‘These greens are so clear, so I just trusted my strokes and made so many birdies today.’

BIANCA Pagdanganan catches fire early to post a 6-under-par 66 for a share of the second spot in the FM Championship at Norton, Massachusetts.
SARAH STIER/agence france-presse
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WASHINGTON (AFP) — Bianca Pagdanganan flaunted her deadly form, firing a 6-under-par 66 to grab a share of the second spot in the FM Championship at Norton, Massachusetts on Friday.
The 26-year-old Filipina sizzled early as she dropped six birdies in the first 10 holes. She, however, missed five birdie putts in the next seven holes before settling for a closing par to seal her bogey-free round.
On 7-under, the two-time Olympian forges a tie with Australian Robyn Choi, American Yealimi Noh behind South Korean Ryu Hae-ran, who shot a sizzling second round 10-under 62 to open up a six stroke lead.
Meanwhile, another Filipina in Dottie Ardina rallied with birdies in two par-5 holes at the back nine to salvage a 72 and survive the cut on 1-over.
“It’s weird. I feel like I should be happy with a round of 6-under, but starting off really hot I thought that I could keep that going. Once I made the turn, I think the putter just went cold,” Pagdanganan, who is coming off an impressive fourth-place finish in the Summer Olympics in Paris, said.
“It’s fine. Knowing that I could post a good score today definitely helps my confidence. I don’t think I made that many long putts for birdie. But I’ve got two more rounds, so we’ll just see how tomorrow goes.”
But the day belonged to Ryu.
The 23-year-old caught fire on the front nine making four straight birdies from the fourth hole onwards at TPC Boston.
She produced another four birdie streak from the 14th hole as she took command of the leaderboard as she searches for her second win on the LPGA Tour.
“Just an amazing day because my shots, everything next to the hole and my putts, everything went in the hole,” said Ryu, who bettered her previous career-low 18-hole score of 64.
The South Korean, in her second year on the LPGA Tour, said she hadn’t expected to be able to go so low in her scoring on this course but quickly discovered that it was perfect for her game.
“Because the greens are so small and the course condition is really firm this week, but I love that condition because my shots (are more) accurate than other players, so I love this course,” she said.
“These greens are so clear, so I just trusted my strokes and made so many birdies today.”
Ryu has delivered five top-5 finishes this season as she looks to add to her win in Arkansas in October.

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