Pagdanganan, Tabuena falter in tough moving rounds
MANILA, Philippines -- Moving day proved to be a harsh reality check for the Philippines' top golfing talent on Saturday (Sunday Manila time), as both Bianca Pagdanganan and Miguel Tabuena saw their campaigns derail by punishing course conditions and costly mistakes across two continents.
At the daunting, par-71 Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades, California, Pagdanganan’s aspirations for a breakout finish at the US Women’s Open all but evaporated. Looking to make a weekend surge, the power-hitting Filipina instead endured her toughest outing of the tournament, limping to a four-over 75 that severely damaged her standing in the world's premier golf championship.
Pagdanganan had entered the third round brimming with optimism. Despite a grinding 74 on Friday (Saturday Manila time), she had successfully made the cut and expressed confidence in her ability to decode Riviera’s notoriously tricky layout and match strides with the elite field.
Instead, the course dictated the terms.
After four straight pars, the slide began on the fifth with a costly bogey. While Pagdanganan temporarily steadied the ship with three consecutive pars, disaster struck on the par-4 ninth. Pagdanganan unraveled with a double-bogey, making the turn at over-over and facing a steep uphill battle.
The back nine offered little respite. Battling both the elements and her own inconsistent ball-striking, the ICTSI-backed shotmaker managed to string together a sequence of pars to halt the skid, only to hole out with a deflating bogey on the 18th for a 38-37 card.
With a three-day total of 219, Pagdanganan plummeted from a promising joint 37th down to a share of 53rd. She will now need to summon every ounce of her trademark driving power and short-game skill in the final round to salvage a respectable finish.
At stake is a slice of history and a massive, $12-million prize pool, where the champion will take home a record-breaking $2.5 million.
While Pagdanganan faltered, the tournament's heavyweights turned up the heat.
World No. 1 Nelly Korda delivered a championship-caliber finish, birdieing the final three holes to card a second straight 67 and grab a share of the lead at 207 with South Korea’s Sei Young Kim, who birdied the 17th to rescue a 68.
Just one stroke back at 208, In Gee Chun caught up with first-round leader Jennifer Kupcho after both matched rounds of 69. Meanwhile, Nasa Hataoka (69), Gaby Lopez (70) and Ruoning Yin (71) stood another shot behind at 209, setting the stage for a thrilling final-round shootout among the world’s best.
Meanwhile, across the Atlantic, Tabuena experienced a similarly frustrating Saturday at the Real Club Valderrama, enduring a wild performance at the LIV Golf Andalucia.
The Filipino ace, who had propelled himself into the middle of the pack with a big second-round 68, saw his momentum evaporate into a three-over-par 74. The setback caused him to tumble 12 spots down the leaderboard, dropping from 26th to a tie for 38th with a 218 total.
Making his ninth appearance in the lucrative breakaway circuit, Tabuena was unable to replicate the early fireworks that defined his Friday round, where he opened with four birdies in six holes. Instead, he started with four quiet pars before the wheels came off, dropping three consecutive strokes on holes 5, 6 and 7.
Though he temporarily stopped the bleeding by taking advantage of the par-5 11th with a birdie, a late bogey on the par-3 No. 15 cemented a disappointing day.
Tyrrell Hatton maintained his grip on the tournament, carding a fine 67 to reach 203 for a two-stroke cushion over Thomas Detry (205), while hometown favorite Sergio Garcia lurked in third place at 207 after a 68.
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