Pagdanganan rebounds

Bianca Pagdanganan gained 10 spots from joint 18th with a twounder 70 but stood too far behind Thai Atthaya Thitikul, who threatened to rip the field with a blistering seven-under 65 in the second round of the Asia Pacific Cup in Indonesia Friday, Dec. 22.

As Daniella Uy squandered a strong start of two birdies and faltered with 73 after a gutsy 72 Thursday, Pagdanganan mounted her charge with an early birdie-binge at the backside of the Pondok Indah course in Jakarta. She then rebounded from a string of mishaps with two birdies in the last eight holes to card a pair of 35s.

With a 143 aggregate, the Ictsibacked ace, who recently re-claimed her LPGA Tour card, joined Korean

Youmin Hwang, who fought back with a 68, Japan’s Nasa Hataoka and India’s Diksha Dagar, who matched 71s, and Aussie Robyn Choi, who carded a 72, at eighth place.

But they remained considerably behind Thitikul, who showcased exceptional shotmaking and putting skills to put in a five-under frontside card. She then closed out with three birdies against a bogey in the last seven holes for a 31-34 as she broke away from a four-way tie for the lead and zeroed in on the top purse of $100,000 with an 11-under 133 haul.

From a tight start, the 20-year-old two-time LPGA Tour winner pulled ahead by five over Korean Dayeon Lee, who shot a 70 for 138, with Thai amateur Eila Galitsky firing a 69 to grab solo third at 139 heading to the final round of the 54-hole championship staking a total purse of $550,000 in individual competition and $200,000 in team play.