Nelly Korda's scorecard before getting eliminated at the T-Mobile Match Play

Nelly Korda will be missing out on the quarter-finals of the T-Mobile Match Play Championship. On Friday, she was paired with Thailand native Ariya Jutanugarn and had to defeat her to grab the win.

However, her dreams of defending her title were shattered into pieces. Jutanugarn beat the Rolex Women's World No. 1 by 1-up on the final day of the round-robin play, leading to her exit ahead of the round of 16.

Korda started off well, taking the lead on the par-3 13th hole, despite missing the green. However, the round was very bumpy throughout.

Jutanugarn did bogey, which came in handy for Korda, but it was not very long. On the 15th hole, Jutanugarn carded a 40-foot putt to within two feet. Korda followed it up with a similar yet more aggressive shot but missed the return putt and then another short putt on No.16, which put the final nail in the coffin.

"That putt to me is quite hard because of the slope and it's like downhill and its slope left to right pretty good. I just told myself I just need to get the speed right, and that's all I focus on," said Jutanugarn (via NBC Sports).

Nelly Korda did manage to defeat Ariya Jutanugarn in four holes but luck was not in her favor, and the latter is now set to face South Korea's Narin An in the next round.

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Nelly Korda’s 2025 season so far

Nelly Korda had an exceptional season last year, beating records and surfing her way through it all. However, we can surely not say it’s the same for her this year. Even though she did begin with a blast, it is not going very great.

She kickstarted the 2025 season with the Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions and came very close to clinching the trophy. However, this year it was A Lim Kim who had her name written on the title. The saddest part for Nelly Korda was that she had to let it slip away by just two strokes.

Syndication: Sarasota Herald-Tribune - Source: Imagn

She then appeared in the Founders Cup presented by the US Virgin Islands. Although she did have a decent top-10 finish in it too (T7), when it comes to matching the standards that she had set last year, it does not sit very right.

Things went from bad to worse for the World No. 1 as she had a disappointing stint at the Ford Championship presented by Wild Horse Pass, where she finished with a 14-under at T22. Even though she was eager to follow it up with a better finish, the T-Mobile Match Play tragedy struck.

Things seem to be a little slippery slope for Nelly Korda but she has still got a lot of time to bounce back given that the season has only begun.