THE Philippines’ Bianca Pagdanganan shot a one-over 72 and jumped to joint 46th with one round left in the US Women’s Open on Sunday in Southern Pines, North Carolina.
The 24-year-old Ms. Pagdanganan birdied two of the last four holes to be at 4-over 217 through 54 holes and move 13 places up after barely making the Top 60 halfway cut.
Ms. Pagdanganan, the last Philippine ace standing following the early elimination of 2021 champion Yuka Saso and Dottie Ardina, stood 17 strokes off Australian leader Minjee Lee (67).
The Tokyo Olympics veteran Ms. Pagdanganan opened her round with a birdie on the first hole but encountered trouble and dropped shots in three of the next four holes.
Ms. Pagdanganan recovered a shot on No. 15 and canceled out a bogey on the 16th with a birdie on the final hole.
The power-hitting Pinay averaged 267 yards off the tee in the third round. She missed five fairways and seven greens and needed 30 putts to finish her 35-37 card.
Minjee Lee moved up the leaderboard with a 5-under-par 66 on Friday. — Olmin Leyba