LOS ANGELES – South Korea’s Ji Eun-hee kicked off her LPGA Match-Play title defence with a 3 & 2 victory over Finn Matilda Castren on Wednesday as top-seeded Lilia Vu surged late on for a win.
Ji, who beat Japan’s Ayaka Furue in the 2022 final at Shadow Creek in Las Vegas, gained the upper hand on Castren with a par to win hole No. 2 and was three up after winning the 12th with a par.
Castren cut the deficit with a par to win the 14th, but a par was enough for Ji to win the 15th and, when they split the par-five 16th, the match was hers.
“I didn’t have the best shot today but luck came with it,” Ji said. “I don’t think my opponent had the best day either, so that helped ease the process a little bit.”
Going up early was a big help on a windy day at a challenging course, she added.
“When I have the lead in the beginning, I can definitely not lose the lead,” said the 37-year-old, whose six LPGA titles include the 2009 US Women’s Open.
“Shadow Creek definitely isn’t an easy course. Every hole is very complicated, so you have to think a lot about that.”
Vu won her first Major at the Chevron Championship in April. She is the highest-ranked player in the 64-strong field at world No. 4.
She never trailed on the way to a 4 & 3 victory over Lauren Hartlege, winning four straight holes from the 12th through the 15th to pull away after her fellow American had tied it up with a birdie to win the 11th.
“Being No. 1 seed, everybody says it’s a curse, but I was just trying to forget about that and just play one shot at a time,” said Vu, who sank a long birdie putt at the tough par-four 15th to seal the win.
Second-seeded Brooke M. Henderson of Canada, the world’s eighth-ranked player, posted a 3 & 2 win over South Korea’s Hong Yae-eun.
Round-robin play, in 16 groups of four, continues through Friday, with 16 players advancing to the weekend knockout rounds.
There were dominant 5 & 4 wins for Thailand’s Pornanong Phatlum, American Lauren Coughlin and Australian Karis Davidson.
Pornanong defeated Mexico’s Gaby Lopez while Coughlin beat fellow American Andrea Lee and Davidson downed China’s Lin Xiyu.
Ecuador’s Daniela Darquea, three down through 10 holes against American Allisen Corpuz, won the next two holes with birdies as she turned it around for a 1-up win. AFP, REUTERS
