ORLANDO, Fla. – The first full-field event of the season at LPGA will begin Thursday at Gainbridge LPGA, but it could be several more weeks before the longest-running spectator of the trip returns to action.
Bianca Pagdanganan, who was a rookie who led the journey in driving speed in 2020, could not qualify on Monday for the Lake Nona event. While she will try again at next week’s LPGA Drive On Tournament at Golden Ocala, the player is not long slated to compete for the Lotte Tournament in mid-April. Not because she doesn’t want to pick it up, but because of the 2021 rules of play.
LPGA’s annual list of priorities is the guide it uses to find out who enters the field each week. LPGA commissioner Mike Whan announced in May last year that the trip would use the same priority list for the 2021 season as it had in 2020, due to coronavirus infection. Winners in 2020 could improve their position on the priority list with impact, but everyone else, regardless of performance, would maintain their status into 2021.
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“I try not to think about it as much as there is only so much we can control, and I feel towards some things as one of the few I can control. , ”Pagdanganan told GolfChannel.com by email. “I’m going to enjoy this year and the competitions I play.”
Pagdanganan made the most of her playing opportunities in 2020. She made her debut in July, participated in 10 events, recorded two top-10s and finished the season at No. 60 on the money list. In a typical year, that high-80 finish on the money list would have gone into almost every event in 2021. However, Pagdangans won’t get the benefits of a tough first season. Instead, she sits at No. 167 in Division 14, which is made up of the top-45 finishers at the 2019 Q-Series. That was her only situation at the start of last season with a limited number of play opportunities.
She was 20th alternately for the Gainbridge event.
“I don’t know how I feel about a second rookie season, but it’s good to come into the year with more experience because of the events I was able to play last year,” said Pagdanganan. “With that experience, I have a better idea of where my game is and [I’ll] use last year as an incentive to work harder and be a better player. ”
If the 23-year-old Filipino enjoyed a season similar to the one she had in her first run as a rookie, she could be relegated to a higher position on the priority list (after Pure Silk Tournament ended on May 23) and increased playing opportunities in the final months of the 2021 season.
Pagdangnan finished T-9 in her top record at the KPMG Women’s PGA Tournament to earn the biggest payday of the year, $ 83,765. She led the trip at a driving speed of 283.07 yards.