Ardina sizzles with 65, trails by 2 in Arkansas

MANILA, Philippines -- Dottie Ardina dished out a scorching start in the NW Arkansas Championship, posting a brilliant six-under 65 at the Pinnacle Golf Course on Friday to trail Jasmine Suwannapura by just two strokes in Rogers, Arizona (Saturday Manila time).

Starting early, Ardina birdied three of the first five holes on the back nine in benign conditions before overcoming a bogey on the 16th with a birdie on the next. She then capped her round with three more birdies on the front nine of the par-71 layout to put herself in early contention, tied for sixth place with Yu Liu.

While her performance may have surprised some, Ardina entered the tournament with quiet confidence, knowing she was due for a strong showing, especially after missing the cut at the Kroger Queen City Championship in Ohio last week.

Though she lacks the driving distance of some of her competitors, Ardina (239 yards) compensated with accuracy, hitting all but one fairway and excelling on the greens with just 25 putts.

Suwannapura, meanwhile, fired a sensational 63, riding a hot back nine to edge Carlota Ciganda, Ashleigh Buhai, Maria Fassi and Liqi Zeng by one shot in the $3-million championship spread over three days.

Meanwhile, World No. 2 Lilia Vu and Danielle Kang struggled, carding one-over-par 72s to fall below the projected cut line.

Yuka Saso, fresh off a strong fourth-place finish last week, faltered with a birdie-less round of 75 and in danger of missing the cut.

On the other hand, Bianca Pagdanganan gunned down three birdies against a bogey as she carded a two-under 69, tying for 42nd with 19 others.

Known for her powerful drives, Pagdanganan once again showcased her strength, averaging 293 yards off the tee, hitting 10 fairways and 13 greens, and finished with 29 putts.