BIANCA Pagdanganan soared to a Top 10 finish after firing a 4-under-par 68 in the final round of the Smoky Mountain Championship presented by Food City at Green Meadow Country Club on Saturday (US time).
Bianca stitched five birdies against a single bogey to claim her second Top 10 finish in the Epson Tour, the LPGA’s development league, where she has made 10 cuts out of 10 tournaments she played.
It was a strong finish for Pagdanganan who improved during each day of play, firing 70-69 in the first two rounds of the 54-hole event and finished tied at 9 under for the tournament that earned her $5,034.
Pauline del Rosario carded a 1-under-par 71 and tied for 29th place at 6 under, while Dottie Ardina had a final-round 70, a stroke back at 5 under to tie for 36th place.
Malaysian Mirabel Ting won the championship after beating Rachel Kuehn on the first hole of sudden death.
The two players were tied at regulation at 15 under 201 after matching 5-under-par 67s on the final round.
During the playoff, Ting’s tee shot hit a branch but luckily bounced to the fairway where she hit a 7-iron to within 3 feet from 155 yards. She made the birdie for the win.
Niemann keeps LIV Golf lead; Tabuena in 42nd spot
Miguel Tabuena fired a 2-over-par 73 and slightly improved his overall position after three rounds of LIV Golf New York on Saturday (Sunday in Manila).
Tabuena, who started the day in 47th place, is in a tie for 42nd heading into the final round at Trump National Bedminster.
He is 8 over for the tournament, 22 strokes behind Joaquin Nieman, who scored his worst round of the tournament, a 1-under-par 70, and is now just two shots ahead of Harold Varner III after starting the day five strokes in front.
Niemann is 14 under for the tournament
Lee Westwood is in solo third, four shots behind Niemann, at 10 under.
With the next player, Tom McKibbin far behind at just 7 under, it is expected to be a three-way contest among Niemann, Varner and Westwood for the New York title
Niemann is the most successful player in the league with nine wins.
PGA Tour: Hoey tumbles to 21st place after 1-over round
Rico Hoey can kiss his FedEx Cup playoff hopes goodbye.
Hoey, the only Filipino with a PGA Tour card, shot a third round 1-over-par 71 on a day when nearly half the field went low at the Wyndham Championship, the last event before the playoffs.
Hoey dropped from a tie for fourth place at the start of the day to a share of 21st with his 202 total, 8 under for the tournament.
He trails co-leaders Beau Hossler and Michael Brennan who both are 16 under after three rounds.
Hossler shot a 66 and is looking for a win to have a chance at making the playoffs, while Brennan had a 63.
The two are a shot ahead of of Scottish Open winner Tom Kim (63), and two shots clear of Alex Noren and Alex Smalley, who each shot 65.
With many players aiming for a shot at the playoffs, nine of the top 10 players on the leaderboard shot 66 or lower on Saturday.
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