7-irons for par and bogey, respectively.
At the par-5 finishing hole, Pagdanganan drove her tee shot 313 yards in the rough and had an eight-iron for her second shot to set up an easy birdie.
“Just stick to my game plan and take it shot by shot just like I have the past couple of rounds,” she said.
Carito Villaroman, Pagdanganan’s long-time coach, said her prized student has a very good chance of scoring a breakthrough win.
“She is hitting the ball very well. She just has to make those makeable putts,” he said.
Pagdanganan, who didn’t hit many drivers, missed only three fairways and reached 15 of 18 greens in regulation.
McDonald, hoping to win her first LPGA title, reeled off four birdies in five holes in the middle of her round to stand on 13-under 203 after 54 holes at Reynolds Lake Oconee.
“I played some really solid golf after I settled in,” McDonald said. “I’m excited with the position I’m in. Mentally I think I handled myself really well. Ready to take on tomorrow.”
Pagdanganan stood second on 204 with American Danielle Kang third on 205, Spain’s Carlota Ciganda fourth on 206 and Australian Katherine Kirk fifth on 207.
World number 62 McDonald’s best LPGA finishes have been two third-place showings, most recently at last year’s ShopRite Classic.
She hopes for a breakthrough on her 28th birthday Sunday at an event that was created to fill in a gap between US events after the LPGA’s usual Asian swing was wiped out by the coronavirus pandemic.
“I’m sitting on the lead. People are going to be coming for the lead,” McDonald said. “It’s not shying away from it. It’s embracing where I am and try to not be complacent and just go out and execute my game plan.
“I’m definitely in a more comfortable position knowing that what I have in me is enough. I don’t have to push and be more than I am. It’s just trusting what I know I can do.”
No spectators are allowed on the course but boaters on the lakeside layout honked horns for good shotmaking throughout the round.
Kang, who turned 28 on Tuesday, won the LPGA’s first two COVID-19 return events in August.
“I’ve got to play a little bit more aggressive,” Kang said. “Getting everything together and just firing from the start will be pretty key.”
Kang was to have been seeking a third consecutive LPGA crown in Shanghai this week before COVID-19 wiped out the event.
McDonald, who began the day with a one-stroke lead on Pagdanganan and Kang, opened with a bogey but bounced back with a birdie at the fifth.
“I never really got panicked after the first hole,” McDonald said. “If anything, might have calmed me just to get that out of the way. But I settled in and got very comfortable. I’m happy with what I did.”
She reeled off three birdies in a row starting at the par-3 eighth, strong iron shots setting up short birdie putts followed by a long effort from off the green at 10, to reach 13-under.
McDonald lipped out from the fringe on a birdie putt at 11 but birdied the par-5 12th to reach 14-under.
Kang’s tee shot at 16 soared right and out of bounds and she needed a 10-foot putt just to rescue double bogey.