Pagdanganan slips with 75 as four share Lotte lead

MANILA, Philippines — What started as a promising performance quickly unraveled for Bianca Pagdanganan, who went from near the top of the leaderboard to a tie for 28th after a tough second round in the Lotte Championship in Hawaii on Thursday (Friday Manila time).

A birdie-less round left her with a disappointing 75, a stark contrast to her opening performance that had initially placed her in joint second on a 67.

A. Lim Kim managed to keep her footing, scoring a gritty 69 to join Nataliya Guseva and Yuri Yoshida, who matched 67s, and Ruixin Liu, who shot a 68, at the top. These three golfers charged back with impressive rounds, forcing a four-way tie at nine-under 135.

Ryann O’Toole remains close behind, just one stroke off the leaders at 136, while Auston Kim trails by another shot at 137, thanks to a pair of 66s.

The ICTSI-backed Pagdanganan, who had opened with a promising five-under par fueled by birdies on Hoakalei Country Club’s longest holes, struggled to maintain her momentum in challenging conditions.

After bogeys on the par-3 12th, par-5 18th, and the second hole, she completed the round with a 38-37, dropping her seven strokes behind the leaders.

Clariss Guce also encountered setbacks, slipping down the standings after a 72. She now sits in joint 21st at 141. The two-time Epson Tour winner had a mixed bag of three birdies, one bogey and a double bogey.

Dottie Ardina had a more difficult day, battling back in the first round with a 70 but losing ground after a second-round 77. A back-nine 41 sealed her fate as she missed the cut by two strokes, finishing with a total of 147.

Despite her struggles, Pagdanganan's driving remained a standout, as she averaged a powerful 289 yards and hit all but two fairways. However, her approach shots let her down, with 10 missed greens in regulation.

On the putting green, she managed to limit the damage with just 28 putts.

Guce, meanwhile, hit nine fairways and reached 13 greens in regulation, requiring 29 putts to complete her round while Ardina also showed steadiness off the tee, missing just three fairways, but she wrestled with her iron play, missing eight greens and needing 32 putts to get through her round.