ARKANSAS — Filipina Dottie Ardina wrapped up one of her best weekends of the season, tying for ninth on Sunday in the Murphy USA El Dorado Shootout at Mystic Creek Golf Club.
Ardina finished with a
four-under total of 212, firing a 70 on the final round to go six shots off Malaysian champion Natasha Andrea Oon.
The 29-year-old Ardina, whose last victory at the Epson Tour was last year, was chasing after her best season finish of T2 during last May’s IOA Golf Classic.
But her 72 on opening day stymied everything for her. She birdied Nos. 5, 11 and 16 to compensate for her bogey on the eighth. She pocketed $5,047.
Clariss Guce, the only other Filipina to make the cut, wound up tied for 4th with a six-over total of 222 worth $1,078.
The 22-year-old Oon, who won her first tournament, ran away with $33,750.
“I’ve been in this position before, so I decided to let go. Whatever happens, happens,” Oon said.
“I tried to visualize my shots and accept everything that comes out of it because I really worked hard for everything. Last time on the runner-ups, I pushed and pushed. This round I let go, and that eagle really helped me.”
Carley Cox was in the group in front of Oon, trying to chase down the eventual champion all day. Cox rolled in six birdies on the day but had a few bogeys.
The 26-year-old showed resilience all day, no more so than making four straight birdies after a double-bogey on No. 10. Cox is on an impressive stretch of golf, finishing in the
top-3 in back-to-back tournaments and moving into the top 35 in the Race For The Card.
Robyn Choi ended her campaign in a tie for second with Cox. Choi did what she has done best this year on the Epson Tour: Making cuts and finishing inside the top 10 for the week. With another cut made, Choi has made all 20 cuts this season and collected her sixth top-10 finish of the season.
