Green pulls abreast with Kim; Pagdanganan fades with 77

MANILA, Philippines -- Grace Kim survived a birdie-less round of 76 while fellow Australian Hannah Green charged into a share of the lead with an eagle-boosted 70 in the third round of the JM Eagle LA Championship at the Wilshire Country Club in California Saturday (Sunday Manila time).

Green rallied from a two-over frontside card with an impressive stretch of eagle-birdie-par-birdie from No. 13 to grab the solo lead at eight-under overall. But the one-time major winner conceded a stroke on No. 15 to finish with a one-under card.

Despite a challenging round marred by a double bogey on the par-3 No. 4 and three bogeys, Kim managed to regain a share of the lead with a five-over card, matching Green’s 54-hole total of seven-under 206.

That set the stage for an intense finale to the $3.75-million championship with Jin Hee Im, Esther Henseleit and Maja Stark all tied at 207s after posting scores of 63, 71 and 73, respectively. Nasa Hataoka also fueled her own title bid with a fiery 64 for a 208.

With Wei Ling Hsu, Jennifer Kupcho and Haeran Ryu all pooling 209 after 68, 70 and 71, respectively, the battle for the championship promises an exciting final 18 holes.

Im, however, looms as the darkhorse with the Korean hoping to sustain her brilliant eight-under card that featured six birdies in the last nine holes.

Way off the pace at tied 61st after 36 holes, Im worked her way into strong contention with birdies on Nos. 2 and 3. A bogey on No. 6 momentarily stalled her charge then she birdied the par-3 No. 7 to make the turn at 33. She then dominated the last nine holes with birdies on Nos. 10, 12, 13, 15, 16 and No. 18.

Meanwhile, Bianca Pagdanganan experienced a sharp decline from early contention to a struggle for survival as the Filipina shotmaker stumbled with a quadruple bogey on the par-4 No. 3, resulting in a five-over 77. From joint eighth in the first round to a share of 14th halfway through, the ICTSI-backed ace found herself down at joint 68th at 217.

Despite hitting 11 greens, Pagdanganan continued to grapple with her irons, missing 10 greens and finishing with 30 putts.

Although she gained a stroke on the par-5 second hole after assembling a two-under 140 on Friday (Saturday in Manila), Pagdanganan’s game faltered with errant shots on the following hole. She struggled to recover, dropping a stroke on the fifth and making a double bogey on the next.

After two pars, she yielded another shot on the ninth. Despite back-to-back birdies from No. 13, Pagdanganan faced another setback on the par-5 15th and parred the last three holes for a 42-35.