Las vegas: Thai stars Ariya Jutanugarn and Jeeno Thitikul recorded their second group wins at the LPGA Match Play in North Las Vegas, Nevada, on Thursday.
Ariya won 2 and 1 against Brittany Altomare to continue to lead Group 1 while world No.2 Jeeno improved to 2-0 with a 2 and 1 victory over Gaby Lopez in Group 2.
Overall, 12 golfers are 2-0 through two days of play at Shadow Creek Golf Course, putting each in a strong position to win her group and advance to the 16-player field.
World No.1 Nelly Korda avoided a second straight collapse in Group 1, building a lead and held on to finish 1 up on Jennifer Kupcho, who fell to 0-2 in the event.
That marked an improvement from Wednesday for Korda, when the defending champion settled for halving her match after losing a late lead to Altomare.
Ariya will face Korda in the final leg of the round robin. A win there would give either player the group.
Jeeno, who beat American Danielle Kang in the first match, will play South Korea's Choi Hye-Jin (1-1) in the final group match.
Pajaree Anannarukarn, who won her opener in Group 10, lost to Angel Yin 1 up. She will face fellow Thai Moriya Jutanugarn, who lost to Im Jin-Hee, in the final match.
Patty Tavatanakit revived her hopes with a 4 and 3 win over compatriot Jasmine Suwannapura in Group 14. She will face Australia's Minjee Lee, who also has one win and one loss, in the final group match. Madelene Sagstrom of Sweden leads the group with two wins.
Other players emerging from the first two round-robin days with 2-0 records and in prime position to advance were Canadian Brooke Henderson, France's Celine Boutier, South Koreans Kim A-Lim, Kim Sei-Young and An Na-Rin, Japan's Mao Saigo and Australian Stephanie Kyriacou.
World No.3 Lydia Ko of New Zealand kept herself alive in a tight Group 3 with a 6 and 5 victory over Australian Gabriela Ruffels.
While Ko said she thought a "cut-throat" single elimination format, with the loser of each match eliminated, was more in keeping with the match play vibe, she was delighted to still have a shot at the weekend.
The 64-player field is divided into 16 four-player groups competing in three days of round-robin matches. A win earns one point, a tie earns a half-point and a loss is zero points. bangkok post/agencies
