Nelly Korda didn’t have her best stuff all week at the LPGA’s T-Mobile Match Play. It finally caught up with her Friday.
Korda lost 1-up to Ariya Jutanugarn in the day’s final match at Shadow Creek, sending the defending champion and world number one home before the weekend knockout rounds begin.
Korda trailed most of the day, but rallied on the back nine to take a 1-up lead on the 13th hole. She gave it away down the stretch, failing to get up and down on Nos. 15 and 16, then leaving her tee shot in the penalty area on the par-3 17th.
The result was a loss and a 1-1-1 record over three days, not good enough to move on.
Jutanugarn survived thanks to low expectations, she said, including a sinking feeling Monday when the pairings came out and she found herself in a round-robin grouping with Korda.
“I had a pretty bad week last week, so to be honest I was already planning what I’m going to do on Sunday,” she said. “So I thought I’m not going to be able to play the weekend, so I kind of like chilling, no expectation at all.”
That attitude got her through to the knockout rounds, which begin Saturday with a round of 16 match against Narin An, one of nine players to go 3-0 in round-robin play.
Korda wasn’t alone in her struggles among the game’s top players. Jeeno Thitikul, ranked second in the world, was the only player in the top 10 to survive into the weekend. Thitikul continued to roll with a 5-and-3 victory over Hye-Jin Choi to remain perfect for the week.
And she’s doing it with her newly adopted, self-described “super chill” attitude.
“Even if I’m not going to make it to the weekend, I was just like, fine, I’ll go back to Dallas and have good fun, eat bunch of sushi,” she said.
There’s plenty of talent in the final 16, including Brooke Henderson and Sei Young Kim, the only players in the field to never trail in any of their three matches.
“It’s nice that I have been able to get off to relatively fast starts,” Henderson said. “And never being down, that’s not a nice place to be in, so it’s nice to always be ahead in your matches and keep pushing forward.”
Henderson only played nine holes and was 2-up on Friday when Jin Young Ko conceded their match due to illness. That sent Henderson to the round of 16 after playing just 36 holes in her first three matches.
Lauren Coughlin took a different route to the weekend, grinding through 55 holes, including a playoff against Lucy Li on Friday, to earn her tee time on Saturday.
“It’s what I’ve always done throughout my whole career,” said Coughlin, who joins Angel Yin as the only Americans to make it to the weekend. “I kind of always stay in it and fight until I can’t anymore.”
The final 16 includes a bevy of major championship winners in Jutanugarn, Henderson, Celine Boutier, Ashleigh Buhai, A Lim Kim and Sei Young Kim; a group of veteran players including Carlota Ciganda, Maja Stark and Madelene Sagstrom; and some younger players looking for a breakthrough win in Nataliya Guseva and Stephanie Kyriacou.
All the firepower around her doesn’t concern Guseva.
“I will just enjoy every moment of it,” said Guseva, the youngest player still standing at age 22. “Anything can happen, so let’s see.”
Greg Robertson covers golf for the Review-Journal. Reach him at grobertson@reviewjournal.com.
Up next
What: T-Mobile Match Play
When: Saturday-Sunday
Where: Shadow Creek
Round of 16: 7:20 a.m. Saturday
Quarterfinals: 1:15 p.m. Saturday
TV: 3 p.m. (Golf Channel)
Saturday’s matches
Round of 16
7:20 a.m.: Stephanie Kyriacou vs. A Lim Kim
7:30 a.m.: Sei Young Kim vs. Lauren Coughlin
7:40 a.m.: Brooke Henderson vs. Maja Stark
7:50 a.m.: Ariya Jutanugarn vs. Narin An
8 a.m.: Ashleigh Buhai vs. Celine Boutier
8:10 a.m.: Carlota Ciganda vs. Madelene Sagstrom
8:20 a.m.: Mao Saigo vs. Angel Yin
8:30 a.m.: Jeeno Thitikul vs. Nataliya Guseva
Friday’s results
Megan Khang def. Rose Zhang, concession
Nanna Koerstz Madsen def. Bailey Tardy, 1 up
Jennifer Kupcho def. Brittany Altomare, 3 and 2
Angel Yin def. Jin Hee Im, 4 and 3
Pajaree Anannarukarn tied Moriya Jutanugarn
Haeran Ryu def. Mao Saigo, 1 up
Andrea Lee def. Linnea Strom, 3 and 2
Nataliya Guseva def. Albane Valenzuela, 1 up
Yealimi Noh def. Yuka Saso, 1 up
Narin An def. Hinako Shibuno, 2 up
A Lim Kim def. Amy Yang, 2 up
Jenny Shin def. Grace Kim, 2 up
Nasa Hataoka def. Ayaka Furue, 3 and 2
Stephanie Kyriacou tied Auston Kim
Lauren Coughlin def. Ina Yoon, 1 up
Lucy Li def. Mi Hyang Lee, 2 and 1
Sei Young Kim def. Ruoning Yin, 3 and 1
Chanettee Wannasaen def. Yuna Nishimura, 3 and 2
Sarah Schmelzel def. Somi Lee, 1 up
Celine Boutier def. Allisen Corpuz, 1 up
Esther Henseleit def. Charley Hull, 5 and 4
Ashleigh Buhai def. Alexa Pano, 4 and 3
Gabriela Ruffels tied Hira Naveed
Carlota Ciganda def. Lydia Ko, 2 up
Jeeno Thitikul def. Hye-Jin Choi, 5 and 3
Gaby Lopez def. Danielle Kang, 5 and 4
Madelene Sagstrom def. Jasmine Suwannapura, 4 and 2
Patty Tavatanakit def. Minjee Lee, 1 up
Maja Stark def. Hyo Joo Kim, 2 and 1
Leona Maguire def. Peiyun Chien, 2 and 1
Brooke Henderson def. Jin Young Ko, concession
Ariya Jutanugarn def. Nelly Korda, 1 up
