For a few precious minutes, Bianca Pagdanganan was tied for third in women’s individual stroke play and headed for a playoff for the bronze medal.
Bianca Pagdanganan came oh-so-close to a playoff for the bronze medal but ultimately had to settle for a still-impressive tie for fourth place in the Paris 2024 Olympics women’s individual stroke play on Saturday at Le Golf National.
Pagdanganan, who started the day in a tie for 13th and five strokes adrift of third place, fired seven birdies against three bogeys to finish with a 68 and found herself in the thick of things as several players ahead of her began dropping shots. She had a chance at an eagle on the 18th that would have elevated her to a tie for second, but she missed a long putt and settled for a birdie that put her in a tie for fifth at 6-under 282. Three players – Germany’s Esther Henseleit, China’s Lin Xiyu and Japan’s Miyu Yamashita – were a stroke ahead of her in a tie for second place and all three still had at least one hole left.
Henseleit eventually holed out in second place at 8-under, while Lin bogeyed the 17th to drop to 6-under and Yamashita double-bogeyed the 16th to all but end her medal chances. Hannah Green of Great Britain joined Pagdanganan and Lin at 6-under, with Green and Lin still to play the 18th hole.
But Lin birdied the 18th to climb to solo third and claim the bronze, leaving Pagdanganan, Green and two others stranded at fourth and outside the medal circle.
Lydia Ko of New Zealand, co-leader after three rounds, finally captured that elusive gold medal after shooting a 71 for a 278, two clear of Henseleit. Ko won silver in Rio and bronze in Tokyo.
It was still an impressive showing for Pagdanganan, who entered the Paris Olympics ranked 125th in the world but outperformed world no. 1 Nelly Korda and world no. 2 Lilia Vu. Her fourth place finish is the highest ever for a Filipino golfer – male or female – in the Olympics and was a marked improvement over her 43rd place finish in Tokyo.
Dottie Ardina also carded a 68 in the final round to climb up to a tie for 13th. Ardina had five birdies against just one bogey to follow up her 69 in the third round with another strong performance. If not for a 76 in the first round, she would have also been contention.
Team Philippines thus finished their Paris campaign with two gold medals from gymnast Carlos Yulo and two bronze medals courtesy of boxers Aira Villegas and Dottie Ardina.
Banner Images from AFP.