Bianca up by 2 but team lead shrinks

TARLAC—Bianca Pagdanganan gunned down six birdies Thursday to shoot a four-under-par 68 and build a two-stroke lead over Thailand’s Kan Bunnabodee halfway through women’s individual golf play in the 30th Southeast Asian Games championship at tree-lined Luisita Golf Club here.

Pagdanganan hit the first of two bogeys on No. 3, but the US LPGA-bound long hitter fought back, hitting all her birdies in a 13-hole stretch which she played at five-under as she sustained the brilliance of her opening round play that enabled the Filipinos to also stay in the team lead—albeit barely—even with Thailand having a red-hot day.

Counting an opening 70, Pagdanganan now has a 138 aggregate, with Bunnabodee seeing her deficit double from just one shot at the start of the day.

The Philippine team, with a 281 aggregate after 36 holes, lost valuable ground after all three Thais cracked 70 in the second round for a 137 tally that trimmed the Filipinos’ lead to a shaky stroke going into the final 36 holes.