FILIPINO OLYMPIANS Bianca Pagdanganan and Yuka Saso concluded the second and third round of the Women’s Golf Individual Stroke Play from August 5 to 6 at the Kasumigaseki Country Club, placing joint-29th and joint-20th respectively.

Pagdanganan scored even-par for the second round, maintaining her total score of 2-under-par. The 23-year-old Pagdanganan had a strong start to the round with birdies in Hole No. 5 and Hole No. 6. However, she slid down the leaderboard after landing bogeys on Hole No. 7 and Hole No. 8.

Meanwhile, Saso garnered a score of 3-under-par for the second round, which moved her up the scoreboard and brought her total score back to even-par after her earlier struggles in the first round. She had a difficult time early on at the field with a bogey in Hole No. 5, but she managed to score birdies in Hole No. 6 and Hole No. 8 to keep her hopes alive on the scoreboard. 

However, the two golfers yielded contrasting results in the third round. Pagdanganan began the front nine striking birdies in Holes No. 5 and No. 6, allowing her to ascend from 27th place in the previous round to a 10-way tie for 13th. Another birdie in Hole No. 10 would then bump her higher up the leaderboard at 12th place.

Despite achieving a birdie in Hole No. 13, double bogeys in Holes No. 11 and No. 14 followed by a bogey in Hole No. 15 brought the 23-year-old Pagdanganan further down the ranks to a shared T32. Nonetheless, she managed to cap off her back nine with a birdie in Hole No. 18, balancing her total score out to 2-under-par 211 and ranking 29th with four other golfers. 

On the other hand, Saso commenced the third round with a bogey in Hole No. 1, while parring Holes No. 2 through No. 7. Shortly thereafter, she gained ground and fired two consecutive birdies in Holes No. 8 and No. 9 to finish her front nine at a tied-T28. The 20-year-old continued to land two more birdies in her back nine in Holes No. 12 and No. 17, ending the round with a total score of 4-under-par 209 ranked at T20 tied with four other players. 

Respectively, Pagdanganan and Saso are currently 13 and 11 strokes behind the consistent tournament leader USA’s Nelly Korda, who holds a total score of 15-under-par 198.  

The final round is scheduled for tomorrow, August 7, at the Kasumigaseki Country Club. Pagdanganan is set to tee off at 5:30 AM Manila time, and Saso at 5:54 AM Manila time.