By REY C. LACHICA
Bianca Pagdanganan fell short in her comeback bid, settling for a two-under 70 to finish third in the Drive On Championship won by American Ally McDonald Sunday at Reynolds Lake Oconee in Georgia.
Pagdanganan birdied her last two holes for a four-day total of 14-under 274, two shots behind McDonald who carded a 69 for the day. Danielle Kang settle for second with a 273 total.
“It definitely got a little frustrating, but it’s okay,” said Pagdanganan. “I guess I could’ve made birdies on the par-5s but I only actually birdied the last.”
But finishing third was not at all bad.
Pagdanganan earned $83,557 (roughly P4 million) in just four days of work and nearly matched the $83,765 prize she won in finishing in joint ninth place finish in the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, one of the Tour’s majors, two weeks ago in Pennsylvania.
The rookie has now earned $186,266 (roughly P9 million) in six tournaments in the prestigious LPGA where she’s the driving distance leader.
For her feat, Pagdanganan is likely to improve in the world rankings. She is currently ranked No. 273.
The title win was a fitting gift for McDonald who celebrated her 28th birthday.
Scores:
272 – Ally McDonald 66-68-69-69
273 – Danielle Kang 65-70-70-68
274 – Bianca Pagdanganan (PHI) 68-67-69-70
275 – Mina Harigae 72-68-68-67, Carlota Ciganda (ESP) 73-65-68-69
277 – Ariya Jutanugarn (THA) 67-69-72-69, Katherine Kirk (AUS) 72-65-70-70
278 – Matilda Castren (FIN) 69-69-73-67, Lydia Ko (NZL) 71-70-68-69, Brittany Altomare 71-67-70-70
