Bank of Hope LPGA Match-Play: Leona Maguire and Lilia Vu among winners on day one in Las Vegas | Golf News

Ireland’s Leona Maguire beats Linnea Strom 4&2 in opening day of Bank of Hope LPGA Match-Play in Las Vegas; Scotland’s Gemma Dryburgh and England’s Jodi Ewart Shadoff lost the first matches; The tournament runs until Sunday with the final two days live on Sky Sports Golf

Leona Maguire beats Linnea Strom 4&2 on opening day of Bank of Hope LPGA Match-Play in Las Vegas

Ireland’s Leona Maguire, Chevron Championship winner Lilia Vu and two-time major champion Brooke Henderson won their opening matches at the Bank of Hope LPGA Match-Play, but there were losses for Gemma Dryburgh and Jodi Ewart Shadoff of Britain.

Maguire defeated Linnea Strom 4&2, while top-seed Vu defeated Lauren Hartlage 4&3 and Henderson defeated Yaeeun Hong 3&2 on the first day of the 64-player event in Las Vegas.

Maguire, coming off a three-week break, said: “[It was] it’s great to get back into the swing of things. I think it’s one of the best golf courses we’ve played all year. Very nice shape. You really need to execute your shots.

“I ran the ball well. It wasn’t the smoothest round but I made two good putts when I needed to.”

Vu and Henderson are the only members of the world’s top 10 competing in Nevada, in an event that will see players split into 16 groups of four for round-robin play before the knockout stage. weekend fight rounds.

The last 16 will be played on Saturday morning followed by the quarter-finals in the afternoon, with the semi-finals and finals on Sunday.

Scotland’s Dryburgh was beaten by two by Stacy Lewis on Wednesday, while England’s Ewart Shadoff lost by the same margin to Yu Liu after the Chinese player won the last three holes.

Other notable names to start with losses include 2017 Women’s PGA champion Danielle Kang and last year’s Chevron Championship winner Jennifer Kupcho, who was defeated by Muni He and Carolina Inglis.

Celine Boutier, the No 3 seed, led through 18 holes and won when opponent Min Lee double-bogeyed, with the match one of 13 to go the distance among 32 matches.

Watch the knockout stages of the Bank of Hope LPGA Match-Play live on Sky Sports Golf this weekend. Coverage will begin at 11 pm on Saturdays and Sundays.