MANILA, Philippines — Filipina Rianne Malixi marched into the Round of 32 of the US Women’s Amateur Championship after nosing out American Annabelle Pancake in the Match Play opener, 2 and 1, Wednesday in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
The sixth-seeded Malixi won four holes from the 12th to 17th, firing an eagle at the Southern Hill Country Club’s par-5 13th, to fend off her 59th-ranked rival with a hole to spare.
Malixi next faces 27th-ranked Anna Huang of Canada in a dispute for a spot in the Last-16. Huang advanced at the expense of her 38th-ranked Round of 64 opponent, Carla Escuder of Spain, 1-up.
Pancake, one of 10 survivors of the 20-player playoff for tickets to the KO rounds, managed to draw level with the 17-year-old Malixi with a birdie at the 14th versus the latter’s par.