Korean Hyo Joo Kim claimed her seventh LPGA Tour title at the Ford Championship presented by Wild Horse Pass on Sunday, edging overnight leader Lilia Vu of the United States in a sudden-death playoff at Whirlwind Golf Club.
On an exciting final day in the Arizonian desert, Kim signed off with a superb eight-under-par 64 for a 22-under-par 266 total to catch overnight leader Vu, who shot a closing 68.
On the first playoff hole at the par-four 18th, Kim nailed her 10th birdie of the day from six feet to seal her first LPGA Tour victory since October 2023. Vu had earlier missed a 15-foot birdie attempt.
“It has been a while since the last win. I worked hard in the winter, but it was still a surprise that the win came so quickly,” said Kim, who started the final round four shots behind Vu.
“It feels great and I was just thinking, one hole at a time, one birdie at a time,” added the 29-year-old.
Kim made headlines in 2014 when she won her first and only Major at the Amundi Evian Championship as a teenager and non-LPGA member. She joined the LPGA Tour the following season and has amassed more than US$10 million in career earnings, thanks to the US$337,500 cheque she picked up for her latest win.
Vu, who was chasing her sixth LPGA Tour victory, took a lot of positives from her week. The 27-year-old has been struggling with a niggling back injury over the last few years.
“I'm proud that I kind of stuck to my weekly goal. The only goal is to be in tune with my body. This is probably the most I've felt like me in the past year and a half,” said the former world number one and two-time Major winner.
American Allisen Corpuz took third place just a shot shy of the playoff after a closing 65, with Thailand’s Jeeno Thitikul a stroke further back . Both players had been tied for the lead in the early part of the closing nine.
2024 champion and world number one Nelly Korda settled for joint 22nd on 14-under-par, falling out of contention after a third round 73.
The LPGA Tour switches into match play mode for the upcoming T-Mobile Match Play presented by MGM Rewards at Shadow Creek in Las Vegas, Nevada, where Korda is the defending champion.
