Pagdanganan ties for 49th as Kupcho takes crown in sudden death

MANILA, Philippines – Bianca Pagdanganan ended up tied at 49th despite breaking par with a 70. Meanwhile, Jennifer Kupcho endured a pressure-packed duel with Nelly Korda in regulation and bucked a flubbed two-foot eagle putt on the first playoff hole as she edged the defending champion and Leona Maquire to snare the Meijer LPGA Classic crown in Belmont, Michigan Sunday (Monday, Manila time).

Kupcho battled back from a double bogey and a bogey in the first six holes with an eagle on No. 8 and three birdies then survived a late-hole mishap on No. 16 with back-to-back gutsy pars to card a 71 as Korda, who stormed upfront with a 66 in the third round, forced a tie at 270 with a birdie on the 72nd hole.

Maguire rallied from out of nowhere as she posted the first 18-under total with four backside birdies for a 65. But the Irish ace missed a three-foot birdie putt on the second extra hole, enabling Kupcho to clinch the win, three months after scoring a major breakthrough in the Chevron Championship at Rancho Mirage, California.

Multi-titled Lydia Ko also birdied the last hole but missed joining the playoff with a 271 after a solid 68.

Pagdanganan, meanwhile, bounced back from a bogey on the first hole with four birdies in the next 13 but failed to clear the closing par-5 and finished with a bogey for a 34-36.

On a whopping 299-yard driving average, the ICTSI-backed shotmaker hit nine fairways but groped on her way to the greens, reaching just 10 in regulation but more than made up for the struggle by finishing with 26 putts.

Counting her big opening 67 and back-to-back 72s, she pooled a 281 total for a share of 49th with six others and pocketed $8,263 heading to this week’s third major championship, the Women’s PGA, firing off Thursday in Bethesda, Maryland.

Yuka Saso is also expected to spring back from back-to-back missed cut stints, along with fellow ICTSI teammate Dottie Ardina, who missed the Meijer cut by just one stroke.