SAMMAMISH – Brooke Henderson isn’t the only person in the KPMG Women’s Championship field this week who has won a tournament at Sahalee Country Club.
Nine months before Henderson won the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship at Sahalee in 2016, Gonzaga freshman Bianca Pagdanganan won the 2015 Edean Ihlanfeldt Invitational at Sahalee, which was hosted by the University of Washington.
Pagdanganan won that event by one shot, finishing on 1-over 217.
Pagdanganan played another solid round at Sahalee on Thursday, shooting a pair of 72s.
“It’s been a long time (since the 2015 win), but it was nice to walk around and still recognize some of the holes,” he said. “Knowing that I’ve done well here in the past probably helps me keep my composure a little bit. I have always loved playing at Sahalee and I love playing on wooded courses. The trees really surprise me here. “I love the views and I love walking these streets.”
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Further
Pagdanganan, who transferred to Arizona after two years at Gonzaga, said the win at Sahalee in 2015, in his second collegiate event, remains special.
“When I went to college, I didn’t know what to expect,” said Pagdanganan, who grew up in the Philippines. “I didn’t have much confidence in my game and I had a lot of doubts. Winning my second event boosted my confidence and I think made me realize I could play good golf. “It definitely helped me see myself as a golfer and know the potential I have.”
After having the two lowest scoring averages in Gonzaga history at 73.21 and 73.24, Pagdanganan helped lead Arizona to a national championship in 2017.
She has six top-10 finishes on the LPGA Tour.
Could another one arrive in a course where Pagdanganan has had great success? He was in good position after the first round, his first competitive round here since the 2015 win.
“I think I played a little more conservative today, which obviously helped me a lot,” she said. “I knew I was going to make a couple of bogeys and I just tried to minimize my mistakes. “I’m pretty pleased with how today went.”
He is also happy to be back in the state he called home for two years while at Gonzaga.
“I really love the Northwest and I love Washington,” he said. “I love the environment and I enjoy the weather. I feel like not a lot of people say that, but I really enjoy the Northwest. You can ask my dad. “I talk about that a lot.”
Grades
• The PGA of America, which co-sponsors the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship with the LPGA, donated $250,000 to the Tacoma Parks Foundation to use to create a three-hole golf course at Meadow Park Golf Course.
The three-hole golf course will be used for programs such as the PGA Jr. League, PGA HOPE (Helping Our Patriots Everywhere), PGA Family Golf and First Tee.
• Wendy Ward from Spokane did not have the start he wanted, committing a quadruple bogey on his first hole. The oldest player in the field at 51, she finished with 84.
• Carolina Ingliswho grew up in Eugene, Oregon, and now lives in Vancouver, Washington, was part of the group of 11 players tied for fourth place at 2 under par.
• Lidia Kowho lost in a tiebreaker against Brooke Henderson At the 2016 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, she shot a 3-over 75 in the first round. She has 20 LPGA wins and only needs one to qualify for the LPGA Hall of Fame.
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