Celine Boutier showcased her resilience in an intense showdown at the T-Mobile Match Play event in North Las Vegas, Nevada. Boutier took on Ashleigh Buhai in what turned out to be the longest match in the tournament’s five-year history, lasting 28 holes. This surpassed the previous record of 22 holes, a milestone reached twice in earlier matches.
Following her victory, Boutier advanced to the quarterfinals, where she later faced Madelene Sagstrom, who also endured an extended match, overcoming Carlota Ciganda in 19 holes. Buhai’s bogey on the final hole allowed Boutier to clinch her win with a par.
Meanwhile, second-ranked Jeeno Thitikul delivered a commanding performance, decisively defeating Nataliya Guseva 8 and 7. Thitikul stands as the only top 10 ranked player remaining, with most of the field’s elite, including the top-ranked and defending champion Nelly Korda, ousted during Friday’s decisive round-robin stage. Thitikul, hailing from Thailand, attributes her triumphs at the challenging Shadow Creek course to her lighthearted approach: “Just trying to hit where my caddie wants me to go.” She was set to face Angel Yin in the quarterfinals, who had a solid 3 and 2 victory over Mao Saigo. Yin, ranked 12th and based in Los Angeles, represents the highest-ranked contender left after Thitikul.
The remaining round-of-16 matches saw close contests, with Stephanie Kyriacou narrowly defeating A Lim Kim 2 and 1, Lauren Coughlin overcoming Sei Young Kim 2-up, Maja Stark swiftly dispatching Brooke Henderson 5 and 4, while Ariya Jutanugarn edged out Narin An 1-up. In the quarterfinal line-up, Jutanugarn faced Stark, as Coughlin was set against Kyriacou.
Sei Young Kim and Henderson were the only players who had not trailed throughout the initial stages, but both have now exited the competition. Reflecting on the challenges of Shadow Creek, Stark remarked, “It is the hardest course in the world, probably. It’s so firm, so fast, and there are so many times during these rounds where you just go, ‘Well, I can’t go towards the hole here.’ On chips even. You can be 10 meters from the pin, but still can’t go towards the pin. Yeah, just a little silly, but it’s a perfect match play course.”