Ardina cards four-under 68 for joint 14th

MANILA, Philippines -- Dottie Ardina continues to soar in the Island Resort Championship, carding a four-under second round to take a share of the 14th spot Sunday morning (Manila time) at the Sweetgrass Golf Club in Harris, Michigan. 

After a five-under 67 in the first round, Ardina had a solid four-under in the second round for a nine-under total as she trails by four strokes from leader Kelly Xu. 

Ardina started her first round with two pars before punching in three consecutive birdies in the third, fourth and fifth holes. She then tallied six consecutive pars in the next holes. 

She faltered in the 12th and 13th holes with back-to-back bogeys.

But the Filipina golfer found her rhythm anew with a massive eagle on the four-par 14th hole. 

Ardina had even pars in the 15th, 16th and 17th holes before a birdie for the final hole to finish the second round with a 68. 

She is currently joint-14th along with Gile Bite Starkute, Alice Hodge and Megan Schofill. 

Fellow Filipina golfers Bianca Pagdanganan and Clariss Guce, meanwhile, are at joint-33rd as the two are at a five-under after two rounds. 

Guce had two birdies in the first four holes, before tallying two bogeys at the end of the front nine for an equal par at the end of the first nine holes. 

Guce, then, had birdies in the 11th, 15th and 18th holes, while having pars the rest of the holes in the back nine. 

Pagdanganan’s second round, however, was more shaky. She had birdies at the 11th, 14th and 15th holes before a bogey in the 17th and second holes. 

A birdie momentarily salvaged her performance in the sixth hole, before her round-ending ninth hole finished with a bogey for a 71 in the second round. 

Filipinas Tomita Arejola (even par,) Pauline del Rosario (three-over) and Sam Bruce (five-over) are set to miss the cut heading to the final round of the tourney.