Pagdanganan, Thai keep pace despite tough start at Dow Championship
MANILA, Philippines — Bianca Pagdanganan and Thailand’s Chanettee Wannasaen weathered a challenging start in the alternate-shot format, carding a two-over 72 to trail by five strokes at the start of the Dow Championship at the Midland Country Club in Michigan on Thursday (Friday Manila time).
A bogey on the 10th, where they teed off, foreshadowed a demanding day for the duo. After missing several birdie opportunities over the next six holes, they dropped another stroke on No. 17. While they managed to bounce back with a birdie on the first hole, they couldn't sustain the momentum, ultimately closing their round with a final miscue on the eighth for a 37-35 card on the par-70 layout.
Despite its length, the course proved formidable. Only 15 pairs managed under-par scores, led by the trios of Camille Boyd-Michelle Zhang, Nicole Estrup-Gemma Dryburgh, and Gurleen Kaur-Hira Naveed, who all carded 67s. They hold a slim one-stroke lead over nine chasing pairs in the LPGA Tour’s lone team championship.
Even World No. 1 Nelly Korda, fresh off winning the year's first two majors, including the US Women’s Open, struggled to find her usual rhythm in the foursomes format. Teaming up with Olivia Cowan, Korda settled for a two-birdie, two-bogey 70, leaving them in a share of 16th but just three shots off the lead.
Scoring is expected to heat up as the tournament shifts from foursomes to the more aggressive four-ball (best-ball) format, allowing players to leverage their individual strengths for the second round of the $3.30-million championship.
The big-hitting Pagdanganan, whose campaign is backed by ICTSI, is primed to attack the front nine on Friday, aiming to dominate the par-5s and pick up birdies on the shorter par-4s.
Meanwhile, Wannasaen looks to provide a steady anchoring presence, ready to step up with clutch plays on holes where her Filipina partner might falter.
Over at the Medalist Golf Club, also in Michigan, Dottie Ardina leads a strong Filipina contingent at the FireKeepers Casino Hotel Championship. The Olympian kicks off her bid in the 54-hole Epson Tour event alongside Carla Tejedo Mulet and Lauren Clark.
Four other Filipinas are also locked in for strong starts, including Pauline del Rosario, who will square off against Jenny Coleman and Christin Eisenbeiss; Sam Bruce, who takes on Paula Miranda and Kathleen Scavo; Tomi Arejola, who battles Yi Tsen Chou and Ssu-Chia Cheng, and Clariss Guce, who trades shots with Yu-Sang Hou and Becca Huffer.
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