Guce, Arejola spring surprise with strong 68s, but Pagdanganan falters
MANILA, Philippines — Clariss Guce and Tomi Arejola produced a pair of impressive 68s to emerge as the Philippines’ bright spots, while Bianca Pagdanganan stumbled badly in a day of torrid scoring at the start of the Dream First Bank Charity Classic Friday (Saturday Manila time) at Buffalo Dunes Golf Course in Garden City, Kansas.
Guce and Arejola, both eager to erase a string of underwhelming finishes, made an early statement with strong opening rounds that put them in joint 10th, just two shots off the pace and firmly in the championship mix in the 54-hole, $200,000 Epson Tour event.
Australian Jennifer Elliott and Malaysia’s Mirabel Ting shared the first-round lead at 66, with the scoring unusually low as 63 players broke par and another 24 matched the 72 mark.
For Guce and Arejola, however, the bigger story was how quickly they found themselves among the leaders — an encouraging development as both seek to rebound from a string of poor finishes on the Epson Tour.
A two-time Epson Tour winner, Guce shrugged off an early setback in her back-nine start, making bogey on No. 11 before unleashing a birdie-eagle burst from No. 13. She added three more birdies against a lone bogey over her final 10 holes, closing in style with back-to-back birdies from No. 7.
The US-based Filipina fashioned a 33-35 card, recovering from the early stumble with the kind of sustained charge that has put her in position to contend for another Epson Tour title.
Arejola was just as impressive.
Still searching for a finish to announce her arrival in a young Epson Tour career, Arejola immediately showed she could belong in the mix, knocking in birdies on three of her first six holes on the front nine.
She maintained her momentum on the back nine, trading two birdies against a bogey to likewise post a 33-35 and join Guce at 10th.
The twin 68s were particularly encouraging for the Filipinas, who have struggled to put together consistent results this season. Both now have 36 holes left to turn their strong starts into serious title bids.
Pauline del Rosario, meanwhile, had to settle for an even-par 72 after a disastrous start that saw her fumble with a double bogey on the par-5 No. 10.
She recovered with birdies on Nos. 14, 17 and 6 against a bogey on the first, salvaging her round but leaving herself on the projected cut line.
Dottie Ardina also failed to capitalize on a promising start.
The two-time Olympian opened with back-to-back birdies from No. 12 but sputtered coming home, making three straight bogeys from No. 5 to finish with a 73.
She ended the day in joint 88th and faces an uphill climb to make the final round.
Pagdanganan endured an even tougher day.
Coming off a confidence-boosting joint 15th-place finish in the Wildhorse Ladies Golf Classic in Oregon, the big-hitting ICTSI-backed ace was expected to challenge early. Instead, she found herself way down in joint 100th after a 74.
Pagdanganan opened with a birdie on No. 6 but gave the stroke back with a bogey on the par-3 eighth. She could not regain her footing, dropping additional shots on Nos. 11 and 16 while failing to convert several birdie chances.
Her 36-38 left her in a precarious position, and with the projected cut line already at even par, Pagdanganan will likely need a mid-60s round to give herself a realistic chance of advancing to the final round.
She will spearhead the Philippines’ campaign in the Asian Games alongside del Rosario and Rianne Malixi.
Over on the LPGA Tour, Yuka Saso’s search for form continued as the two-time US Women’s Open champion followed a 78 with a 77 for a 155 total and another missed cut.
It was Saso’s third missed cut in her last 19 tournaments and her 11th overall during that stretch. Her best result remains a joint 12th-place finish at the AIG Women’s Open last July.
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