Dottie Ardina finally makes her Olympic Games debut in Paris 2024, after she skipped Rio 2016.
Philippine golfer Dottie Ardina is just happy to be in the Olympic Games Paris 2024, finally making it to the quadriennial event.
She was supposed to make her first appearance in Rio 2016, but had to skip due to the thread of the Zika virus.
"I'm very excited, finally. I get to play this week," Ardina told Cignal TV/One Sports. "I'm happy that I'm here."
But it wasn't quite the start Dottie wanted, immediately making a bogey on the second and fifth holes.
The back nine was worse. She bogeyed the 13th hole, bounced back with a birdie on the 14th, made a double bogey on the 15th, got another birdie on the 16th, and then bogeyed again on the 18th.
Ardina went four-over par for a score of 76, good for tied 40th.
She chuckled when asked about it.
"I made a few mistakes. Bawi na lang," she said. "Medyo mahangin today. I still managed pretty well, except those three holes I hit in the hazard. But yeah, tomorrow is a new day."
It's not jitters, she clarified.
"Today I guess is not my day, one of those days."
[ALSO READ: Paris 2024: Bianca Pagdanganan lands joint 13th, Dottie Ardina joint 40th after Round 1 of golf]
Round 2 will be on August 8, Thursday, 3:00 p.m., Philippine time.
(With reports from Denise Tan/Cignal TV, One Sports)