Playa del Carmen, Mexico – Bianca Pagudanganan felt at home in the suffocating heat and humidity on the Yucatan Peninsula on Thursday.
Pagdanganan, 27, from the Philippines, was able to hit all but two greens, despite not spending much time on the fairway. Her two-put birdie from 15 feet led her to Chizert Rock, Jenny Singh and Brianna.
The wind was good on the El Camaleon course in Mayakoba. It was the heat index that became the biggest challenge and limited the chances of scoring.
Singh was the first to reach 68 and made seven birdies, but was slowed down with a double bogey on the 16th hole. Asked about her good start, Singh replied, “It’s so hot that I don’t really remember. I don’t remember the first birdie.”
But she remembers having hot putters, mainly for birdies and some pars. Still, she said it was difficult to get through a suffocating situation.
“I didn’t expect such a fever,” Singh said. “When I got here I was really shocked. I feel like I’m in Southeast Asia. I’m giving it a lot of moisture. I’m drinking a lot of salt water. I’m drinking a lot of electrolytes. I’m not really practicing.
Chisert birded two of the last five holes, but Do Do got off to a great start, 4 under which opened five holes. She then chilled one bogey and birdie on the 18th with a birdie, claiming to share the lead.
Five more players were 69 years old, including Hee-Jin Choi and Jenny Bae.
Charlie Hull was No. 15 in the world, the best player in the final event before the US Women’s Open, and had to settle for 72 after descending the stretch and missing a short putt. One of those mistakes came to par 5 13th when she reached 3 feet in her second shot.
Pagdanganan felt relatively easy during the round.
“It felt like a very easy round. Honestly, I didn’t feel it for a while,” she said. “It’s really nice to be able to get it here. I hit a lot of greenery – there weren’t many fairways, but today I felt it wasn’t that important.
“So I think everything was really well lined up for me, both mentally and physically.”
It was a tough day for two more prominent players in Mexico. Gaby Lopez, who played a role in bringing the LPGA back to Mexico for the first time since 2017, won eight bogeys in 79 rounds. Maria Fassi, former Arkansas NCAA champion, had two early birdies but struggled with the 75.
Mayakoba had previously held a PGA Tour event, but last year they held a LIV golf event.