MANILA, Philippines – Bianca Pagdanganan may have fallen short of a historic Olympic golf medal for the Philippines, but the message is loud and clear.
Ranked 125th in the world, Pagdanganan showed she can hang with the finest players after finishing at joint fourth place in the Paris Olympics women’s golf competition at the tough Le Golf National on Saturday, August 10.
“I don’t know how else to put it – I really wanted it. I want our name up there. I want them to know that we’re great athletes,” a teary-eyed Pagdanganan told Olympic broadcaster Cignal.
“And this isn’t just for golf. We’ve excelled at other sports and I think it’s a great wake-up call for people back home that we can excel in sports. So if you could just find someone to support, that would be great.”
Totaling a 6-under 282, Pagdanganan missed the playoff for bronze by a just a shot as China’s Xiyu Janet Lin completed the podium that included gold medalist Lydia Ko of New Zealand and Esther Henseleit of Germany.
Still, it was a sensational campaign for Pagdanganan, who netted the highest ranking by a Filipino golfer in the Olympics, eclipsing the ninth-place finish of former teammate Yuka Saso in the Tokyo Games three years ago.
And Pagdanganan did it against fearsome competition, with the top 10 in the Olympics featuring eight players ranked among the top 25 in the world.
Pagdanganan tied with world No. 3 Amy Yang of South Korea, No. 6 Hannah Green of Australia, and No. 18 Miyu Yamashita of Japan.
The Asian Games gold medalist also finished ahead of defending champion and world No. 1 Nelly Korda of the USA, whose title-retention bid went up in smoke as the American ended at joint 22nd.
“I want a huge improvement and I want to make my country proud. I just did everything,” said Pagdanganan, enjoying a better Olympic performance after placing joint 43rd in the Tokyo Games.
“I really feel proud of how I performed in such extreme pressure. Knowing that I can handle myself in those situations, it should be a great motivation.”
Dottie Ardina delivered for the Philippines as well as she carded a 3-under 285 to wind up at joint 13th – a massive leap after sitting at joint 40th at the end of the opening round.
Along with China, the Philippines wrapped up the competition as one of the only two countries with two players in the top 15 out of 25 nations with multiple entries.
Pagdanganan and Ardina’s impressive feat came despite competing without their official uniforms – a mishap the Philippine Olympic Committee and the National Golf Association of the Philippines pointed to logistical problems.
The two Philippine bets, though, managed to keep their focus on their campaigns.
“It just means a lot. I’m able to represent the Philippines on such a big stage, competing with the best players in the world,” said Pagdanganan. – Rappler.com