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MANILA, Philippines — Rico Hoey launched another title campaign with a promising 68 in the opening round of the Corales Puntacana Championship, aiming for a stronger finish this time around after falling short in previous campaigns.
The Filipino shotmaker sizzled early with four birdies on his front nine, then added two more on Nos. 10 and 15 at the Corales course of the Puntacana Resort in the Dominican Republic on Thursday (Friday Manila time).
However, a late stumble saw him reel back with mishaps on Nos. 16 and 17. The misstep on the par-3 penultimate where he barely escaped the greenside bunker, resulted in a decent bogey. But the blunder on the 16th — a missed three-foot putt leading to a frustrating three-putt bogey — was more damaging.
He slid from a share of 10th to joint 31st, six strokes behind early leader Joel Dahmen of the US.
Dahmen fired a scorching, bogey-free 10-under 62, anchored by five birdies on each nine. He held a two-shot lead over England’s Matt Wallace, American Keith Mitchell and South African Garrick Higgo.
Hoey, backed by ICTSI, is looking to rebound from a missed cut at the Valero Texas Open despite a opening 69. That followed his season-best tied for 11th finish at the Texas Children’s Houston Open, though it was his lone bright spot in a stretch marred by five missed cuts in 11 tournaments.
In California, Bianca Pagdanganan faced another rough start in the LPGA's JM Eagle Championship at the El Caballero Country Club in Los Angeles. She opened with a 73, which included a birdie-eagle start from No. 10 but unraveled with four bogeys, a double bogey, and two additional bogeys.
Also supported by ICTSI, Pagdanganan ended the day tied at 120th, three strokes off the projected cut line in the $3.75 million event, which features world No. 1 Nelly Korda and defending champion Hannah Green.
Ashleigh Buhai of South Africa and China’s Yan Liu both shot 63s to take the early lead.
Buhai, a former major champion, birdied five on the back nine and added four more coming in, while Liu bounced back from an opening bogey with eight birdies and an eagle to post a 31-32 card.
They led Swede Frida Kinhult by one, after her 64 that included three straight birdies from No. 16.
In Gee Chun, Madelene Sagstrom, Jenny Shin, Jeongeun Lee6, and Miranda Wang all turned in 65s for a share of fourth.
A pack of players — including Sei Young Kim, Lauren Coughlin, Akie Iwai, Yu Liu, Saki Baba and Aditi Ashok — matched 66s, while Korda settled for a 67 after a bogey on the final hole, tying for 15th with Jin Young Ko, Rio Takeda, Minjee Lee and five others.
