Pagdanganan finishes at joint 41st; Yang claims first major title


At a glance

  • After a pair of 72 through the first two rounds, the 2020 Tokyo Olympian fizzled out at the challenging Sahalee Country Club course, posting a 74 on the third before faltering to her worst card in four days to finish with an eight-over 296 total.


Bianca Pagdanganan fell short of putting a strong end to her campaign in the KPMG Women’s Open Championship after a closing six-over par 78 to finish at joint 41st in Sammamish, Washington on Monday, June 24 (Manila time).

 

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Bianca Pagdanganan (File Photo)

 

After a pair of 72 through the first two rounds, the 2020 Tokyo Olympian fizzled out at the challenging Sahalee Country Club course, posting a 74 on the third before faltering to her worst card in four days to finish with an eight-over 296 total.

Hopes for a strong closeout were high for the 26-year-old Filipina after she had an eagle on the par-5 2nd to make up for a bogey in the 1st hole but completely collapsed with eight bogeys through the next 12 holes beginning on the par-4 3rd.

A string of pars and a birdie in her last four holes were not enough as Pagdanganan fell 16 places from her previous spot at 25th although she still pocketed $46,524 or roughly around P2.7 million for the finish.

Meanwhile, Amy Yang held on at the top spot to claim a three shot victory and bag her very first major title and a whopping $1,560,000 (P91 million) top prize.

The 34-year-old Korean carded a 72 that capped an impressive run where she posted a seven-under 281 total after a 70-68-71 through the earlier rounds.

She fired five birdies against two bogeys through her first 13 holes to keep her closest pursuers at bay and not even after a bogey and a double-bogey in her last five holes would deny her from the sweet victory.

Lilia Vu, Jin Young Ko, and Miyu Yamashita shared the second spot with identical totals of 284.

Two-time US Women’s Open champion and Fil-Japanese Yuka Saso, on the other hand, ended up at 68th after struggling anew to a 75 for a four-round total of 301. 

Saso continued to battle through inconsistencies, fumbling with a double-bogey on 8th after a pair of birdies against two bogeys on the front nine. Saso closed things out with a birdie against two bogeys on the back nine but enough to still earn her $21,189 (P1.2 million).