Pagdanganan 3 shots off pace at FM Championship opener

MANILA, Philippines – Bianca Pagdanganan birdied the ninth hole to halt a potential slide, finishing with a one-under 71, just three strokes behind Marina Alex of the US after the opening round of the FM Championship at the TPC Boston in Norton, Massachusetts on Friday.

The big-hitting Filipina kicked off her campaign in the inaugural $3.8-million championship with consecutive birdies at Nos. 11 and 12, then rebounded from a bogey on the 14th hole with another birdie on the par-5 second.

However, Pagdanganan struggled with her iron play, recording bogeys on Nos. 3 and 6.

Despite the setbacks, she recovered with a birdie on No. 8, salvaging a 36-35 round at the challenging par-72 layout.

Only 29 players managed to break par, with Alex leading the pack with a four-under 68. She holds a one-shot advantage over fellow American Allisen Corpuz, Thailand’s Jeeno Thitikul, and six others. Seven players, including Megan Khang and Nasa Hataoka, carded 70s.

Pagdanganan’s final-hole birdie secured her a spot in a tie for 17th place, alongside 12 others, including former World No. 1 Jin Young Ko and Sei Young Kim, on a tightly packed leaderboard.

Dottie Ardina also hit a late birdie on No. 8 to post a 73, placing her in a tie for 45th. But two-time US Women’s Open champion Yuka Saso struggled, limping to a 76, leaving her in danger of missing the cut, tied for 99th.

Saso, aiming for redemption after a disappointing 54th place finish in the Paris Olympics where Pagdanganan and Ardina finished tied for fourth and 13th, respectively, was unable to recover from a double bogey-bogey mishap on No. 2.

She dropped additional strokes on Nos. 5 and 13, ending with a 39-37 round that included just one birdie.

Off the tee, Saso performed reasonably well, hitting 11 fairways and needing just 26 putts. However, her iron and wedge play faltered, resulting in 10 missed greens.

Pagdanganan also showed consistency with her driving, missing only two fairways. However, she found herself out of regulation six times and ended the day with 28 putts.

Ardina, on the other hand, struggled with her long game, hitting just eight fairways and missing nine greens in regulation. Despite this, she compensated with solid putting, needing only 26 putts.

Meanwhile, in Indiana, Pauline del Rosario, Clariss Guce, and Tomi Arejola are set to continue their campaigns on the Epson Tour at the Four Winds Invitational, which kicks off on Friday at the South Bend Country Club in South Bend.

Arejola will tee off at 9:17 a.m. on No. 10 alongside Julie Houston and Jennifer Rosenberg, while Guce and del Rosario have later starts at 2:07 p.m. and 2:40 p.m., respectively.

Guce, a two-time Epson Tour winner, will face Sarah White and Yue Zhang on No. 1, while del Rosario, whose campaign is backed by one of the world’s leading port operators, will play with Charlotte Heath and Siyun Liu, also starting on the first hole.