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Ariya Jutanugarn defeats sister Moriya in Lorena Ochoa Match Play
Sean M. Haffey
The second day of the Citibanamex Lorena Ochoa Match Play event in Mexico was an eventful one, especially for the Jutanugarn sisters. The way the brackets shook out, Ariya and her older sister, Moriya, were pitted against each other in the round of 32. Moriya, 57th in the Rolex Rankings, took her sister to the 18th hole, but Ariya, ranked third in the Rolex Rankings, won, 2 up.
“We had a deal and whoever lost was just going to go back home,” Moriya said. “I just, I want to go back home. I like it here, and I can cheer her from back home. I don’t need to be here.”
As hard as it was for Moriya to lose, it wasn’t all that fun for Ariya to win, either.
“We don’t try to be easy on each other,” Ariya said. “Hopefully next time we are not on the same pool, and don’t have to see each other so early in the week.”
But the sister duo wasn’t the only story of the day. Four matches went into extra holes and there were eight upsets. One of the most notable was Angela Stanford beating No. 1-seed Inbee Park, 3 and 2.
“I remember telling my caddie, 'The only way I’m going to beat her is with birdies.' You just can’t make mistakes,” Stanford said.
Michelle Wie, who cruised past Lizette Salas, 6 and 5, in the first round, won again in the second round, this time beating Laura Gonzalez Escallon, 3 and 2.
“I left my putts short all day,” Wie said. “They looked like they were going in, but they were just short. And I finally made the 20-footer on 11, and that felt really good and it projected me forward.
“I’m happy with how I played. It was a fun but tough match. I’m happy with the way I’m playing, and just happy to survive.”
Wie will play Marina Alex in the round of 16.
Also still in contention for the title are XX players inside the top 20 on the Rolex Rankings: No. 1 Lydia Ko, No .7 Shanshan Feng, No. 12 Sei Young Kim, No. 13 Brooke Henderson, NO. 14 Cristie Kerr and No. 19 Charley Hull,