Yuka Saso took a double bogey on the par-3 13th hole on her way to one-under par 70 in the CP Women’s Open at the Ottawa Hunt and Golf Club in Ottawa, Canada Thursday.
Bianca Pagdanganan’s return will have to wait for another week after failing to secure her Canadian visa on time.
“Yes, she withdrew. Visa was issued late,” said Bing, Pagdanganan’s mother. “Bianca’s visa was approved just yesterday.”
Bing said they had to rebook her flights and tournament arrangements to later dates, hoping Bianca can still get in time.
“She (Bianca) even flew to New York from Florida where we are based to make an appeal in person and be on standby at the visa application center,” Bing narrated. “It was released this morning but it was too late for the last scheduled flight to Ottawa before her tee time. She applied earlier than Sam (Bianca’s father), but Sam’s got approved first.”
Pagdanganan, 24, is moving forward, according to her mother.
She is set to play alongside compatriot Dottie Ardina in the Dana Open slated for September 1-4 in Sylvania, Ohio.
Saso, the 20-year -old Filipino-Japanese, responded with four straight birdies after taking a bogey on the third hole but came undone on 13. She closed with five straight pars.
Eighty-eight players broke par with South African Paula Reto setting the pace with 62, two shots ahead of South Korea’s An Na-rin.
Reto, who teed off on the 10th hole, birdied five of the last seven holes on her front nine and closed her bogey-free round with a birdie at the ninth to set a course record at Ottawa Hunt and Golf Club.
“It was a good putting day,” Reto said. “A lot of putts went in and that makes the round easier, seeing my lines and it made the speed a lot easier. I was like, ‘Just get on the green.'”
The 32-year-old from Cape Town won her first professional title in February at a Sunshine Tour event in Sun City.
She fired the lowest round of her nine-year LPGA career by two strokes and matched the lowest round on tour this year.
“When you get a few putts to go in, it makes you more comfortable and that does make a difference,” Reto said.
“I had a lot of fun out there. To go low is nice, and to have no bogeys. I made two good par saves that kept the momentum going for a low round.”
