Last-hole mishap spoils Pagdanganan's surge; Guce in the mix

MANILA, Philippines — Bianca Pagdanganan threw everything into her game to produce a strong start and move into early contention in what shaped up to be a virtual sprint race at the ShopRite LPGA Classic in New Jersey on Friday (Saturday Manila time). But a disastrous triple-bogey on her final hole spoiled what could have been a remarkable opening round.

Riding a wave of momentum from a three-birdie run starting at No. 16 on Seaview’s Bay Course in Galloway, Pagdanganan appeared poised to join the frontrunners and put a string of lackluster Tour starts behind her.

After an early bogey on No. 2, she bounced back with birdies on Nos. 4 and 6, going four-under. But her momentum stalled with a bogey on the par-3 seventh, and she closed with a crushing 8 on the par-5 ninth.

With a contrasting 31-40 for a round of 71, the ICTSI-backed power hitter tumbled from joint 12th to a share of 65th, alongside Olympian Dottie Ardina, Brooke Henderson, Hinako Shibuno and world No. 1 Nelly Korda.

Despite the rough finish, Pagdanganan’s long game showed promise – hitting all but one fairway on a 295-yard average. Though she missed six greens, she compensated with 28 putts.

That left her eight strokes behind co-leaders Elizabeth Szokol of the US and Korean Jihee Lee, who matched sizzling 63s to take a two-shot lead over Japan’s Akie Iwai. Eight others posted 66s to crowd the leaderboard of the 54-hole championship.

While Pagdanganan faltered, Ardina finished strong, birdying her final two holes to card a 71 (34-37). After a bogey-birdie swing on her opening stretch, she recovered from a double-bogey on No. 2 and found red numbers again on Nos. 8 and 9.

Coming off a runner-up finish at the US Women’s Open, Korda had a subdued showing after bogeys on Nos. 10 and 13. She recovered slightly with birdies on Nos. 15 and 18 but rode a rollercoaster on the last nine holes to settle for an even-par 71.

World No. 2 Atthaya Thitikul, meanwhile, bounced back from a missed cut at the US Women’s Open, carding a 68 with five birdies and two bogeys to tie for 20th.

The Thai star impressed from tee-to-green, hitting 12 fairways and reaching all but one green in regulation, though she struggled on the greens, needing 34 putts.

Szokol opened her campaign in explosive fashion, birdying the first five holes en route to a 31-32 round. Not to be outdone, Lee birdied three straight from No. 4, closed her front nine with back-to-back birdies, and added another on No. 10.

A bogey on No. 13 briefly interrupted her rhythm before she birdied the final three holes to tie Szokol at the top.

Over in Michigan, Clariss Guce delivered a strong 68 to stay in early contention at the Firekeepers Casino Hotel Championship at Battle Creek Country Club.

She capitalized on both par-5s (Nos. 3 and 10) and added birdies on Nos. 13 and 16 to join a tie for sixth, just two strokes behind co-leaders Maddie Szeryk, Carley Cox Pruette, and Samantha Vodry, who opened with 66s.

Rachel Kuehn and Olivia Schmidt shot 67s, while Latanna Stone, Juliana Hung, Sarah Edwards, Britney Yada, Megan Schofill, Carla Mulet, Christine Wang and Tzu-Yi Ching joined Guce at 68.

Guce could’ve gone lower but was undone by shaky putting – she needed 32 putts despite hitting 13 fairways and 17 greens in regulation.

Pauline del Rosario birdied two of her last seven holes, and Sam Bruce capped her round with back-to-back birdies to post identical 72s – just right on the projected cut line. Tomi Arejola, however, struggled with four bogeys against two birdies for a 74.