North Las Vegas, Nevada – Nelly Corda, the world’s top-ranked player, will not be there this weekend to protect the T-Mobile Match Play Championship.
She had to beat Ariya Jutanugarn, but lost 1-Up on Friday on the final day of round robin play and failed to qualify for the 16th round.
The Corda Struggle symbolizes the week for the top 10 players in the world. The eight played in this tournament at Shadow Creek, but only second-placed Jeeno Thitikul advanced to the knockout stage. She plays Natalya Guseva.
“I don’t think it’s because the top players aren’t playing well, but I think it’s because it’s not a ranking issue here,” Thitikul said. “Maybe the top players are playing well, but the other players just play a little better, which is like holding the win.”
The winners of 16 groups on Round-Robin Play competed in the start of exclusion play on Saturday morning. The quarterfinals will take place in the afternoon, narrowing the field on Sundays for the semifinals and championships to four.
Despite missing out on the green, Korda seemed poised to put herself in the company, taking the lead in 13th place, par 3. She went up and down, and Jutanougan bogeyed.
The benefits didn’t last long.
The role was reversed on the PAR-4 on the 15th when Jutanugarn moved up and down with a 40-foot putt within two feet.
“That putt is very difficult due to the slope, and it’s like a downhill, and it’s pretty good from left to right to left,” said Jutanugarn, who will face Narin in the next round. “I told myself I just had to get the speed right, and that’s all I’m focusing on.”
Korda had a similar shot, but delivered an offensive chip five times past the cup, then missed the cambucker. The match was tied, but this amounted to Korda’s loss.
It was then a complete loss when he missed another short putt on No. 16 and was unable to make up for the difference between the last two holes.
Korda is still looking for his first victory of the season. This is in a big contrast to a year ago, when he won four consecutive games, winning matches, and his first player in 16 years. She extended the streak to 5 two weeks after the Chevron Championship, setting the tour record.
Thitikul was caught in the Elimination format, beating Thai native Hee-Jin Choi 5 and 3, winning all three round robin matches. She plays Guseva, who has advanced from the same group as Rose Chan, who is battling a neck injury.
Chang admitted her match with Meghan Kang the day after he did the same thing with Alban Valenzuela, who had three holes left. The decision by Chan, who lives in Las Vegas, elicited that it would not affect the group. Anyway, Guseva moved forward and secured a one-up victory over Valenzuela by making a 55-foot putt on 18th Green.
“I knew I needed magic and that was when I stopped that putt,” Guseva said. “At that moment I thought I would win this match. I fought to the end. I never gave up.”
Brooke Henderson won his first two matches on the route and advanced when his third round opponent, Gin Youngco, admitted after nine holes. Henderson, who was two years old at the time, said KO was in a bad mood.
The only player who never followed in a match with Say Young Kim, Henderson will face Maja Stark. Kim opposes Lauren Coughlin.
Finishing the schedule is Stephanie Kyriakou with Lim Kim, Mao Zedong for Angel Inn, Carlota Ciganda for Madeleine Sagstrom and Ashley Buhai for Celine Butier.