Pagdanganan finishes at joint 26th in the Mexico Riviera Maya Open – BusinessWorld Online
BIANCA PAGDANGANAN settled for joint 26th in the Mexico Riviera Maya Open after closing out with a two-over 74 on Sunday in Playa del Carmen.
It was a letdown ending for Ms. Pagdanganan, who started like a house of fire and grabbed a share of the lead with a hot 68 but faltered with 74 and 72 before capping off with a five-bogey, three-birdie outing.
Still, the 27-year-old Pinay could find a silver lining in this finish worth $21,499 (around P1.19 million) as this marked her best of the season, surpassing her 70th standing in the Blue Bay LPGA last March. The placing in Mexico also served as a breath of fresh air after Ms. Pagdanganan missed the cut in four events prior.
At 288, the two-time Olympian finished 12 shots behind Japanese rookie Chisato Iwai, who ran away with her maiden LPGA Tour title.
Ms. Iwai, an eight-time Japan LPGA Tour winner, fired a sizzling 66 to seal a six-stroke victory over overnight leader Jenny Bae of the US (282 after a 73).
The 22-year-old Japanese birdied five of her first six holes, including four straight from No. 3, to zoom ahead of Ms. Bae, who bogeyed three and birdied one in the same stretch. — Olmin Leyba