Pagdanganan falters again, faces early exit at Riviera Open
MANILA, Philippines — Bianca Pagdanganan’s bid for a much-needed turnaround on the LPGA Tour unraveled once again.
This as a promising start gave way to another inconsistent round of 73 left the Filipina on the brink of an early exit at the Riviera Maya Open in Mexico on Thursday (Friday Manila time).
Still reeling from a missed cut at the JM Eagle LA Championship — where she had opened with an impressive 68 — Pagdanganan appeared poised to finally string together a complete round. Starting on the back nine of the El Camaleon Golf Course at Mayakoba, she birdied three of her first nine holes from No. 10, including a strong finish with back-to-back birdies that hinted at regained rhythm and confidence.
But the momentum proved fleeting — an all-too-familiar theme in her recent outings.
A bogey on No. 1 immediately stalled her charge, and further miscues on Nos. 3 and 5 erased the cushion she had built, dragging her back to even par. Just as she tried to steady herself, another bogey on the ninth completed a frustrating frontside 40, wiping out the gains from her earlier surge. The resulting one-over card dropped her into a tie for 61st, leaving her in danger of missing the cut once more.
Pagdanganan’s round underscored the recurring issue that has plagued her campaign: the inability to sustain momentum across both nines. Flashes of brilliance — like her birdie runs — continue to surface, but they are often offset by untimely errors that derail her progress. Until she finds a way to stabilize her play and limit those momentum-breaking holes, turning promising starts into strong finishes will remain a challenge.
Fellow ICTSI-backed campaigner Yuka Saso also struggled to find form, carding a 75 highlighted by late bogeys and a costly double bogey. The two-time US Women’s Open champion, who likewise missed the cut in Los Angeles and finished tied for 59th at the Chevron Championship, ended the day at 85th — two strokes below the projected cutoff in the $2.5-million event.
In contrast, American Melanie Green delivered a spectacular round, highlighted by a hole-in-one on No. 15 and a closing birdie-birdie stretch for a 66, putting her in a share of the lead with compatriot Brianna Do. Spain’s Carlota Ciganda stood just one shot back after a 67.
World No. 1 Nelly Korda also positioned herself early in contention, firing a 68 highlighted by an eagle on No. 8 as she looks to build on her recent triumph at the Chevron Championship.
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