Brooke Henderson won two matches with just 27 holes. For the Canadian to guarantee a spot at the T-Mobile Match Play weekend, he has to win one more.
A day after defeating Peiyun Chien of Taiwan 6 and 5 in the first round, Henderson overcame Peiyun Chien 5 and 4 on Thursday by winning five of the final seven holes.
There remains one additional day of round-robin competition at Shadow Creek prior to the weekend's knockout stage, which will be contested by the winners of each of the 16 groups. Even if no participant secured victory in their respective group, the unpredictable nature of the system resulted in the elimination of at least 18 players on another day.
To win her group, Nelly Korda, the reigning champion and top player, must defeat Ariya Jutanugarn. In a one-up victory over Jennifer Kupcho, Korda had a few wobbly moments and cut her first match in half.
After missing a 4-foot putt to go three up with three holes remaining, Korda handed up the par-5 16th hole with a bogey. As the 18th approached, Kupcho shifted her vehicle to the left of the danger zone. She stopped observing when her subsequent shot struck a tree, only to find the ball on the green.
Korda did a good job of lagging her approach to a foot, considering it was 40 feet (ca. 12 m) long. Jutanugarn, holding a 2-0 record and requiring only a half against Korda, served as the opponent during a pivotal match when Kupcho failed to convert her 30-foot birdie attempt.
Henderson and Lydia Ko are now the only players in both rounds who have not yet played the 15th hole. The difference is that Ko defeated Gabriela Ruffels 6 and 5 on Thursday after losing her opening match 6 and 4. Ko's group as a whole is 1-1.
A sudden-death playoff is used to determine the winner if any group finishes in a tie.
Joo Hyo After defeating Nanna Koertz Madsen in the playoffs in Arizona last week, Kim rallied for her second victory of the week by winning the final four holes. Maja Stark and Kim will play on Friday to determine who advances; they are now 2-0.
After three holes, Rose Zhang lost to Albane Valenzuela in her match. In the first round, Zhang had complained of a neck injury. That creates an odd situation.
The elimination of Valenzuela would occur if Zhang was unable to play against Meghan Khang. If Zhang is able to play and defeats Khang, Valenzuela might defeat Nataliya Guseva and win the group.
Leona Maguire and Jin Young Ko, in yet another strange circumstance, are among those ousted.
For Ko to have a chance at the weekend, he had to win the match. After 16, Ko was eliminated because the match was dormie. The South Korean player secured the next two holes, halving the match deficit and eliminating Maguire from the game.