By JONAS TERRADO
Dottie Ardina shot a 4-under 67 for a share of third place after the first round of the Shoprite LPGA Classic held Friday, June 10 (Saturday Philippine time) in Galloway, New Jersey.
The 28-year-old had five birdies, including the final hole, in a near-flawless performance at the Seaview Bay Course to trail leader Stephanie Kyriacou, a rookie from Australia, by two shots going into the final two rounds of the 54-hole event.
Ardina is tied with Canadian Brooke Henderson, South Korean Jin Young Koo and American Alex Marina.
She had back-to-back birdies on holes No. 2 and 3 followed by another on the par-5 ninth and on the 12th.
A bogey on No. 13 proved to be a minor damper for Ardina, who would go to par the next four holes before ending the day with a birdie on the 18th.
Meanwhile, Bianca Pagdangan is in danger of missing the cut after carding a 6-over 77.
Three double bogeys and a pair of bogeys put Pagdanganan in joint 131st, needing a big bounce-back effort to meet the projected cut line of even-par.
Pagdanganan is coming off a 68th place showing at the US Women’s Open.
