Bianca Pagdanganan, of the Philippines, hits her shot from the 3rd tee during the second round of the women’s golf event at the Paris Olympics 2024, Thursday, Aug. 8, 2024, at Le Golf National, in Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines, France. (AP Photo/Matt York)
Bianca Pagdanganan gave the Philippine medal machine some life after shooting a three-under-par 69 in the second round of the women’s golf competition on Thursday that catapulted the long-hitting Filipino into podium contention in the Paris Olympics at Le Golf National.
With first round leader Celine Boutier of France sputtering and world No. 1 Nelly Korda having a major hobble late in the back nine, Pagdanganan’s 141 aggregate put her within five shots of the lead now being held by Switzerland’s Morgane Metraux, who churned out an unbelievable front nine on the way to a 66.
Her performance comes as a whiff of fresh air for a PH delegation that saw medal hope EJ Obiena fall short and boxers Aira Villegas and Nesthy Petecio settle for bronzes after painful semifinal exits two nights ago.
READ: Bianca Pagdanganan fires 72 to stay in medal hunt for PH
Pagdanganan picked up a shot on the 14th and on the 15th and 18th for the second straight round as she quietly made her way into the heart of the fight like five others in her group with 36 holes remaining.
It was a performance that was quite similar to the way she played in the first round, where three back nine birdies salvaged a level par round on Wednesday.
Pagdanganan has now dropped just two shots in her last 27 holes, something that obviously augurs well as she chases the country’s first golf medal in the Games.
Boosted by an Olympic record 28 on her front nine, Metraux made her move along with China’s Ruoning Yin, who submitted a 67 to trail the Swiss by a shot, and New Zealand’s Lydia Ko, who settled for a 67 after holing out with her only bogey on the 18th.
READ: LIVE UPDATES: Team Philippines at Paris Olympics 2024 August 8
Boutier, meanwhile, got undone in a three-hole stretch in the back nine where she dropped five shots, finishing with a second round 76 that opened up the door for the field. Counting an opening 65 that had her threatening to break this 72-hole championship wide open, the hometown bet is in Pagdanganan’s group.
Korda’s misfortune was worse, as she surrendered five shots in two holes, including a quadruple bogey 7 on No. 16 where she found the water with her tee shot. The American three-putted the 17th for bogey before finishing with a birdie for a hard-earned 70 and 142.
New Zealand’s Lydia Ko was also having a hot round, working on a bogey-free six-under card through her first 14 holes with the getable 18th giving her a chance to maybe grab a share of the lead heading into the third round on Friday.
World No. 1 and defending gold medalist Nelly Korda of the United States was actually in a fifth place tie with Pagdanganan after eight holes of her second round.
Dottie Ardina, the second Filipino in the 60-strong field, is still competing as of posting.
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Two-time major champion Yuka Saso, who won her first US Women’s Open and then played in Tokyo 2020 as a Filipino, continued her downward spiral, shooting a 74 to be at 151 and way off the medal fight.
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