MICHIGAN — Filipina Bianca Pagdanganan and Slovenian partner Ana Belac turned in a 66 to stay seven shots off the leaders in the Dow Great Lakes Bay Invitational Friday.
The pair tied for 7th at 11-under after three rounds, while another Filipina Dottie Ardina and Thai Pornanong Phatlum are tied for 26th following a 71.
Cheyenne Knight and Elizabeth Szokol needed only a par to secure their place on the Iron Throne (the top of the leaderboard) and tie the Dow Great Lakes Bay Invitational 54-hole scoring record of 193 set by 2022 champions Jennifer Kupcho and Lizette Salas.
But, with an impressive 25-foot putt for birdie, Knight drove the team’s sword deeper into their fellow competitors, securing a new 54-hole scoring record (192), the 18-hole foursomes scoring record (62), and a three-stroke lead at -18 going into the final round.
With nine birdies on the day and a single bogey on No. 8, the two made the alternate shot format look easy, dropping three birdies right off the bat on 1, 3 and 4 and adding six more on the back at 11, 12, 14, 15, 16 and 18.
“We both putted really well. We gave each other a lot of chances,” said Szokol, who finished T4 at last year’s event alongside Knight. “I think after getting that first (foursomes) round under our belts, we played solid today and gave each other a lot of good opportunities.”
Knight added, “Yeah, on this day last year I think we shot about 4-under. So we tried not to psych ourselves out with alternate shot because it is such a hard format. I think we told each other yesterday ‘you can make birdies in alternate shot.’ I think you just kind of have to have the mindset like you can make birdies and just try to be aggressive and fearless rather than try not to make a mistake. Yeah, and we didn’t really make many mistakes…”
Japanese-Filipina Yuka Saso and French Celine Boutier are tied for fifth six strokes off the leaders.
Playing well in foursomes could be the difference for the team heading into the final round, where the fourball format will mean lots of birdies and lower scores across the board. During Thursday’s fourball round, Knight/Szokol shot the second-lowest round of the day with a 9-under 61.
Though a three-round lead is a comfortable position heading into final-round play, victory is not assured for the duo on what is sure to be a low-scoring day.
