Saso, Ardina, Pagdanganan compete in Lotte Championship


Yuka Saso, Bianca Pagdanganan and Dottie Ardina are scheduled to see action in the Lotte Championship Wednesday (Thursday in Manila) at the Hoakalei Country Club in Oahu, Hawaii.

Photo by Carito Villaroman/Pilipinas Golf Tour Twitter page

Pagdanganan, a Tokyo Olympian, tees off at 7:22 a.m. along with Stephanie Kyriacou and Gemma Dryburgh, while Ardina opens her campaign at the back nine at 9:01 a.m. with Celine Herbin and Mariah Stackhouse.

Saso, the reigning US Women’s Open champion, meanwhile, tees off at 12:50 p.m. along with Inbee Park and Austin Ernst.

The 72-hole tournament, which has a 6,397 yardage, offers a total cash purse of $2 million.

Among those competing are Jennifer Kupcho, who recently won the Chevron Championship, defending champion Lydia Ko, two-time winner Brooke M. Henderson, and past winner Cristie Kerr, to name a few.

Saso has been in the hunt for a follow-up title since winning the US Women’s Open last year. The 20-year-old Fil-Japanese is coming off a share of 17th place finish at the Chevron Championship, slipping from No. 9 to 12 in the world rankings.

Pagdanganan last saw action at the JTBC Classic presented by Barbasol late last month where she missed the cut, while Ardina finished tied at 17th on her last tournament at the Casino Del Sol Golf Classic (Futures).