Ardina fights back with 69, advances in Dana Open

MANILA, Philippines — Dottie Ardina made a strong comeback with a 69 and secured a spot in the weekend play of the Dana Open at Highland Meadows Golf Club in Sylvania, Ohio Friday (Saturday Manila time). 

Despite moving up 18 spots to tie for 37th with a 140, Ardina is trailing behind the new leader, Thai Chanettee Wannasaen, who surged ahead with a birdie-eagle finish for a 65, bringing her total to 131. 

Wannasaen is now one stroke ahead of Swede Linn Grant and Chinese player Xiyu Lin, who both carded 132s with rounds of 65 and 67, respectively.

Ardina had a solid performance, hitting all fairways with an average distance of 235 yards. Although she missed five greens, she compensated with a strong putting performance, finishing with 29 putts. 

Fellow Filipina player Clarris Guce also recovered with a 69 but did not advance past the cut, ending with a 144 after an opening round of 75, falling short by four strokes.

In New York, Pauline del Rosario had a rocky finish in the Twin Bridges Championship at Pinehaven Country Club. After a promising start on the back nine with three birdies from hole 14 following a mishap on No. 11, she struggled on the front nine, bogeying four of the last five holes to finish with a 73. 

She is currently tied for 45th, with a two-over score potentially being the cutoff for the 54-hole Epson Tour event.

Jessica Porvasnik and Lauren Stephenson set the pace with identical rounds of 66, holding a one-stroke advantage over Dana Fall, who birdied the ninth hole to finish with a 67.

Other Filipina golfers also faced challenges, with Tomita Arejola shooting a 77, Abby Arevalo carding a 79 and Chanelle Avaricio fumbling with an 80.