It was a partner vs. partner match-up on day two of round-robin pool play at the Bank of Hope LPGA Match-Play. Kentuckian Emma Talley faced off with her Dow Great Lakes Bay Invitational partner Jodi Ewart Shadoff, ultimately winning the match, 4 and 2. Ewart Shadoff swung early, winning the par-4 second hole to go 1 up and Talley answered, winning Nos. 3 and 4 to flip the match and take a 1-up lead. Talley then took the sixth hole to move to 2 up and the pair traded punches on the next four holes, with Ewart Shadoff winning 7 and 9 and Talley winning 8 and 10, but it was Talley who emerged with the 2-up lead.
After tying the par-4 11th, Talley struck again on the 12th, making bogey to Ewart Shadoff’s double bogey and moving to 3 up with six to play. They tied the next three holes and it only took a par from Talley on that par-5 16th to seal the deal and give the 29-year-old her first win of the week.
“It was really fun. Unfortunately that's my Dow partner, so it was a little awkward to say the least, but I had a fun day. It's a hard golf course. The greens got firm this afternoon and a bit windy, so we had fun, as much fun as we could,” said Talley. “I never felt comfortable, even on the last still. I still wasn't comfortable because everybody out here is really good and you never know when the momentum is going to change. This golf course is really hard, so you can hit a good shot and it could roll out and not be in the best of spots. You just never know when it's going to change, and I didn't really feel comfortable until we picked up the last hole.”
Talley is one of many players making the most of their time in Las Vegas, Nev., enjoying everything that Sin City has to offer away from the golf course. Sporting events, thrilling shows and incredible restaurants are a great way to get away from the stress and strain of professional golf life, and Talley has definitely let herself indulge, in more ways than one.
“The first day we got here we went to the (Vegas Golden) Knights game, which was so fun. They won in overtime. It was game 2 of the west, so that was really fun,” Talley said. “Then we went to David Copperfield last night. He's a legend, so got to see him. It's been really fun just walking around, people seeing. There's so much to do here, so just enjoying my time in Vegas.”
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