Playing in the morning shift and after her good start to the tournament yesterday, Carlota Ciganda (-4) has put on a real show at Shadow Creek in Las Vegas to complete the first 36 holes of the T-Mobile Match Play as joint leader of the classification. The Navarrese golfer has handed in a sensational card of 67 strokes, without fault, to climb 30 places in the table and present her candidacy for the knockout rounds of the weekend.
The Spaniard has sealed a round with five birdies, free of bogeys, on a course that due to its difficulty and playing conditions, is becoming a ‘ball’ for many of the favourites. A great day of golf for Carlota and that even though she has not managed to squeeze any of the four par fives of the course of the city of casinos. Although she has not needed it to take command of the tournament alongside the Americans Angel Yin (-4) and Rose Zhang (-4) and the South Korean Sei Young Kim (-4).
🧼 @carlotagolf with a cleannnnn round pic.twitter.com/uKbPjAM7WT
— LPGA (@LPGA) April 4, 2024
These four, along with the Irish Leona Maguire (-3), the Japanese Minami Katsu (-3), the English Jodi Ewart Shadoff (-1) and the also Japanese Yuka Saso (-1) would currently be the eight golfers who would manage to access the quarterfinals of this Match Play. Although they will still have 18 holes in stroke play on Friday to confirm their pass to the eliminatory rounds in which the winner of this Las Vegas event, the last before the first major of 2024, will be decided.
Other favourites such as Brooke Henderson (PAR), Maja Stark (PAR), Lydia Ko (+1), Min Jee Lee (+1) or the current world Number One, Nelly Korda (+2), among others, will have to speed up to try to get among those first eight who will compete for the victory at the weekend after the decisive cut on Friday. Tonight, after the first 36 holes, there was a first sieve for the 65 best and tied from which Azahara Muñoz (+11) was left out at the last minute.
The Malaga woman, after her complicated start to the tournament, lived a round of ups and downs that started with two bogeys, a double bogey and a birdie in the first nine holes, and added two more bogeys to the 2 and 3 (she started playing from the 10 tee). But a great birdie on hole 6 put her with nine over par, the right result to continue playing on Friday, with no chance of reaching the playoffs, but yes to fight to climb positions. However, one more double bogey on her last hole left her with no chance to continue with a final card of 78 strokes.
