Bank of Hope LPGA Match-Play: Day Two

American Brittany Altomare notched a huge upset on Thursday at the Bank of Hope LPGA Match-Play presented by MGM Rewards, coming back from a three-hole deficit to capture a 2-and-1 victory over top-seeded Minjee Lee.

Lee got out to a quick lead, moving 1 up through two holes and carrying a 3-up lead to No. 8. From there, Altomare chipped away at Lee’s lead, winning holes 8-9 to pull within one. Altomare tied the match with a par at No. 12 and added wins at 13 and 14 to go 2 up, a lead she held until the end.
“On the sixth hole I hit my drive right into the fairway bunker and I hit a really great shot out of it to like 15 feet and made birdie,” said Altomare. “I know I lost the hole after that, but it was a momentum shifter for me. Like hitting those great shots and making a birdie out of the fairway bunker was a really great momentum shift for me.”
Altomare will face No. 64-seed Youngin Chun on Friday with a trip to the Round of 16 on the line. Altomare and Lee both have one point. Caroline Masson leads their pod with two points after wins on both Wednesday and Thursday.

No. 63 Tiffany Chan is 2-0-0 through two days, following a day-one victory over No. 2 seed Atthaya Thitikul with a 4-and-3 win on Thursday over her close friend Alison Lee. Chan, a sponsor invitation from Hong Kong who now calls Las Vegas home, won holes 4-6 to build a 3-up lead and cruise in for victory.
“I came out on the first tee telling myself; fairways and greens. I had a little bit up and down back nine yesterday, but today I went off the same game plan that I had, and on the back nine I'm just telling myself it's only going to get firmer, more windy; fairways and greens,” said Chan, who will clinch a berth in the Round of 16 with a win or tie in Friday’s match with Amy Olson. “We are really trying to save pars and hopefully birdie putts drop out there. Not trying to give myself too much pressure. Game plan worked again, so looking forward to tomorrow.”

Gaby Lopez continued her strong play at Shadow Creek, following Wednesday’s 6-and-5 win over Chella Choi with a 3-and-2 victory over Cheyenne Knight. Defending Match-Play champion Ally Ewing bounced back from a day-one loss with a 3-and-2 victory over Jasmine Suwannapura.
Sophia Popov, who fell to Ewing in the 2021 final, lost her second match of the week on Thursday and will not advance to the knock-out bracket. Other notable players who will not advance to the bracket include Danielle Kang, So Yeon Ryu, Lizette Salas and Atthaya Thitikul.

GROUP-PLAY DAY TWO RESULTS
Group 1 – Brittany Altomare def. Minjee Lee, 3 and 1; Caroline Masson def. Youngin Chun, 2 and 1
Group 2 – Amy Olson def. Atthaya Thitikul, 1 up; Tiffany Chan def. Alison Lee, 4 and 3
Group 3 – Hyo Joo Kim def. Sarah Schmelzel, 2 and 1; Matilda Castren tied with Allisen Corpuz
Group 4 – Eun-Hee Ji def. Danielle Kang, 2 and 1; Pajaree Anannarukarn tied with Kelly Tan
Group 5 – Jennifer Kupcho def. Lauren Stephenson, 3 and 2; Stacy Lewis tied with Emma Talley
Group 6 – Jenny Shin def. Hannah Green, 5 and 3; Haeji Kang def. Sophia Popov, 2 up
Group 7 – Nanna Koerstz Madsen def. Elizabeth Szokol, 6 and 5; Paula Reto def. Yealimi Noh, 3 and 2
Group 8 – Gemma Dryburgh def. Chella Choi, 2 and 1; Gaby Lopez def. Cheyenne Knight, 3 and 2
Group 9 – Ashleigh Buhai def. Jeongeun Lee6, 5 and 4; Moriya Jutanugarn def. Maude-Aimee Leblanc, 6 and 5
Group 10 – Ayaka Furue def. Angel Yin, 3 and 2; Carlota Ciganda def. Pauline Roussin-Bouchard, 3 and 1
Group 11 – Georgia Hall def. Perrine Delacour, 1 up; Mina Harigae tied with Annie Park
Group 12 – Madelene Sagstrom def. Wei-Ling Hsu, 1 up; Albane Valenzuela def. Ryann O’Toole, 2 up
Group 13 – Su Oh def. Lizette Salas, 4 and 3; Hye-Jin Choi def. Aditi Ashok, 3 and 2
Group 14 – Charley Hull def. Esther Henseleit, 3 and 2; Lilia Vu def. Ariya Jutanugarn, 2 and 1
Group 15 – Ally Ewing def. Jasmine Suwannapura, 3 and 2; Jodi Ewart Shadoff def. So Yeon Ryu, 3 and 2
Group 16 – Andrea Lee def. A Lim Kim, 2 up; Megan Khang tied with Stephanie Meadow

POINTS THROUGH DAY TWO
Group 1 – Caroline Masson, 2; Brittany Altomare, 1; Minjee Lee, 1; Youngin Chun, 0
Group 2 – Tiffany Chan, 2; Amy Olson, 1.5; Alison Lee, .5; Atthaya Thitikul, 0 
Group 3 – Allisen Corpuz, 1.5; Matilda Castren, 1; Hyo Joo Kim, 1; Sarah Schmelzel, .5
Group 4 – Eun-Hee Ji, 2; Kelly Tan, 1.5; Pajaree Anannarukarn, .5; Danielle Kang, 0
Group 5 – Emma Talley, 1.5; Lauren Stephenson, 1; Jennifer Kupcho, 1; Stacy Lewis, .5
Group 6 – Jenny Shin, 2; Hannah Green, 1; Haeji Kang, 1; Sophia Popov, 0
Group 7 – Paula Reto, 2; Elizabeth Szokol, 1; Nanna Koerstz Madsen, 1; Yealimi Noh, 0
Group 8 – Gaby Lopez, 2; Cheyenne Knight, 1; Gemma Dryburgh, 1; Chella Choi, 0
Group 9 – Moriya Jutanugarn, 1.5; Ashleigh Buhai, 1.5; Jeongeun Lee6, .5; Maude-Aimee Leblanc, .5 
Group 10 – Carlota Ciganda, 2; Ayaka Furue, 1.5; Pauline Roussin-Bouchard, .5; Angel Yin, 0
Group 11 – Annie Park, 1.5; Perrine Delacour, 1; Georgia Hall, 1; Mina Harigae, .5
Group 12 – Madelene Sagstrom, 1; Ryann O’Toole, 1; Albane Valenzuela, 1; Wei-Ling Hsu, 0
Group 13 – Hye-Jin Choi, 2; Su Oh, 1; Aditi Ashok, 1; Lizette Salas, 0
Group 14 – Lilia Vu, 2; Ariya Jutanugarn, 1; Charley Hull, 1; Esther Henseleit, 0
Group 15 – Jodi Ewart Shadoff, 2; Jasmine Suwannapura, 1; Ally Ewing, 1; So Yeon Ryu, 0
Group 16 – Andrea Lee, 1.5; Stephanie Meadow, 1; Megan Khang, 1; A Lim Kim, .5