MANILA, Philippines – Bianca Pagdanganan missed out on a historic medal for the Philippines as she finished at joint fourth in the Paris Olympics women’s golf competition at the Le Golf National on Saturday, August 10.
A brilliant 4-under 68 in the fourth and final round propelled Pagdanganan to medal contention, but she missed the podium by a shot on a nail-biting day that saw New Zealand’s Lydia Ko capture the elusive Olympic gold.
Still, Pagdanganan – who totaled 282 – netted the highest ranking by a Filipino golfer in the Olympics, eclipsing 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.
“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’m really proud of how I performed today.”
From joint 13th place after three rounds, Pagdanganan steadily ascended the standings as she fired four birdies on the front nine.
Bogeys at the 10th and 13th holes hurt her chances, but Pagdanganan closed out her campaign with aplomb by birdieing the 17th and 18th to momentarily climb to joint third.
However, China’s Xiyu Janet Lin seized solo third as she birdied the 18th for a 69 and a 281 total, eventually clinching the bronze.
Pagdanganan, who tied with Australia’s Hannah Green, South Korea’s Amy Yang, and Japan’s Miyu Yamashita, remained in the medal picture, needing leader Ko to commit at least a bogey and a double bogey on the last two holes.
But Ko held her nerve, going for par at the 17th and scoring a birdie at the 18th as she finally struck gold after settling for silver in the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics and bronze in Tokyo.
With a 278 total, Ko edged Germany’s Esther Henseleit by two shots for the crown.
Henseleit bagged silver as she rose 11 spots thanks to a stellar 66 round highlighted by seven birdies.
Meanwhile, Dottie Ardina also performed well for the Philippines and finished at joint 13th as she tallied a 68 on Saturday like Pagdanganan for a 285 total.
Ardina sank four birdies on the back nine to move up 10 more spots – completing a major turnaround after she ended the opening round at joint 40th.
“I just treasured every moment out there. I enjoyed myself and I’m very proud to represent the Philippines,” Ardina said.
Pagdanganan and Ardina delivered despite competing without their official uniforms – a mishap the Philippine Olympic Committee and the National Golf Association of the Philippines pointed to logistical problems.
In fact, the Philippines ended up as one of the only two countries – the other being China – to have two players making the top 15 out of the 25 nations with multiple entries.
Saso, who now represents Japan, struggled throughout and wrapped up her bid with a 305 for 54th place out of 60 players. – Rappler.com