Ardina eyes payback in LPGA return

MANILA, Philippines — Dottie Ardina gears up for some kind of a payback as she draws the very player who foiled her Symetra Tour Order of Merit title bid a couple of years ago at the start of the LPGA Drive On Championship Friday (Saturday in Manila) in Toleda, Ohio.

The 54-hole event at Inverness Club marks LPGA’s return after a 166-day lull due to pandemic with the 136-player cast, led by world No. 2 Nelly Korda and No. 4 Danielle Kang of the US, all gunning for a strong start for the needed momentum in such a short event.

They include Ardina and Chinese Ruixin Liu, who won the final tournament of the Symetra Tour in 2018 and edged the Filipina ace, who posted a string of runner-up finishes to zero in on OOM crown, for the coveted plum.

The Canlubang pro settled for No. 2 but earned an LPGA Tour card to fulfill a lifelong dream of gaining full membership on the world’s premier ladies golf circuit. She, however, had a forgettable 2019 campaign and coupled with the pandemic that scrapped at least a dozen tournaments in this year’s LPGA, Ardina dropped to “reshuffle category” in the LPGA Players standings for regular members.

But she hopes to sustain the form that netted her a strong showing in Australia early in the season that saw her figure in three playoffs in the Australian Ladies Professional Golf, winning one in Ballarat Icons Pro-Am to claim the ClubCar Series trophy last March.

But Liu is coming into the event, with no pro-am and gallery, brimming with confidence following her victory in the Firekeepers Casino Hotel Championship of the Symetra Tour in Michigan last week, making her a top contender in the $1 million event, the first of back-to-back championships in Ohio, the other being the $2 million Marathon Classic in Sylvania on August 6-9.

The ICTSI-backed Ardina, 26, and Liu slug it out at 8:50 a.m. on No. 1 with Kristy McPherson, also of the US, although focus will be on Korda’s featured group with fellow American Lexi Thompson and Carlota Ciganda of Spain at 8 a.m. on No. 10.

Others in the cast are Aussie Minjee Lee, New Zealand's Lydia Ko, Swede Anna Nordqvist, American Jennifer Kupcho, Amy Yang of South Korea, Swiss Albane Valenzuela, Cheyenne Woods of the US, Jiwon Jeon of Korea, England's Bronte Law and Kristie Kerr of the US.