LOS ANGELES (AFP) — World number one and defending champion Nelly Korda beat Jennifer Kupcho 1-up on Thursday to keep alive her hopes of advancing to the knockout stage of the LPGA Match Play in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Korda survived what she called “very questionable” play coming down the stretch against Kupcho.

She went 2-up with a par at the 12th hole and remained 2-up despite a bogey at 15.

But Korda’s bogey at the par-five 16th saw Kupcho claw back a hole before Korda closed out the win as they tied each of the last two holes with pars.

“Definitely don’t have my best stuff right now,” said Korda, whose victory at Shadow Creek golf course last year was one of her seven LPGA titles in 2024.

“That’s the greatest thing about match play is even if you don’t have your best stuff you have to grind it out.”

Korda, who tied her opening match against Brittany Altomare on Wednesday, faces a must-win match on Friday against Thailand’s Ariya Jutanugarn, who beat Altomare 2&1 on Thursday to improve to 2-0.

The winner of each of the 16 four-woman groups advances to the knockout round.

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