PORTLAND (AFP) — Bianca Pagdanganan slid to a share of 62nd following an even par 72 going into the final round Sunday of the Portland Classic.
The Filipina, hoping to score a better finish than her T32 last week at CPKC, is four-under 212, 14 shots away from American leader Megan Khang who is chasing her second LPGA win in as many weeks.
Pagdanganan, the 25-year-old who started with a 67 in the first round, birdied Nos. 7, 9, 12, 16, 17 but failed to capitalize on them as she bogeyed 3, 5, 8, 11 and 14.
Khang, chasing a second LPGA win in as many weeks, birdied the 18th to seize a one-shot lead over hard-charging youngsters Jang Hyo-joon and Chanettee Wannasaen.
Khang, who broke through for a first career win after 190 starts in Canada on Sunday, carded seven birdies in her third-straight six-under par 66, five of them on the tough back nine at Columbia Edgewater in Portland Oregon.
Jang, a 20-year-old South Korean whose rookie LPGA season has been disrupted by injury, had 11 birdies in a remarkable 10-under par 62 that put her on 17-under 199.
She was joined by Monday qualifier Chanettee, a 19-year-old rookie from Thailand who had eight birdies in her seven-under par 65.
Khang said this week that she felt some residual fatigue after her playoff victory over South Korean star Ko Jin-young in Canada, but that was balanced by an increase in confidence “knowing I can win out here.”
