By Waylon Galvez
In what could be her best start so far, Bianca Pagdanganan fired a two-under 69 in the LPGA Marathon Classic at the Highlands Meadows Golf Club in Sylvannia, Ohio.
The 22-year-old Pagdanganan made four birdies but remained five shots off leaders – former world No. 1 Lydia Ko and Daniela Kang.
The other PH bets, Clariss Guce and Dottie Ardina, produced 71 and 72, respectively.
Pagdanganan, who ended up tied for 28th in the last the LPGA Drive On Championship, made birdies on 5, 9, 11 and the long par 5 17, but she bogeyed on 7 and 15.
A member of the Philippine women’s team that won the gold medal in the last Asian Games in Jakarta, Indonesia two years ago, and the reigning champion in the women’s individual Southeast Asian (SEA) Games, is tied for 28th with 13 other players.
On the other hand, Guce, who is based in California, is just at the cut-off mark with a matching par following three birdies and three bogeys, while Ardina needs to perform better in the second round than her opening 72 to advance in the last two rounds.
Kang of the US kept her steady form following a win in last week’s Drive On Championship as she buried seven birdies in a bogey-free first round, while Ko of New Zealand, who won the Marathon Classic in 2014 and 2016, had eight birdies but bogeyed on 8.
