In 2024, Filipina golfer Bianca Pagdanganan placed golf on the Philippines’ mainstream map after making history at the Paris Olympics. Viewers watched the women’s competitions with bated breaths, where the athlete concluded her stint with a historic joint fourth placement, the highest Olympic golf ranking for the Philippines. While she may have been one spot shy from a podium finish, the collective pride still runs strong for the Filipina Olympian!
Curious about the young golfer? Ahead, get to know Bianca Pagdanganan with these essential facts.
Also read: Who Is Dottie Ardina? What to Know About the Filipina Olympic Golfer
Who Is Bianca Pagdanganan? 10 Facts About the Filipina Olympic Golfer
1. Bianca was 26 years old at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
The Filipina golfer was born on October 28, 1997 in Quezon City, Philippines, making her 26 at the Paris Games.
2. Bianca started golfing because of her dad.
Like many Olympic athletes, Bianca began her sport at a tender age. She took an interest in golf at the age of seven after noticing her dad’s interest in the sport. “He would always play golf over the weekends, which made me curious. One day, I asked to go to the driving range with him and he let me hit a few golf balls, and it took off from there,” she said, as quoted in her Olympics.com profile.
3. She studied college in the United States.
The athlete is a full-blooded Filipina who was born and raised in the Philippines and graduated from high school in Assumption Antipolo. However, Bianca made the move Stateside for her college education, studying at Gonzaga University in Spokane, Washington and eventually to the University of Arizona. There, she joined the ranks of the Arizona Wildcats for golf competitions at the National Collegiate Athletic Association, her gateway to professional golf. Now, Bianca is based in Apopka, Florida.
4. She made her Olympic debut in Tokyo.
Keeping true to her roots, Bianca represented the Philippines for her Olympic debut in Tokyo 2020, where she ranked 43 in the Women’s Individual Stroke Play event.
5. She’s a big Taylor Swift fan.
Bianca is a true-blue Swiftie! The athlete lists Taylor Swift as one of her favorite artists, according to her Mr. Biofile interview.
6. She likes to bake and crochet.
To unwind after grueling bouts on the golf course, Bianca takes on several hobbies so as to not let the sport “consume” her. In a 2023 interview with The Philippine Star, the golfer says that she began baking chocolate chip cookies, reading NBA star Gianni Antetokounmpo’s book for inspiration, and crocheting.
“I’m slightly embarrassed, a little bit shy, but I got into crocheting. I got those packs where they teach you step-by-step how to make stuff,” she said in the interview. “The last couple of weeks while everyone was in Asia [for the two-leg LPGA swing], I made a narwhal and a dinosaur.”
“I just tried to find other things to do, enjoy my life outside of golf. I just tried to not let it consume me,” Bianca explained. “I tried to find other things that made me happy outside the [golf] course and hopefully that was able to bring some balance back into my game.”
7. She once donated her prize money to the national golf program.
Bianca, alongside her teammates Yuka Saso and Lois Kaye Go, won the gold medal for the team event at the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta, Indonesia, but they opted not to take the cash incentives for themselves. The team explained that if they kept them, they would lose their status as amateurs and consequently, future opportunities to represent the Philippines in other games.
Because of this, they opted to donate their incentives to the National Golf Association of the Philippines instead. “We unanimously agreed that if it were possible to donate this money to support the national golf program—and thus help other aspiring golfers reach their goals—this would be the best scenario for us.”
“It was really, for me, never about the money,” Bianca said in a 2019 The Philippine Star interview. “Growing up, representing the country was really my biggest dream and goal. So I felt great to be able to do that.”
8. Her hero is Filipina golfer Jennifer Rosales.
According to the Olympics, Bianca takes inspiration from another influential Filipina golfer: Jennifer Rosales. The athlete was the first golfer from the Philippines who won at the Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) tour, boasting a well-awarded history in golf.
9. She earned the Philippines’ best finish in Olympic golf in Paris 2024.
Bianca made history at the 2024 Paris Olympics, where she netted the country’s best finish in Olympic golf. The athlete scored a joint fourth place after four rounds in the women’s golf competition, where she was a spot away from a bronze medal.
“I wanted it so bad and I really did my best,” she told Cignal. “I gave it my all, I gave myself all the opportunities that I could, I saved a lot of shots, and I’m really proud of how I performed today.”
10. You can follow her on Instagram.
Congratulate Bianca and get up-to-date on the golfer’s next competitions over her official Instagram page!
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