Phoenix–defeated Hyo Joo Kim Nelly Korda For the second week in a row, leading the way on Sunday, he finished with a 3-under 69 for a two-shot victory at the Ford Championship.
Kim was poised to break the LPGA Tour’s scoring record of 72 holes, but an error led to a double bogey on the eighth hole and Korda lost hope.
Korda, who had trailed by four at the start of the final round, was suddenly only one shot behind. But the American missed a short par putt on the ninth, and followed that with a two-shot swing on the 10th – Kim hit an 18-inch approach for birdie, and Korda failed to get up-and-down for par.
Korda never got closer, finishing with an eagle-birdie of 67 as the tournament seemed out of reach.
Kim, who also won the Ford Championship last year, has now achieved back-to-back wins against Korda for the first time in his career. At the Founders Cup last week, the 30-year-old South Korean player shrugged off the accusations made by Korda on Sunday.
“I wanted to ask Nelly how it feels to win in a row,” Kim said with a laugh, referring to Korda’s five consecutive wins during the 2024 season.
Kim finished at 28-under 260. With three early birdies – and a week in which she twice posted rounds of 61 – it looked as if she might break the scoring record of 257 set by the LPGA. sei young kim At the 2017 Thornberry Creek LPGA Classic.
Those hopes were dashed on the par-4 eighth hole, when Kim missed his tee shot. He tried to punch a hybrid under the tree branches, but it ran hot on the sun-baked fairway, through the flaky greenery and didn’t stop rolling until it was down the slope and into the desert bushes.
This resulted in double bogey. Kim twice missed 5-foot birdie chances and also three-putted bogey on the 16th hole.
But it was Korda who had trouble putting, missing a putt past 2 feet in the 15th minute – his second narrow miss of the round – and that was it.
“Where did it go wrong? There are some shots here and there that I would like to take back, like some putts throughout the week,” Korda said. “I’ll miss those putts throughout my career and I can’t be disappointed in myself.”
Korda has won in three starts on the LPGA this year and has finished runner-up twice. This was the lowest in her LPGA career (26 under). She bumped into one of the hottest players in women’s golf.
“I’m done playing with him,” Korda joked.
It was the fifth consecutive time they were in the same group, and Korda had a good view of remarkable play, especially Kim’s putting.
“Hyo Joo is playing amazing golf,” Korda said. “She’s an amazing player and person. She definitely inspires me on the golf course.”
Japan’s Minami Katsu stood alone in third place with 65 points. to lydiaHe started the tournament with a 60 and finished fourth, eight shots behind.
