
Filipino golfer Bianca Pagdanganan had a roller coaster first round that saw her shoot a two-over par 74 in the first round of the Cambia Portland Classic Thursday (Friday, Sept. 17 in Manila) at The Oregon Golf Club in West Linn, Oregon.
Pagdanganan, who donned the national team colors in the last Tokyo Olympics alongside Filipino-Japanese Yuka Saso, mixed her round with five birdies and the same number of bogeys.
However, the 2018 Asian Games gold medalist and 2019 Southeast Asian (SEA) Games double gold medal winner also had a double bogey on the par-5 15.
The 23-year-old Pagdanganan was one-under for the tournament when she committed the double-bogey. Bogeys on 16 and 17 put her at three-over before she finished the opening round with birdie on 18.
Pagdanganan started strong when she birdied the first three holes, but bogeys on three of the next four holes – 4, 6 and 7 – put her back at even for the day. Her fourth birdie was on 10.
She is tied for 56th to 62nd places with Louise Ridderstrom of Sweden, Americans Alana Uriell, Katherine Perry-Hamski, Caroline Inglis and Ryan O’Toole, and A Lim Kim of South Korea.
The group is six shots behind co-leaders Gemma Dryburgh of Scotland, Spain’s Carlota Ciganda and Thailand’s Pajaree Anannarukarn all at four-under after each scored a 68.
On the other hand, Dottie Ardina, the other Filipino in the $1.4 million event, finished with a three-over 75 following six bogeys and just two birdies to show that came on 10 and 15.
The 27-year-old Ardina is tied for 63rd to 77th spots – right at the tournament’s projected cut line at three-over, making the second round crucial and exciting for the former national team member.