Golfers Bianca Pagdanganan, Dottie Ardina clinch Paris Olympic berths

MANILA, Philippines – For the second straight Olympics, two female golfers will don the national colors as Bianca Pagdanganan and Dottie Ardina qualified for the Paris Games.

Pagdanganan and Ardina both made the 60-player cutoff following the conclusion of the qualification period on Monday, June 24.

Ranked 113th in the world, Pagdanganan clinched the 36th spot for her second consecutive Olympic stint, while Ardina nailed the 56th spot as the world No. 298 reached the quadrennial showpiece for the first time.

The qualification system for Paris saw the top 15 players in the world rankings – a maximum of four per country – earn their Olympic berths.

Completing the 60-women field were the next-highest-ranked players, with a limit of two per country, including those within the top 15.

It will be a return trip to the Olympics for Pagdanganan after she represented the country in the Tokyo Games alongside Yuka Saso.

Two-thirds of the Filipina trio that captured the women’s team crown in the 2018 Asian Games, Saso and Pagdanganan finished at joint 9th and joint 43rd, respectively, in Tokyo.

Saso also qualified for Paris, although she now plays for Japan after switching citizenship in 2022.

Fresh from winning her second US Women’s Open title this June, Saso emerged as the highest-ranked Japanese player at No. 10.

Reigning Olympic champion Nelly Korda of the USA topped the world rankings followed by compatriot Lilia Vu at second, Korea’s Ko Jin-young at third, China’s Yin Ruoning at fourth, and Korea’s Amy Yang at fifth. – Rappler.com