Hyo Joo Kim wins Ford Championship, edging Nelly Korda by two strokes

PHOENIX — When the LPGA calendar turns to the Ford Championship, few women want anything to do with Hyo Joo Kim.

Since the event’s debut in 2024, the two-time South Korean Olympian has won two of three editions in dominant fashion. 

“I’m done playing with her,” No. 2-ranked Nelly Korda said, joking. “Hyo Joo (Kim) has been playing amazing golf. It’s been really inspiring to see. She’s just a phenomenal player and person, too. She’s fun to play along, and she definitely motivates me out on the golf course.”

Kim fired a final round 3-under-par 69 at Whirlwind Golf Club in Chandler to win her second Ford Championship on Sunday, marking the 30-year-old’s first title defense, her first win in back-to-back starts and her first multiple-win season.

Kim, currently ranked No. 4 in the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings, broke the previous 54-hole tournament record held by Lilia Vu by seven strokes. She recorded three eagles, the most she’s had in a single event on tour. 

Kim also set her career and Ford Championship 72-hole low, finishing at 28-under, 260 – only three shots shy of the LPGA Tour record of 257 Sei Young Kim shot at the 2018 Thornberry Creek LPGA Classic. 

Kim’s only loss at Ford Championship came in 2024 before the tournament moved to the Cattail Course at Whirlwind Golf Club in 2025. She finished in a tie that year. The only other winner is this year’s runner-up, Korda. 

Kim played alongside Korda for the final round, during which Korda applied pressure with a pair of eagles. However, Kim held on to beat Korda for the second week in a row. 

With one win and two runner-ups in her three starts this season, Korda is looking to follow Kim and be the second player to win multiple events this year. 

Kim’s first win of the year came last week at the Fortinet Founders Cup at Sharon Heights Golf and Country Club in Menlo Park, California. She carried momentum from that victory into her defense in Phoenix.

“It’s super hard as a player to become a defending champion,” Kim said. “But I took the great energy from last week and the course and all of that into this place here, and I want to carry that on to next week.”

Kim’s energy helped her win in style via consistent and clean golf, never finding herself in a bunker through 72 holes in Phoenix. 

She also sank a highlight-worthy 50-foot-plus putt for birdie on the par-3 10th, helping her finish at 1.52 putts per hole. Putting is something Kim emphasized on Tuesday before tournament play. 

“It’s really about putting,” Kim said. “I was talking with Lydia Ko on the putting green, and we talked about how it’s really about the putting and how that really translates to score.”

No. 8-ranked Ko started the tournament hot, shooting a 12-under 60 in the first round and she needed only three more putts than Kim in the tournament.

However, Ko was unable to convert on two out of four of her sand saves Sunday, leaving her at 20-under and in fourth place. It marked the New Zealand citizen’s third top-5 finish in five starts this season. 

Ko hopes she can continue to play at a high level next week in her third consecutive start. 

“I do think I’ve got to just kind of commit to it next week. It’s a new week with new greens, so just not get too stressed about it,” Ko said. “But overall it’s been a good week and nice to finish with a top five.” 

Since the Ford Championship is the only time the LPGA is scheduled to play in Arizona this year, the women’s next opportunity to break Kim’s momentum is the Aramco Championship at Shadow Creek Golf Course on April 2 in Las Vegas.

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