MORONG, Bataan – Bianca Pagdanganan got back at PK Kongkraphan in emphatic fashion, toppling the Thai ace with an eagle-spiked frontside assault then sustaining her charge at the back to fire a 67 and take a commanding six-shot lead over Ya-Chun Chang and Pakin Kawinpakorn after 36 holes of the Anvaya Cove Ladies International here yesterday.
An eagle on the par-4 No. 1 fueled Pagdanganan’s second round attack and she kept on firing and netting birdies the rest of the way while showing restraint to dominate the field, which succumbed in another wind-blown day when bogeys became the norm rather than the exception.
But as her rivals sputtered and hobbled in blustery conditions, the Filipina ace flourished, gunning down four birdies after a miscue on the par-5 No. 2 then rebounding from back-to-back mishaps from No. 12 with birdies on Nos. 15 and 18.
She surged ahead by three with a 33 at the turn and doubled it up at the finish with an eight-under 136 aggregate, including an opening round 69, for a whopping six-stroke bulge over Taiwan’s No. 1 and Kawinpakorn as Kongkraphan failed to recover from a costly double-bogey on No. 4 and limped with a 75 after a near-impeccable 68.
With a 143 total, the eight-year LPGA Tour veteran tumbled to fourth in a tie with compatriot Kultida Pramphun, who matched par 72, enabling Kawinpakorn, who fired a 70, and Chang, who carded a 72, to assume the challenger’s role at 142.
Thai Meechai Kusuma faltered with a 75 and slipped to sixth at 143, while Poruangrong Green also shot a 72 to tie compatriots Konsunthea Ornnicha and Jaengkit Chorphaka, who matched 73s for the second straight day, and Taiwanese Yi-Tsen Chou, who fumbled with a 76, at 146.
“I’m pretty satisfied with how I played today (yesterday). I got my goals – hit the fairways and greens. It’s important to keep the ball in play and I’m pretty sure I got it done for most part,” said Pagdanganan, who got going after her 9-iron approach shot from 142 yards on No. 1 hit the top of the edge and rolled into the cup.
“I thought it’s going to the bunker but it was a good shot and I got away with it,” she added.
All looked for a virtual repeat of the gripping first round skirmish when just three strokes separated seven players, including the fancied troika of Kongkraphan, Pagdanganan and Chang, in the $100,000 championship kicking off the 2023 Ladies Philippine Golf Tour and serving as the second leg of the LPGA of Taiwan Tour.
But things changed quickly and the breaks went Pagdanganan’s way, who bounced back strong from every miscue that spoke well of the character of the former SEA Games double gold medalist tracking the long road back to the LPGA.
“I made few errors but I kind of bounced back in the last four holes. It’s really important to stay patient out there with a lot of conditions – the winds and heat. It’s hard to stay in the moment,” stressed Pagdanganan, who moved 18 holes away from marking her first professional event in the country with a victory.
But it’s doubly tough for her pursuers to overhaul such a big lead in the last 18 holes.
