Dottie makes cut on eagle-spiked 66

MANILA, Philippines - Facing the daunting task of shooting in the low 60s to make the 70-player cut, Dottie Ardina did just that and finished in style, gunning down an eagle on the final hole to fire a six-under 66 and safely make it to the final round of the LPGA Tour’s Final Qualifying Tournament in Daytona Beach, Florida Saturday.

In joint 77th after a woeful third round 75 at the tough Hills Course Friday, Ardina birdied two of the first four holes at the Jones layout, dropped a stroke on the sixth but sizzled at the back with three birdies before capping her sterling fightback with a 3 on the par-5 18th.

That sent her all the way up to 27th at 286, way behind topnotcher Jaye Green’s 67-263 but well within target of a top 20 finish in the last 18 holes of the grueling 90-hole eliminations.

Ardina was just two strokes behind joint 18th players Sophia Sheridan, Reilley Rankin, Lisa Ferrero and Megan McChrystal heading to the last 18 holes to be played at Jones Course, where scoring is expected to be low.

The top 70 plus ties from among the starting field of 154 advanced to the final round with Ardina and company all assured of spots in the Symetra Tour.

But Ardina’s ultimate goal is to finish among the top 20 in Sunday’s final round as she tries to become the next Filipina after Jennifer Rosales to gain a card for next year’s LPGA Tour.

Frances Bondad, who once donned the national colors and now playing for Australia, also made it to the final stage with a 289 after a 70 for joint 52nd although she will have a lot of catching up to do to contend for one of the top 20 berths.

Thai ace Pinrath Loomboonruang, Ardina’s chief rival during their amateur days, opened with an impressive 68 in the first round but faltered with 74, 73 and 75 and barely made it to the final round at 56th with a 290.

Korean Mi Rim Lee remained in second with a 272, nine shots off Green, while Tiffany Joh shot a 68 for third at 274.