MANILA, Philippines — Dottie Ardina hopes to trip the momentum of a fiery final-round end on the Better Toledo Traditional as she eyes a long-awaited return to the winner’s circle within the 4 Winds Invitational, which will get below means Friday (Saturday Manila time) on the South Bend Nation Membership in South Bend, Indiana.
Ardina delivered an excellent closing effort in Ohio, stringing collectively 5 birdies to shoot a flawless 66 on the par-71 Highland Meadows Golf Membership. That bogey-free spherical catapulted her from deep down the leaderboard to a share of 18th within the 54-hole occasion — an encouraging efficiency that signaled a possible turning level in a season that has to this point fallen wanting expectations.
Although she fell wanting a Prime 10 end, the Filipina Olympian’s surge on the ultimate day offered a much-needed confidence enhance heading into the essential second half of the Epson Tour season, the LPGA’s developmental circuit.
After narrowly making the minimize with earlier rounds of 72 and 70, the ICTSI-backed shotmaker displayed a renewed sharpness and focus within the last spherical. She hit all however one fairway and wanted simply 22 putts to finish her spherical — by far her best efficiency in current months.
Now, Ardina hopes to hold that kind into the 4 Winds Invitational, the place she’ll look to interrupt a title drought relationship again to her triumph on the 2022 Copper Rock Championship. Since then, she has struggled to regain the shape that when made her a formidable presence on each the Epson and LPGA Excursions.
Whereas Ardina opened her 2024 Epson Tour marketing campaign on a excessive observe with a tied-for-third end on the IOA Championship final April, inconsistency has hampered her progress. She missed the minimize in three of her subsequent six occasions and managed only one Prime 20 end — a tied for eleventh place, additionally at Copper Rock.
Nonetheless, her current displaying suggests a attainable resurgence. A confirmed competitor when in rhythm, Ardina is eager on rediscovering the profitable contact as she goals to strengthen her bid for a return to the LPGA Tour.
Additionally trying to bounce again this week is fellow ICTSI campaigner Pauline del Rosario, who is keen to snap a string of missed cuts in her final 4 Epson Tour occasions. The previous Girls Philippine Golf Tour Order of Benefit winner is looking for the shape that earned her a win on the Ladies’s All Professional Tour and a number of other stable showings in her early professional years.
Becoming a member of the Filipina bets in Indiana are Filipino-American Clariss Guce and Samantha Bruce. Guce, a two-time Epson Tour winner, stays a harmful participant when dialed in, whereas Bruce, who received the kickoff leg of the 2025 Girls Philippine Golf Tour in her professional debut, is continuous to check her mettle on the worldwide stage.
However the 4 Winds Invitational guarantees to be a troublesome take a look at, with a stacked discipline led by rising beginner Mia Hammond, contemporary off her beautiful victory in Ohio. Additionally within the hunt are Gina Kim, Briana Chacon, Melanie Inexperienced, Laetitia Beck and Riley Smith — the present prime 5 contenders within the Race for the (LPGA) Card standings.
For Ardina, nonetheless, the main target is inside — constructing on momentum, sharpening her aggressive edge, and silencing doubts with a efficiency worthy of a return to champion standing.
