Golf

Struggling Saso lands at 115th to start LPGA Drive On, Pagdanganan at 34th

Delfin Dioquino

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Struggling Saso lands at 115th to start LPGA Drive On, Pagdanganan at 34th

REVERSAL OF FORTUNE. Yuka Saso fails to sustain her momentum from her third-place finish in the Gainbridge LPGA.

LPGA Facebook page

Filipina-Japanese Yuka Saso fires three bogeys and a quadruple bogey on the back nine in the opening round of the LPGA Drive On Championship

MANILA, Philippines – Yuka Saso crashed hard at the start of the LPGA Drive On Championship as she wound up at joint 115th at the Crown Colony Golf and Country Club in Myers, Florida on Thursday, February 3 (Friday, February 4, Manila time).

In a stunning reversal of fortune, the Filipina-Japanese failed to sustain her momentum from her third-place finish in the recent Gainbridge LPGA after firing a dismal 5-over par 77 in the opening round of the third event of the season.

Saso enjoyed a bogey-free front nine but unraveled in the next seven holes, recording three bogeys and a quadruple bogey.

The reigning US Women’s Open champion needed eight shots to complete the par-4 16th hole.

It was an uncharacteristic performance for Saso, who finished the first two events of the season inside the top 10, including a sixth-place finish in the Tournament of Champions in January.

Meanwhile, Bianca Pagdanganan landed at joint 34th place with 16 other players after carding a 2-under par 70, five shots adrift of leaders Marina Alex of the United States and Nasa Hataoka of Japan.

Like Saso, Pagdanganan began the back nine with a bogey but she recovered quickly by tallying a birdie on the 12th hole and six straight pars to end the round.

Alex and Hataoka share the top spot with a 7-under par 65, while Thailand’s Patty Tavatanakit, Sweden’s Linnea Johansson, and Ireland’s Leona Maguire sit at joint third place with a 6-under par 66.

Six players are tied at sixth with a 5-under par 67 in the 54-hole event, including Canada’s Maude-Aimee Leblanc, England’s Bronte Law and Charley Hull, Sweden’s Madelene Sagstrom, Korea’s Jeongeun Lee6, and Germany’s Caroline Masson. – Rappler.com

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Delfin Dioquino

Delfin Dioquino dreamt of being a PBA player, but he did not have the skills to make it. So he pursued the next best thing to being an athlete – to write about them. He took up journalism at the University of Santo Tomas and joined Rappler as soon as he graduated in 2017.