Ardina falls to the brink with 74

MANILA, Philippines - Dottie Ardina floundered in her return stint to the tough Hills Course of LPGA International, hobbling with a two-over 74 and dropping below the cutoff line after three rounds of the LPGA Tour’s Final Qualifying Tournament in Daytona Beach, Florida Friday.

Bogeys in the last two holes dropped the ace Filipina shotmaker from joint 58th to a share of 77th with a 220 aggregate, one stroke below the current cutoff score of 219 for the top 70 players (plus ties) who will advance to the final round after the 72-hole elims.

Ardina, who also struggled with an opening 74 at the Hills layout Wednesday, bounced with a one-under 71 at the Jones Course Thursday and improved to joint 53rd. She looked headed for a big rebound at Hills when she birdied the opening hole. But she dropped strokes on Nos. 4 and 6 and bogeyed No. 11 to reel back.

A birdie on No. 13 put Ardina back again with the top 70 only to falter with back-to-back bogeys from No. 17.

She needs to shoot under par again in Saturday’s fourth round at Jones to remain in the hunt for the coveted Tour card for next year’s LPGA season.