Bianca Pagdanganan shot a three-under 67 for a share of third spot after the first round of women’s golf in the Asian Games on Wednesday at Kasugai Country Club East Course.
Shannon Xuan Yin Tan of Singapore fired a sizzling seven-under 63 to take the lead, while Pranavi Sharath Urs of India was second at 66.
Bianca, an Olympian and Ladies Professional Golf Association player, stood four strokes off the pace and was bunched with Women’s PGA Championship winner Ruoning Yin of China, Taipei’s Hsu Wei Ling and Thailand’s Arpichaya Yubol.
Former US Girls Junior and US Women’s Amateur champion Rianne Malixi had a 70 and was tied for 14th. Pauline del Rosario, who campaigns in the US tours, shot a 78 for 36th spot.
In men’s play, Japan Golf Tour campaigner Justin de los Santos fired a two-under 68, three strokes off the pace.
Asian Development Tour winner Carl Corpus fired a 69, while Asian Tour winner and Philippine Open champion Miguel Tabuena had an even-par 70.
Japan’s Higa Kasuki and Taipei’s Wang Wei-Hsuan shared the lead with a 65, while India’s Saptak Talwar, South Korea’s Mun Doyeob, China’s Zheng Yunhe and Japan’s Keita Nakajima were tied for third place at 66.
SoKor golfers seeking military exemption
A gold medal for two South Korean golfers at the Asian Games would mean more than a chunk of metal to dangle around their necks.
For Kim Joo-hyung and Kim Seong-hyeon, winning gold at the Asian Games-in the men’s individual or team event-would excuse them from mandatory military service at home.
Kim Joo-hyung goes by Tom Kim when he plays on the PGA Tour, and Kim Seong-hyeon goes by S.H. Kim.
Under any name, they got a good start in the first round on Wednesday toward landing the exemption. The final round is Saturday.
‘I am 100% nervous,’ S.H. Kim said. ‘A lot of pressure.’ He added he’s struggling with knee and back injuries and was not optimistic about his chances in the individual event.
‘Team gold is easier,’ he said.
Japan led the men’s team competition after the first round, with South Korea and China two strokes behind.