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| Hyo Joo Kim / Photo: Getty Images |
[Sports Today reporter Lee Sang-pil] Hyo Joo Kim picked up her eighth LPGA Tour victory on Tuesday.
On March 23 (Korean time) at Sharon Heights Golf & Country Club in Menlo Park, California (par 72 / 6,542 yards), Kim shot a 1-over 73 in the final round of the Fortinet Founders Cup (purse $3 million), carding four birdies and five bogeys.
Kim closed at 16-under 272, holding off Nelly Korda (U.S.), who finished at 15-under 273, to win by one stroke. The winner’s prize was $450,000 (about 600 million KRW).
It was Kim’s first Founders Cup title since 2015 — an 11-year gap — and her first victory of the season, marking her eighth career LPGA win. The triumph came roughly a year after her last victory at the Ford Championship in March of last year.
Kim led wire-to-wire over the four rounds. Her win follows Mi Hyang Lee’s victory at the Blue Bay LPGA earlier this month, giving Korean players back-to-back trophies on the LPGA Tour.
Kim entered the final round with a five-shot lead over Korda, but the closing stretch turned into a battle. Kim bogeyed the 2nd hole for a shaky start. She answered with consecutive birdies at 6 and 7, only to drop a shot at 8 and head to the back nine without extending her advantage.
Korda produced a charge on the front nine, posting five birdies and one bogey to erase most of the deficit. A birdie at the 10th pulled Korda level with Kim for the lead.
Kim regained the solo lead with a birdie at 11. Both players bogeyed the 12th. Kim stretched the margin to two with a birdie at 14, but a bogey at 16 cut her lead back to one.
In the end, Kim held firm. Korda’s bogey at 17 restored a two-shot cushion for Kim entering the par-5 18th. Kim made bogey on the final hole but hung on to win by a single stroke.
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| Hyo Joo Kim / Photo: Getty Images |
At her winner’s press conference, Kim reflected on the week: “I played great on the first day and struggled the second. I played well on the third and expected today to be tough — and it was. Still, I’m relieved and very happy to win.”
She added that the win carried special meaning because she first won this event as a rookie. “Winning the same tournament twice is really meaningful. The wire-to-wire part isn’t something I dwell on — what matters is who stands on top at the end,” she said.
Kim wrapped up by saying, “This week has made me so happy. I’ll take away some really great memories.”
Sei Young Kim and Im Jin-hee tied for third at 11-under 277. Hae-ran Yu shot 10-under 278 to join Minjee Lee (Australia) and Miyu Yamashita (Japan) in a tie for fifth.
A-rim Kim finished 9-under 279 to tie for 12th, while Hye-jin Choi carded 8-under 280 to tie for 14th alongside Jino Tittikun (Thailand) and others.
In-ji Jeon and Su-bin Joo tied for 27th at 6-under 282. Jeong-eun Lee 5 and Min-ji Kang tied for 36th at 5-under 283, and Ina Yoon finished 4-under 284 to tie for 42nd.
[Sports Today reporter Lee Sang-pil sports@stoo.com]
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