BIANCA PAGDANGANAN
AGE 26, QUEZON CITY, PHILIPPINES
on a game that was good enough to help Arizona win the team portion of the 2018 NCAA Championship and qualify for Tokyo after just a year as a professional. Pagdanganan ranks fourth in driving distance on the LPGA Tour with an average of 274 yards (250) and had her best year in 2023, finishing second once and making eight cuts in 11 events. “I’ve grown a lot in the last three years,” says Pagdanganan, who tied for 43rd in Tokyo. “I know how to handle myself on the course better, how to handle the highs and lows.”
“Growing up, the Olympics was the biggest stage you could be on. Getting there was just surreal, and when you got to the course, you could feel how grand it was,” she says. “I knew I was in the Olympics, but it was a little strange with all the restrictions and no spectators. I’m looking forward to the spectacle and to experience all the fans as a player and going to see the other Philippines athletes compete. When I’m enjoying myself, that’s when I play my best.” Pagdanganan has three more years of professional polish
Does the experience an athlete gains at the Olympics really count when the games are played almost in a vacuum, as they were in Tokyo during the pandemic? Bianca Pagdanganan lived her dream of making it to the Olympics but playing on empty, fan-restricted courses with only her caddie to interact with left her feeling detached from the excitement her friends experienced watching her on television. She’s aiming for the full experience in Paris, from competing to taking in the sights in and out of the Olympic Village.
‘I’M LOOKING FORWARD TO THE SPECTACLE AND TO EXPERIENCE ALL THE FANS.’
GOLF DIGEST SOUTH AFRICA 67
JULY/AUGUST 2024
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