Angel Yin maintained her steady play, knocking out Japan’s Mao Saigo and Thailand’s Jeeno Thitikul on Saturday to advance to the semifinals at the T-Mobile Match Play on Friday in North Las Vegas, Nev.
“I mean, this golf course anything can happen,” Yin said about the challenge of playing at Shadow Creek Golf Course. “You’re just so scared at this point because some of the putts can get really, really fast.”
Yin, ranked No. 10, is the highest-ranked player left standing after a wild Saturday that whittled a top 16 down to a final four. Thitikul, ranked second, was Yin’s latest victim, getting knocked out 4 and 2. Prior to that, Yin defeated Saigo 3 and 2.
“I mean, definitely feels good to beat (Thitikul),” Yin said.
Meanwhile, Ariya Jutanugarn of Thailand continued her remarkable run after emerging from Group 1 with a head-to-head win over world No. 1 Nelly Korda, dispatching South Korea’s Narin An 1 up and Sweden’s Maja Stark 4 and 2 to secure her spot in the semis.
“Today is a good day, but I feel so, so tired,” Jutanugarn said. “In the afternoon, it’s kind of like, just make sure I have enough energy to finish 18 holes, so I didn’t focus about anything much. Make sure I drink lots of water, eat good and, you know, save my energy.”
Also advancing to Sunday’s action was Lauren Coughlin, who knocked out South Korea’s Sei Young Kim 2 up, then took down Australia’s Stephanie Kyriacou 1 up.
“Really I’m just trying to stay in my one match tomorrow morning and see what happens,” Coughlin said. “Hopefully I’ll have a chance to win it all, but my main focus will be tomorrow morning.”
One last quarterfinal match will need to be completed Sunday, as France’s Celine Boutier and Sweden’s Madelene Sagstrom, who are tied through 17 holes, had their match suspended due to darkness.
In the round of 16, Sagstrom downed Spain’s Carlota Ciganda in 19 holes, while Boutier defeated South Africa’s Ashleigh Buhai.
The 64-player field was divided into 16 four-player groups competing in three days of round-robin matches. A win earned one point, a tie earned a half-point and a loss was worth zero points. The winner of each group moved on to the 16-player, single-elimination bracket which continues with the semifinals and finals on Sunday.
–Field Level Media
