Dottie Ardina closed out with flourish at the front, shooting three straight late birdies to card a 69 and move from joint 43rd to a share of 29th at the start of the final stretch of the eight-day LPGA Q-Series at Pinehurst No. 9 in North Carolina Wednesday.
Staying in her previous spot with a two-birdie, two-bogey round and a two-over overall card after 14 holes, Ardina birdied Nos. 6 and 7 then added another on the par-5 eighth before holing out with a par on the closing par-3 hole to complete a 34-35 and a five-day total of 355.
It was 15 strokes off Chinese Muni He, who firmed up her bid for low medalist honors with a 65 and a 340 but Ardina’s latest round bolstered the Filipina shotmaker’s bid to keep her LPGA card for next season following a series of missed cut stints this year.
The top 80 players from the 98 bidders after six rounds will advance to the final 36 holes of the third phase of the grueling elims with the top 45 at the conclusion of the Q-Series will receive Category 14 membership on the LPGA Tour Priority List for 2020. Those who won’t make it will settle for Symetra Tour spots. Those outside the top 20 and ties will earn Category C status on the Symetra Tour.
Clariss Guce also rallied at the front with four birdies, including three straight from No. 1, as she bucked a two-over start at the back to save a 70 and improve to 34th at 356.
Stage I low medalist Bianca Pagdanganan, however, failed to mount her charge, gunning down two birdies but fumbling with the same number of bogeys for a 72 and a 362 for a share of 63rd, still within the cutoff score.