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Pagdanganan, Ardina wrap up campaign in Paris Olympics
Filipina golfers Bianca Pagdanganan and Dottie Ardina exhibited their fighting spirit, displaying their clutch performances to end their respective campaigns in the Paris Olympics women’s individual stroke play at the Le Golf National on Saturday, August 10.
Pagdanganan narrowly missed out on a historic medal for the Philippines as she finished at joint fourth with an impressive 4-under 68 in the fourth and final round. She was one stroke away from a bronze medal until China’s Janet Lin birdied in the 18th hole to seize the solo third and dash the Filipina’s medal hopes.
PHOTO COURTESY: REUTERS and AFP
“I wanted it so bad and I really did my best,” Pagdanganan told Olympic broadcaster Cignal. “I gave it my all, I gave myself all the opportunities that I could, I saved a lot of shots, and I am really proud of how I performed.”
Still, Pagdanganan – who finished a 6-under par total of 282 – netted the highest ranking by a Filipino golfer in the Olympics, topping the ninth-place finish of former teammate Yuka Saso in the Tokyo Games three years ago.
Pagdanganan also did better than her Olympic debut in Tokyo, where she wound up at joint 43rd.
Ardina, on the other hand, wrapped up her first Olympics stint at joint 13th by producing an identical 4-under par and a total of 3-under 285, firing one birdie and eight pars in the first-nine hole stretch before unloading four birdies in the back nine, including back-to-back in the 17th and 18th holes.
Pagdanganan and Ardina delivered their best performances as Philippines ended up as one of the only two countries – the other being China – to have players making the top 15 out of the 25 nations with multiple entries.
Yuka Saso, who played for the Philippines in Tokyo, but now under the banner of Japan, wrapped up her bid with a 305 for 54th place out of 60 players.
The two Filipina golfers completed the Philippines’ campaign in the Paris Olympics, with the country finishing with two golds courtesy of Carlos Yulo, and two bronzes from boxers Aira Villegas and Nesthy Petecio.
