It was Thailand native Ariya Jutanugarn who advanced from group 1 at the T-Mobile Match Play presented by MGM Rewards, earning a berth in the single-elimination match-play portion of the competition after defeating Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings No. 1 Nelly Korda on Friday in Las Vegas.

The major champion went undefeated over the first three days of round-robin group play at Shadow Creek Golf Course, also taking down Jennifer Kupcho on day one and Brittany Altomare on day two in addition to Korda. Her match with Kupcho saw Jutanugarn trail for much of the round until she won five consecutive holes from Nos. 11 to 15 to take a 3-up lead with three holes to play, ultimately closing out the major winner 3 and 2 on the par-4 16th hole.

Thursday play was much less stressful for Jutanugarn, as she took the lead on the first hole of the match she played against Altomare and never relinquished it, closing out the Massachusetts native on the 17th hole at Shadow Creek 2 and 1. Her Friday showdown with Korda, however, was a bit more tumultuous. Jutanugarn held a 2-up lead over the 15-time LPGA Tour winner through six holes, but Korda won the seventh hole to get back to 1 down and tied the match after making birdie on the par-5 9th hole.

Korda flipped the match by winning the par-3 13th hole to go 1 up with five holes remaining, and Jutanugarn then squared things up late with a win on the 15th hole. A victory on the 16th hole gave Jutanugarn a 1-up advantage over Nelly with just two holes to play, and even though she fought as hard as she could on day three in Sin City, the odds just weren’t leaning in Korda’s favor. The pair tied holes 17 and 18 at Shadow Creek, giving Jutanugarn a 1-up victory and handing the LPGA Tour winner the third point she needed to qualify for the round of 16 matches on Saturday.

“It's pretty tough today because of the wind,” Jutanugarn said. “And it's match play. You have to be really patient. I have some up and down. I've been missing some shots and hit some pretty good. Overall, it's just so much fun to have a chance to play with Nelly. She's one of the best players, and I really look, like you know. We had fun today.”

This week marks Jutanugarn’s fourth time competing in the T-Mobile Match Play presented by MGM Rewards, and it’s just the second time ever that she has advanced to the single-elimination rounds. The 29-year-old last did so in 2021 and ultimately finished alone in third after losing in the semifinals to eventual champion Ally Ewing and seeing Shanshan Feng concede the consolation match the two were scheduled to play in on Sunday to determine the third- and fourth-place finishers.

Jutanugarn, who earned two points and also went undefeated in 2021, now finds herself in a similar position four seasons later in Las Vegas with her 13th career LPGA Tour title well within reach. She will have to overtake three more opponents if she wants to earn one of the two spots available in the Championship Match on Sunday afternoon at Shadow Creek, but just making it to the weekend in this tournament is already a big win for Jutanugarn, who admitted that she didn’t foresee advancing through group play at the T-Mobile Match Play presented, particularly after playing so poorly at the Ford Championship presented by Wild Horse Pass the week before.

“I would say I had a pretty bad week last week, so to be honest, I'm already plan what I'm going to do on Sunday. I thought I'm not going to be able to play the weekend, so I kind of chilling, no expectation at all,” said Jutanugarn, who missed the cut at Ford. “I feel like the last three days showed me a lot when I play without expectation, so I will try to do that. It's match play. It's really stressful. Every hole you play you try to beat other player. It's quite hard.

“After last week, I feel a bit more confidence because I've been working on some stuff, and seems like it's work out pretty good. I’m going to keep trying my best and keep working on.”

Ariya Jutanugarn Advances to Weekend After Win Over Defending Champ Nelly Korda in Vegas

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