BIANCA Pagdanganan of the Philippines battled back from a cold start to shoot an even-par 72 on Wednesday at the start of the 2024 Olympic Games' women's golf competition at Le Golf National in Paris.
The 26-year old LPGA campaigner struggling to a three-over card through 11 holes but somehow found her touch coming in, finding three birdies including an unlikely one at the last after being forced to take a penalty drop after her drive.
Pagdanganan is playing in her second Olympics.
That level-par effort placed the Filipina at 12th place in a tie with 11 others including defending champion Nelly Korda of the US - a good sign for a Philippine team in search of another medal to add to gymnast Carlos Yulo's two gold medals.
However, Pagdanganan still found herself with a lot of ground to make up as home bet Celine Boutier opened with a seven-under 65 - three shots up on South Africa's Ashleigh Buhai.
The other Philippine bet, Dottie Ardina, opened with a four-over 76 in a round marred by a double-bogey at the par-4 15th hole and a bogey at the last.
At joint 41st, Ardina is still in a much better position that Fil-Japanese Yuka Saso, who skied to a 77 in her opening round. The two-time US Women's Open winner represented the Philippines in the 2021 Olympics in Tokyo.
Get more of the latest sports news & updates on SPIN.ph
NOTICE ON UNAUTHORIZED AND UNLAWFUL USE, PUBLICATION, AND/OR DISSEMINATION OF SPIN.PH CONTENT: Please be notified that any unauthorized and unlawful use, publication, and/or dissemination of Spin.ph’s content and/or materials is a direct violation of its legal and exclusive rights to the same, and shall be subject to appropriate legal action/s.
