Lydia Ko faced upset in a round full of upsets. At the same time, Nelly Korda fought through a brutal head-to-head match against Jennifer Kupcho at the season-long competition currently in progress. What emerged from this rivalry was equally emotional moments that humanized both athletes under pressure. Korda will need to beat Ariya Jutanugarn in her next match to move on.
Lydia Ko teamed up with Brooke Henderson as the only players to have avoided playing the 15th hole in both opening rounds. They were both pretty remarkable amongst their peers! Incredibly, even with this bizarre situation, Ko was still able to win the next two holes against Leona Maguire and win down the last half the match. Unfortunately, this result still was not enough, and she was later knocked out of the tournament.
Nelly Korda, the defending champion and the No. 1 player in the world, found herself way behind in her match. The fight was a hotly contested and competitive one. She even missed a 4-foot putt that would have extended her lead to a commanding 3-up lead on Kupcho. As it turned out, this miss would be extremely costly as Korda would later lose the par-5 16th hole with a bogey. After a few wobbly moments in her game during the match, Korda was able to grind out a hard-fought 1-up win against Kupcho.
For sure do not have my A-game at this moment. That’s the greatest thing about match play. Even if you don’t have your best stuff you have to grind it out,” Korda remarked after her round.
In order to get out of her pod, Korda will need to beat Jutanugarn, who is 2-0 so far. Jutanugarn would only have to win the match to guarantee her own advancement.
In another match, Hyo Joo Kim demonstrated remarkable resilience, winning the last four holes to rally against Nanna Koertz Madsen. This victory was Kim’s second win of the week, after her Arizona last week playoff victory. With an impressive record of 2-0, Kim will face Maja Stark on Friday in a decisive match to determine who progresses further in the tournament.
With the competition as red hot as ever, players are putting their all into their strategy and performances. We would like to see more of these matches, as they always have a great effect on the tournament’s outcome. As the competition enters the homestretch, each outcome is of monumental importance.
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