South Korean Golfer Claims Back-to-Back LPGA Victories, Defeats Korda Again

Hyo Joo Kim successfully defended her Ford Championship title in Arizona, marking her second consecutive LPGA Tour victory. The South Korean golfer finished at 28-under par, defeating world No. 2 Nelly Korda by two strokes for the second week in a row.

South Korean golfer Hyo Joo Kim captured her second consecutive LPGA Tour victory Sunday, successfully defending her Ford Championship title in Chandler, Arizona, while once again defeating world No. 2 Nelly Korda.

Kim carded a final-round 69, three strokes under par, to finish the tournament at 28-under 260 at Whirlwind Golf Club’s Cattail Course. The 30-year-old golfer displayed remarkable consistency throughout the four-day event, recording scores of 61 and 69 in alternating fashion.

Despite stumbling with a double-bogey six on the eighth hole and dropping another shot at the par-4 16th, Kim recovered with six birdies distributed evenly across both halves of her scorecard.

Speaking through an interpreter after her victory, Kim reflected on the challenge of defending a title. “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 performance included setting the LPGA’s 54-hole scoring record on Saturday, though she fell three shots short of matching the tour’s 72-hole record of 257, established by Sei Young Kim in 2017.

Korda, who entered the final round trailing, mounted a strong challenge with two eagles during her 67 on Sunday. The American star found the bottom of the cup twice on par-5 holes, at the second and 17th, before adding a birdie at the 18th hole in a late surge.

However, Kim maintained her composure, making par on the final hole to secure a two-shot victory at 26-under par. This marked the second straight week that Kim edged Korda, having defeated her by a single stroke at the previous week’s Fortinet Founders Cup.

The mutual respect between the competitors was evident in their post-round comments. Kim, who has previously stated that Korda is her favorite player, praised her playing partner’s performance.

“Just loved and felt great playing with Nelly,” Kim said. “She has such a beautiful swing and this whole time it was just wire to wire, just so tight. Just watching her getting that eagle and finishing, the birdie at the end, I think she is just a fantastic player.”

Korda returned the compliment, calling Kim’s recent play “inspiring” while reflecting on her consecutive runner-up finishes.

“There’s times when I’m going to get frustrated. I’m a human being, so I’m going to get down and I’m going to get a little frustrated,” said Korda, who won the season-opening Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions. “But I’m trying to get over that as fast as possible.”

The world No. 2 expressed gratitude for her current form, contrasting it with her struggles from the previous year. “I’m just very grateful. If you’d have told me this time last year the finishes that I would have right now, I would be super happy with the game that is trending. Last year I just felt so weird with my game. Nothing was kind of going my way.”

Korda emphasized the positive aspects of competition and improvement. “I’m really happy. I’ve put in a lot of work, and that’s the best thing about golf is that you can always improve and you can have someone like Hyo Joo that’s going to test you and push your buttons but in a really good way to improve.”

Japan’s Minami Katsu claimed third place at 23-under par after shooting a final-round 65. New Zealand’s Lydia Ko, who opened the tournament with a remarkable 60, finished fourth at 20-under following a Sunday 68.

South Korea’s In Gee Chun rounded out the top five at 19-under par after carding a 68 in the final round.