Team Philippines’ lady golfers got off to contrasting starts in the women’s individual stroke play competition in Paris.
Filipina golfers Dottie Ardina and Bianca Pagdanganan opened their Paris 2024 Olympics bids on contrasting notes against a loaded field in the opening round of women’s individual stroke play at Le Golf National.
Pagdanganan birdied three of the last six holes to offset three bogeys in the front nine to open with an even par 72 to fall into a tie for 13th place with 19 others, including world no. 1 Nelly Korda. The 26-year-old, appearing in her second straight Olympics, stumbled early with three bogeys over four holes to card a 39 on the front nine. But she battled back down the stretch, birdying the 12th, 15th and 18th holes to salvage par.
Ardina, on the other hand, struggled for consistency with a double bogey and four bogeys against only two birdies as she limped home with a four-over 76 and a tie for 40th place. Two early bogeys on the second and fifth holes pulled her down, and another bogey on the 13th added to her woes. She pulled one back with a birdie on the 14th, but a double bogey on the par-4 15th sent her further down the leaderboard. A birdie on the 16th was quickly negated by another bogey on the 18th, and she will need a huge effort on day two to get back into the thick of things.
Local bet Celine Boutier found herself the leader at the end of the first round after she torched the course with a seven-under 65, three clear of Ashleigh Buhai of South Africa.
Round 2 is on Thursday, with Pagdanganan teeing off at 3:11 p.m. Manila time and Ardina in the flight at 6:39 p.m.
Banner image from Bianca Pagdanganan on Instagram.
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