Ardina takes charge with 66

With her mom back on the bag after a brief scare Wednesday, Dottie Ardina is back in her mean form, firing a bogey-free five-under 66 and seizing a one-stroke lead over American Annie Park and five others at the start of the W.B. Mason Championship at the Thorny Lea Golf Club in Brockton, Massachuesetts Friday.

Enjoying top form the last two months with a new putting stroke, Ardina outplayed flightmates Amy Meier (70) and Natalie Sheary (75) with a fiery start of four birdies in the first seven holes, sparked by back-to-back birdie opening feat though the ace from Laguna, Philippines slowed down a bit at the back with just one birdie for a 32-34 card at the par-71 layout.

That proved enough to put her on top, though unlike in the Toyota Danielle Downey Classic in New York last month, where she wound up tied for 10th after showing the way in the opening round, Ardina hopes to sustain her form and complete a wire-to-wire breakthrough win on the Symetra Tour,

“I really want to win because I am 20th on the money list (Volvik Race for the Card) and we only have six more events after this and I really want to be in the top 10,” said Ardina. “I don’t want to have to go to Q-School and I want to play the LPGA Tour next year.”

The 21-year-old ace shotmaker actually had a scare Wednesday when her mom, who carries the bag for her, complained of difficulty in breathing, forcing her to rush her mom to the hospital.

“I’m just happy my mom is OK,” said Ardina, who also birdied Nos. 5 and 7 from close range and rolled in a long birdie putt on the 15th.

“I’m very happy, I really hit the ball well today (Friday),” said Ardina, who hit 15 of 18 greens in regulation. “Everything was perfect.”

But she needs to stay in shape the next two days as a slew of rivals are out to foil her breakthrough bid in the $110,000 event, including Park, who matched Ardina’s bogey-less round with a 67, the same output put in by Megan McChrystal, who banged in seven birdies against three bogeys, Heather Bowie, who birdied two of the last four, Daniela Iacobelli, who missed grabbing a share of the lead with bogey on the 17th, and Mexian Margarita Ramos, who birdied two of the last three holes.

Vicky Hurst, also of the US, actually had held the lead with a six-under card after 16 holes but the veteran campaigner and a former Solheim Cup member bogeyed two of her last three holes to drop to joint second.

Midway through the season, Ardina overhauled her putting and the results have been impressive. She has finished inside the top 25 in five consecutive events. She finished in the top 25 only twice in her first nine starts.

“The last two months have been really good since I changed my putting,” said Ardina, who used just 28 putts. “My game is at its peak right now.”

The stretch of strong play started in South Bend at the Four Winds Invitational in June when she finished in a tie for second. Ardina held a three shot lead heading into the final round.

Ardina is bidding to become just the second player from the Philippines to win on the Symetra Tour after Lynda Jensen, who won once in 1985 and twice in 1988.