Ardina qualifies for US Girls Am

MANILA, Philippines - Dottie Ardina carded a three over par 75 and clinched a berth in next month’s US Girls Junior Amateur Championship at Pinehurst, North Carolina.

Ardina, 16, stumbled with four bogeys but made one birdie for that 75 in the 18-hole qualifier at the Mira Vista Golf Club last week. She finished joint third with Gyeol Park of South Korea and safely made it to the top seven in a field of 56 for berths in the tournament proper.

The US Girls Juniors Am will be played July 19-24 at The Country Club of North Carolina in the Village of Pinehurst, NC with the top ICTSI golf scholar joining the other qualifiers from six other sectional elims.

Teammate Andie Unson, however, failed to make the grade, finishing with a 78 for joint 10th.

Ardina, who swept her two tournaments on the Future Collegians World Tour late last year, will be trying to become the first Filipino to win the annual championship featuring the world’s leading junior players since Fil-Am Dorothy Delasin won in 1996.

A record field of 1,005 will see action in the US Girls Juniors Championship, marking the first time the USGA has received more than 1,000 entries for the annual event.

Grace Na of Oakland topped the Mira Vista elims with a 72 with California’s Brenna Nelsen finishing second with a 74.