Yuka Saso and Bianca Pagdanganan both registered 6-under for the day to remain in the competition after the second round of the 2021 LPGA Walmart NW Arkansas Championship at the Pinnacle Country Club in Rogers on Sunday (Manila time).
The two Tokyo Olympians, however, were in different sides of the draw. Saso zoomed to a share of ninth place and just four strokes off the leaders at 8-under 134. On the other hand, Pagdanganan needed that to avoid the cut and end in red number at 1-under 141.
The 20-year-old Saso was steady throughout the round, producing a bogey-less take of the 18 holes with six birdies scattered throughout the course.
The day started well for Saso with a gained shot from No. 5, before she added a back-to-back from Nos. 7 and 8. Another twin birdies saw her go to 7-under and inside the top 10, eventually ending the round with another birdie off No, 18 to confirm his place in the leaderboard.
A relatively quiet backside opened Pagdanganan’s day with two birdies in Nos. 11 and 14, and a dropped shot in No. 13 to go into the red for the day at 1-under and share of 66th place.
That turned out to be a sign of things to come for the 23-year-old rookie. Back-to-back birdies in Nos. 3 and 4 gave her some lease of life. She then saw herself go from 1-over to 2-under in three holes after two birdies off Nos. 6 and 8, and an eagle in between.
Meanwhile, Dottie Ardina also moved into red numbers at 1-under 141 after going 2-under for the day. The veteran golfer registered three birdies, with two of them going back-to-back in Nos. 17 and 18.
Australian Minjee Lee and Japanese Nasa Hataoka zoomed into the share of the lead at 12-under, just four strokes ahead of Saso. The Australian had a bogey-free round characterized by a turkey off Nos. 5 to 7. On the other hand, Hataoka pulled of a hole-in-one off No. 6 to end her day with a bang.
Saso looks to pull off another huge round and attempts to capture her second LPGA title as the third and final round is set on Sunday.
Saso and Pagdanganan start at the same time at 8:54 a.m. (9:54 p.m. in Manila), but off different tees, with Saso taking the front nine first and Pagdanganan starting from the back. Ardina will also start at No. 10 at 9:16 a.m. (10:16 p.m., Manila) to round off the Philippine campaign in the Arkansan city.
