Paula Reto saw off world number 20 Nanna Koerstz Madsen of Norway 2&1 on Wednesday in the first round of the round robin section of the LPGA Tour’s Bank of Hope LPGA Match-Play in Las Vegas.
Reto, seeded 58th, went up on the first hole with an early birdie, but Madsen, the seventh seed, hit back with birdies on four and six. Reto clawed her way back to tie the match up at the eighth with another birdie, and then pulled ahead again with birdie on 11. Madsen locked things up again with birdie on 13, but Reto banked the win with consecutive birdies on 14 and 14. The pair shared pars on 16 and 17 for Reto to pull off a surprise on a day of surprises.
The 61st seed Kelly Tan made a massive splash in her first-ever match-play tournament, never trailing in a 7&5 victory over number four Danielle Kang. Tan won six consecutive holes from five to 10, building a 7-up lead over the American Solheim Cup star, who has been battling a back injury for the last month.
The other South African in the tournament, Ashleigh Buhai, seeded 41st, held on for a tie with the 24th seed, Moriya Jutanugarn of Thailand. Buhai went 3-up through nine holes with birdies on four, six and nine. Jutanugarn made four birdies in a row from the 10th to wrest the lead from Buhai, who drew level with a clutch birdie on 17. The pair shared the final hole.
