Leona Maguire came from two down after eight holes to defeat Ally Ewing 2&1 in her opening round-robin group game in the Bank of Hope LPGA matchplay in Las Vegas.
The 26-year-old reeled off four successive birdies from the ninth to turn a two-shot deficit into a two-shot advantage at Shadow Creek.
Maguire confirmed victory on the penultimate hole and will now face Jennifer Kupcho, a 6&4 winner over Christina Kim.
Grinded it out for a tough win on day 1 @LPGAMatchPlay 💪🏼 pic.twitter.com/P8IXEPQBiV
— Leona Maguire (@leona_maguire) May 26, 2021
The 16 group winners will progress through to Saturday's knock-out stages.
