Bianca fires late birdie, makes cut
I hit a lot of greens but not close enough for makeable birdies
Bianca Pagdanganan made a late birdie to salvage a one-over par 72 and make it into the weekend of the Volunteers of America championship at the Old American Golf Club in The Colony, Texas Friday.
The 23-year-old rookie, who shot a 78 in the first round, finished 36 holes on eight-over par 150, right on the cut line.
Pagdanganan has so far made the cut in all seven appearances in the Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) Tour.
Unlike in the first round, playing conditions were ideal for low scoring, but the Southeast Asian Games champion had a bad day on the putting surface.
She missed only three fairways and four greens, but needed 34 putts to complete the round.
“It was tough today. I hit a lot of greens but not close enough for makeable birdies,” Pagdanganan said.
“I did kinda struggle with my irons and short game, too. Hoping for two good rounds for the weekend.”
Teeing off the in the back nine, Pagdanganan made back-to-back bogeys from the 15th hole, but birdied the par-5 17th to make the turn at one-over.
She three-putted from the fringe for bogey on 4 but recovered it with a birdie on 6, a par-5 hole. She finished with three straight pars.
Pagdanganan is 12 shots off the pace going into the final two rounds.
US teen rookie Yealimi Noh fired a five-under par 66 to grab a share of the lead with Jessica Korda and Anna Nordqvist.
The 19-year-old fired her second-best round of the year to stand on four-under 138 alongside compatriot Korda, who fired a second straight 69, and Sweden’s Nordqvist, who shot 68 at The Colony in suburban Dallas.
Noh, who started with a birdie on the back nine followed by her lone bogey at the par-3 11th, reeled off four birdies in a row starting at the par-5 17th and added another at the par-3 seventh to finish among the leaders.
“I feel really good about how I’m hitting it,” Noh said. “I hit a lot of greens today. I hit a lot close and made the putts so that was nice.”
Noh’s best LPGA finish was a runner-up effort at last year’s Portland Classic.
“Just having this round under my belt make me feel really nice,” Noh said. “It gives me a lot more confidence going into the weekend.”
I feel really good about how I’m hitting it.
Korda sandwiched birdies at the par-5 second and sixth holes around a bogey at the fourth and sank back-to-back birdies at the ninth and 10th before taking a bogey at the par-5 13th.
“It was tough,” Korda said. “Front-nine pins were gettable. Back nine pins it was defense all day.
“I’m happy with my ball striking. I don’t know what else I could have done, I really don’t. I just have to stick it out.”
Nordqvist opened with a birdie, added another on the eighth and began the back nine with a birdie as well. She also birdied the par-4 12th but closed with her lone bogey to miss out on sole possession of the lead.
“I played really solid out there,” Nordqvist said. “There were a lot of tough pin placements out there.”
American Lindsey Weaver was one stroke back in fourth on 139 with a pack on 140 including South Korea’s Park In-bee at 72-68 and Ko Jin-young, American Angela Stanford, Sweden’s Madelene Sagstrom and Thailand’s Pornanong Phatlum.