Ardina still 6 off despite late birdie-eagle feat

MANILA, Philippines — Dottie Ardina checked a rollercoaster round with a late birdie-eagle feat as she carded a 70 but remained six strokes off the pace after two rounds of the IOA Championship in Beaumont, California Saturday.

Germany’s Sophie Hausmann came away with a solid 67 to close in on a successful title-retention drive but four others tied her at eight-under 136, setting the stage for a wild finish in the $200,000 event serving as the second leg of the Epson Tour where the top 10 after the 13-stage series will earn LPGA Tour cards for 2023.

Swede Dani Holmqvist matched Hausmann’s output for the second straight day, Italy’s Roberta Liti put in a second 68, Nishtha Madan of India carded a 69 and American Dorsey Addicks fired a 71 to make it a crowded leaderboard.

A stroke behind at 137 is Milagros Chaves of Paraguay, who turned in a 69, while Linnea Strom, also of Sweden, and Lucy Li and fellow Americans Natalie Srinivasan and Allie White all pooled 138s after a 67, 68 and two 70s, respectively.

Ardina, an LPGA cardholder toughening up in the world’s premier ladies circuit’s farm league, bucked another shaky stint off the mount that saw her hit just seven fairways on an increased 270-yard driving norm by reaching regulation 15 times.

She also flubbed a couple of putts and finished with 32 but her birdie-eagle roll on the par-3 No. 15 and par-5 16th, respectively, saved her a 36-34 and a spot at joint 27th at 142.

The ICTSI-backed ace is seeking to better her tied for 25th place effort in the Carlisle Arizona Classic in preparation for her LPGA stint in the LOTTE Championship in Hawaii on April 13-16.

Fil-Am Clariss Guce, however, missed the cut pegged at 145 as she failed to rebound strong from an opening 79 with a 72 on a five-birdie, five-bogey game for a 151.

Pauline del Rosario birdied three of the first five holes in an attempt to at least redeem herself from a career-worst 82 in the first round. But she lost her momentum and bogeyed Nos. 9 and 10, recovered a stroke on No. 12 but fumbled with another bogey on No. 15 against a birdie on the next to finish with a 70 and a 152.

First day leader Nuria Iturrioz of Spain, meantime, turned from awesome to awful as she skied to a 77 after an opening 66, tumbling from the top to a share of 38th with a 143.

Over in the LPGA, Dane Nanna Madsen fire a 69 and built a three-stroke lead over Korean Na Rin An after 54 holes of the JTBC Classic at the Aviara Golf Club in Carlsbad, also in California Saturday.

Madsen birdied three of the first six holes then overcame a bogey-double bogey mishap from No. 7 with three birdies in the last 10 holes as she saved a 69 for a 202 and moved 18 holes away from scoring a follow-up to her victory in the Honda LPGA Thailand three weeks ago.

Na hit a pitch-in eagle on the par-4 16th then birdied the par-5 next but holed out with a triple-bogey 7 on the 18th and missed, forcing a tie with a 69 and a 205.

World No. 1 Jin Young, who took charge with a 65 in the first round, failed to rebound from a second round 71 that ended 16 consecutive rounds in the 60s as she wound up with a 70 and slipped four strokes off the pace with a 206 in a tie with Thai Pajaree Anannarukarn and Canada’s Maude-Aimee Leblanc, who carded a 69 and 70, respectively.