Los Angeles (United States) (AFP) – Defending champion Kim Hyo-joo won the LPGA Ford Championship on Sunday, seizing her second title in as many weeks as she again out-dueled American Nelly Korda. Kim, who had set the LPGA 54-hole scoring record at 25-under on Saturday, fired a three-under par 69 for a 28-under total and a two-shot win over Korda at Whirlwind Golf Club in Phoenix, Arizona.
“It feels fantastic,” said Kim, the world number four who last week withstood a late surge by Korda to win the Founders Cup by one stroke. She had more breathing room on Sunday after firing impressive 61s in the first and third rounds, starting the day with a four-shot lead and picking up birdies in three of her first seven holes. A double bogey at the eighth cut her lead to one stroke, but she responded with birdies at 10 and 12 that pushed her lead back to four. After a bogey at 16, Kim nabbed her last birdie of the day at the par-five 17th.
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“Hyo-joo has been playing amazing golf,” said Korda, who had two eagles and four birdies in her five-under 67 for 262. Kim, 30, bagged her ninth LPGA title, making her first successful title defense and claiming multiple wins in a season for the first time. “It has been inspiring to see,” said Korda after being alongside the South Korean for a second straight weekend. “Playing with her I definitely elevate my game.”
Korda made sure of solo second place with a bravura finish that featured an eagle at the 17th and a birdie at the last. Japan’s Minami Katsu had charged up the leaderboard with seven birdies in a seven-under 65, her 23-under total briefly pulling her level with Korda before she settled for third. Korda, who claimed her first win since her seven-title 2024 season when she captured the season-opening Tournament of Champions, said she had little to fault in her game.
“I mean, two eagles today,” Korda said. “Made some solid putts, missed one or two that I wish I could get back, but that’s just golf. (I’m) just excited with the way my game is going and I’m excited to keep improving.”
© 2024 AFP
