NCAA Championships Start Friday for Pagdanganan
5/19/2016 12:00:00 AM | Women's Golf
May 19, 2016
NCAA Championships
May 20-23 | Eugene Country Club | Eugene, Ore.
May 20-23 | Eugene Country Club | Eugene, Ore.
| PAR AND DISTANCE: | Par 72; 6,349 yards or 6,331 yards |
| TEE TIMES: | 12:55 p.m. Friday, 8:25 a.m. Saturday, TBD Sunday, TBD Monday |
| FORMAT: | 72 holes (four rounds) of stroke play; field cut to top 15 teams and nine individuals not on advancing team |
| LIVE SCORING: | GolfStat.com |
| TV COVERAGE: | The Golf Channel (Monday from 3:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.) |
LAST TIME OUT:
- Freshman Bianca Pagdanganan earned a historic berth in the NCAA Championships at the Bryan Regional May 5-7, becoming the first Gonzaga golfer - male or female - to compete for the national title.
- Pagdanganan was the third individual from Bryan, Texas, to advance to the Championships after tying for eighth with a 2-under-par 214 at Traditions Golf Club. The tournament score is the lowest of her career and fifth-lowest in program history. The top six teams and top three individuals not already on an advancing team all earned Championship berths in Bryan and each of the other three Regionals around the country. Pagdanganan was the final individual from Bryan to qualify.
- The native of Quezon City, Philippines, fired a 67 (-5) on day one to top the Regional's leaderboard, and she followed up with a 69 (-3) on day two, ending the day one shot back of first place. Her score of 136 (-8) at the end of day two is the lowest 36-hole score in program history, and her first-round 67 tied for the program's third-best round. During May 7th's final round, she scrapped her way to eight pars and a birdie on the front nine, re-taking the lead at the 45-hole mark in the tournament. She then took a quadruple bogey on the par-5 10th but held on to an advancing position despite carding a 78 (+6) during the final round.
TOP ZAG:
- Pagdanganan (pronounced POG - dun - gone - on) has been the Bulldogs' top player throughout the year, leading the team with a 72.50 stroke average. That is the lowest in school history by over a stroke, as current junior Ciera Min set the record at 73.89 last season. She also leads the team with 11 rounds at or below par.
- Additionally, Pagdanganan was the highest-finishing Bulldog in five of the eight tournaments she played in (she missed the Pat Lesser Harbottle Invitational due to illness) and won the prestigious Edean Ihlanfeldt Invite back in October. She leads the team with four Top 5 finishes and six Top 10s.
- Predictably, she is also the highest-ranked Zag in the national polls. Pagdanganan is No. 51 in GolfWeek's latest poll - second in the West Coast Conference behind Pepperdine's Marissa Chow - and she's also No. 51 in the nation according to GolfStat, again the second-ranked WCC player.
CO-FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR:
- Pagdanganan was named Co-Freshman of the Year in the West Coast Conference, sharing the award with Rose Huang of BYU. She is the second Zag to earn the honor after current senior Raychelle Santos did so in 2013.
- Pagdanganan joined WCC medalist Ciera Min as Bulldogs receiving First Team All-WCC honors. Gonzaga has now placed multiple players on the All-Conference team every year since 2011.
A NEW PAG IN THE RECORD BOOKS:
- As a freshman, Pagdanganan has already made an impact on the Zags' record books. Not only is she one of eight medalists in Gonzaga's history, she's just one of six Bulldogs who have turned in a round of 70 or below. She holds three of Gonzaga's 20 rounds below 70, and those three rounds already tie her for the third-most in program history.
- Pagdanganan also holds two of the lowest eight 36-hole scores in program history. Her two-round total of 142 (-2) at the Edean Ihlanfeldt Invitational is the eighth-lowest, and her 8-under 136 in Bryan is the lowest.
ZAGS AT NCAAs:
- 2016 is the fourth year in a row at least part of the GU women's golf team competed at NCAA Regionals. The Zags made their first appearance in 2013 after earning an at-large bid, and they picked up at-large berths in each of the next two seasons. With the consecutive at-large berths, the women's golf team became the first Gonzaga squad in any sport to earn three consecutive at-large berths to NCAA postseason play.
- In addition to becoming the first Zag to play at the NCAA Championships, Pagdanganan also is the first member of the women's golf team to earn an individual berth to the NCAA Regionals.
PLAYING THE BEST:
- Pagdanganan has played in five of the 40 most difficult tournaments in the nation (according to GolfWeek and the Sagarin rating system): the Bryan Regional (19), the Silverado Showdown (No. 23), the West Coast Conference Championships (32), the Bay Area Intercollegiate (34), and Edean Ihlanfeldt Invitational (36). Pagdanganan posted a Top 10 finish in all five tournaments, including her win at the Edean Ihlanfeldt. Her average finish in those tournaments was fifth.
- Her stroke average in those five tournaments was 72.29, and six of her 13 rounds at or under par came in those competitions, including her 67 and all three 69s.
SPRING IN HER STEP:
- Despite a stroke average .29 higher than her season average, Pagdanganan's posted strong results in the spring. Three of her four Top 5 finishes and five of the six Top 10s have come during the Zags' spring season (including the WCC Championships and NCAA Regionals), and she still remained in the Top 25 during her only other tournament of 2016. She began the spring season with a fourth-place finish at The Gold Rush and fifth place at the Bay Area Intercollegiate, finishing at even par for both tournaments. She also tied for seventh in a tough field at the Silverado Showdown to end the regular season.
- Additionally, Pagdanganan saw a strong finish at the WCC Championships where she tied for second with a final round 69 (-3). It was her second 69 of the year; she also went below 70 during the opening round of the Edean Ihlanfeldt Invitational in October, a tournament which she eventually won. She shot sub-70 twice at the NCAA Regionals.
BEFORE GU:
- Pagdanganan was very active on the junior circuit in her native Philippines, medaling in the stroke play portion of the Philippine Amateur Open in 2013 and winning the amateur division of the 2013 Philippine ladies Open. She also has multiple appearances at Junior Worlds, including a Top 25 placement in 2013, and is a member of the training pool for the Philippines' National Golf Team.
ENDING ON A HIGH NOTE:
- As a team, the Zags' 2015-16 season ended on a high note as the Bulldogs finished in second place at the West Coast Conference Championships. They fired 290 (+2), their fourth-lowest score of the season, to pass Pepperdine on the final day and finish just three strokes back of conference champion BYU. At one point during the final nine holes, the Zags pulled within one of the Cougars.
- The second-place finish at the WCCs was their best of the year and fourth No. 2 finish at the conference tournament.
Players Mentioned
Tuesday, June 30
Monday, June 29
Monday, June 29
Friday, June 26
