The T-Mobile Match Play at Shadow Creek in Las Vegas kicks off tomorrow. The tournament begins with three days of round robin group play. Here are our predictions for each group winner:
GROUP 1: Nelly Korda, Ariya Jutanugarn, Jennifer Kupcho, Brittany Altomare
This one feels pretty easy. Nelly Korda is a good match play performer and won this event last year, showing she can perform well at Shadow Creek.
GROUP 2: Jeeno Thitikul, Hye-Jin Choi, Gaby Lopez, Danielle Kang
Picking Lopez is tempting coming off a good performance in Arizona last week, but I feel pretty confident that Jeeno will get out of this group alive. She is so consistent and it will be tough to get hole wins against her.
GROUP 3: Lydia Ko, Carlota Ciganda, Gabi Ruffels, Hira Naveed
I am sticking with chalk here. Though Ciganda has a lot of strong match play experience, Ko has looked really solid in the early stages of the season. This is a tough group though where a lot can happen, but Lydia feels like a good bet.
GROUP 4: Ruoning Yin, Sei Young Kim, Chanettee Wannasaen, Yuna Nishimura
I’m going with Sei Young Kim here, who I think has a style of play that fits match play. She’s one of the most aggressive players and can make birdies in bunches. She played well in this event in 2024 also.
GROUP 5: Ayaka Furue, Nasa Hataoka, Stephanie Kyriacou, Auston Kim
This is probably one of the three most stacked groups top-to-bottom. Any of these players could come out on top and it wouldn’t shock me. I am going to go with the underdog Auston Kim though, with her long hitting being the difference.
GROUP 6: Charley Hull, Esther Henseleit, Ashleigh Buhai, Alexa Pano
Charley Hull is a terrific match play competitor, just look at what she did to Nelly Korda in the Solheim Cup last year. This is one of the picks I feel the most confident in.
GROUP 7: Haeran Ryu, Mao Saigo, Andrea Lee, Linnea Strom
I like Ryu in this one, a player that shows so much consistency seemingly every week. Yes, her putting is inconsistent at best, which could be a problem at Shadow Creek, but she is also as good of a ball striker as there is in the world, and I think she got a relatively favorable draw.
GROUP 8: Jin Young Ko, Brooke Henderson, Leona Maguire, Peiyun Chien
Easily the group of death here, I am going to put my confidence in Leona Maguire in match play. Yes, the Solheim Cup in 2024 was a mess, but I am not letting that deter me. Maguire has played terrific in this the last two years, and I have faith in her once again to have a good showing.
GROUP 9: Hyo Joo Kim, Maja Stark, Nanna Koerstz Madsen, Bailey Tardy
Similar to Sei Young Kim, I love the upside that Koerstz Madsen brings to a format like this. She hits it long and not always in an ideal spot, but that is less of an issue in match play. She also should have some good momentum after logging a lot of good rounds in 2025.
GROUP 10: Angel Yin, Jin Hee Im, Pajaree Anannarukarn, Moriya Jutanugarn
Whoever comes out of this group will be dangerous, as these players have shown a lot of success in this event. I am leaning Angel Yin though, who despite just recovering from a broken leg, played well in this tournament last year and is a good performer in this style of play.
GROUP 11: Celine Boutier, Allisen Corpuz, Sarah Schmelzel, Somi Lee
I like Corpuz here, who is coming off her best finish of the season in Arizona. Corpuz putts phenomenally, rarely makes mistakes and has shown in her fantastic Solheim Cup appearances how well she can play matches.
GROUP 12: Amy Yang, A Lim Kim, Jenny Shin, Grace Kim
A Lim Kim is coming off her first average performance of the season, but I’m not worried about that. A Lim has been playing with so much confidence and striking the ball so well, I think she cruises through this group.
GROUP 13: Lauren Coughlin, Ina Yoon, Mi Hyang Lee, Lucy Li
Lauren Coughlin takes care of business here.
GROUP 14: Minjee Lee, Patty Tavatanakit, Madelene Sagström, Jasmine Suwannapura
Minjee’s brother Min Woo is now a winner on the PGA Tour, and I think she performs well here this week also. Lee is one of the most rested players in the field after not playing in Arizona, and her game has shown some real signs of life after her dreadful 2024.
GROUP 15: Rose Zhang, Megan Khang, Albane Valenzuela, Nataliya Guseva
This is another group that top-to-bottom is absolutely stacked. It would not shock me to see any of the four advance. I am taking Rose here though, who was the leader in the stroke play format last year at Shadow Creek. She, like Khang, also showed her match play ability in her incredible Solheim Cup performance in 2024.
GROUP 16: Yealimi Noh, Yuka Saso, Narin An, Hinako Shibuno
This is another one of those groups, where realistically I could see any of the four players advancing. I’ll pick Noh here though, as her ball striking has been so elite and her game has found a lot of consitency.
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