Pagdanganan salvages T12
‘I have been thinking about winning this tournament for like the last month. I was getting ready for just this event and was working really hard on my swing’
‘I have been thinking about winning this tournament for like the last month. I was getting ready for just this event and was working really hard on my swing’
INDIANA — Filipino pride Bianca Pagdanganan encountered rough spots on her way to a 73 to finish tied for 12th Sunday in the French Lick Resort Charity Classic.
It was the 25-year-old's second best result this season in the Epson Tour following her shared 8th place performance at Copper Rock last April.
But it wasn't that pleasant. Pagdanganan, who won for the Philippines the Asian Games team gold along with Yuka Saso and Lois Kaye Go, alternated birdies (3, 5, 10 and 12) and bogeys (2, 6, 9, 11, 16) almost every hole to wind up at three-under 225.
She went home with $5,719 purse in the tourney which saw her scoring a 67 on the first day, 76 on the second and 69 on the third.
Dottie Ardina stumbled with a 76 in the final round to finish tied for 29th, while Abegail Arevalo was tied for 52nd after a 79.
South Korea's Jiwon Jeon did not have the same fireworks on Sunday that she was able to produce on Friday and Saturday, but her performance on Sunday was just as commanding.
The 26-year-old always looked in control and in sync with her game, even with a few mistakes on the card. Jeon would birdie her 72nd hole to close out her tournament with a one-under 71 and win the tournament by three shots.
Jeon pocketed the $50,250 top purse.
"I had a three-shot lead, but with this course, anything can happen out there," Jeon said.
"So, I tried to stick to my gameplan as much as possible. I wasn't hitting it as well today, but I made a lot of up and downs out there. Like I said yesterday, I was just really trying to stay patient."
With the win, Jeon joins Gabriela Ruffels and Jenny Bae as the only two-time winners on the Epson Tour this season and moves her to No. 3 on the Race for the Card.
"It is such a relief to be at No. 3," Jeon said. "I have been thinking about winning this tournament for like the last month. I was getting ready for just this event and was working really hard on my swing. I prepared really well for this event and now made it into the top-3 on the tour now."
Kristen Gillman tried to make a push at Jeon early in the round, making two birdies in her first five holes, but a bogey on No. 7 would be all the separation Jeon would need for the rest of the round.
Maddie McCrary finished alone in third, six shots back of the lead after 72-holes of play. McCrary could not find the rhythm she needed to get herself into contention on Sunday, posting an even-par 72 to close out her tournament.
Rounding out the top of the leaderboard are Gabriela Ruffels and Jenny Bae, who both sit at seven under for the tournament, respectively.
