Altomare hangs on to tie defending champ Korda at LPGA Match Play

LOS ANGELES: Nelly Korda’s LPGA Match Play title defense got off to a sluggish start Wednesday as Brittany Altomare rallied from 2-down to tie the world No. 1 on the opening day at Shadow Creek in Las Vegas, Nevada.

“To end up in a tie was a win for me,” said Altomare, who is working her way back after taking time off to have a baby last year.

“Nelly is a great player. Obviously world No. 1 and a great person. It was a lot of fun out there.”

On a day when cold, gusting winds ramped up the level of difficulty, Korda opened with three bogeys as Altomare took an early 1-up lead.

Korda’s first birdie of the day at the par-three fifth put her 1-up and she was 2-up with four to play before a bogey at 15 cut her lead to one.

Altomare nabbed her first birdie of the day at the par-five 16th to level the match.

“I reached that green in two, and I think those two shots really felt good,” Altomare said.

“I was 2-down, so I felt like that was kind of a turning point for me to keep the match going.”

Korda’s Match Play victory last year was part of a spectacular seven-title campaign.

But she has yet to win this season, with two top-10 finishes in three starts.

The tie left Korda and Altomare half a point behind Ariya Jutanugarn in group one after the Thai star rallied late to beat Jennifer Kupcho 3 and 2.

This year’s tournament features 64 players drawn into 16 groups for round-robin match play, with one player from each group advancing to the knockout rounds.

If there is a tie for first in a group, the winner will be determined by a playoff.

It is a change from last year, when the top eight players after three rounds of stroke play advanced to weekend match play.

Among other day-one matches, Canada’s Brooke Henderson