Hyo Joo Kim has once again made it clear she is going through one of the best periods of her career. The South Korean prevailed this Sunday at the Ford Championship after a brave, tense and intense duel with Nelly Korda, decided in her favour with a final round of 69 strokes (-3) and a total of 28 under par, two fewer than the American.
It was no stroll. Far from it. It was another high-voltage head-to-head between two of the best players right now. And, for the second consecutive week, it went Kim’s way. She had already halted Korda’s comeback at the Founders Cup and has now done it again in Arizona. Two strokes, a top-level duel and a very clear feeling: there is no one stopping Kim right now.
The victory breaks a few records. For starters, it’s the first time in her career that she has recorded back-to-back wins on the LPGA Tour. In addition, she wins the Ford Championship again, a tournament she had already conquered last year. And she caps it all with a tremendous mark: 28 under par and 260 strokes, coming very close to the LPGA Tour 72-hole record, the 257 strokes set by Sei Young Kim in 2017.
For long stretches on Sunday it even seemed that record might fall. Kim started with three birdies very early and, bearing in mind she had already posted two rounds of 61 strokes during the week, the assault on the mark looked real. However, everything changed at the 8th hole. There came the big scare of the day. Kim made a double bogey after a poor tee shot and an unfortunate sequence that left her in trouble. And that’s when Korda appeared.
The world No. 2, who had started the day four shots back, suddenly found herself just one behind. The tournament tightened, heated up and entered that territory where every shot can be decisive. Just when it seemed Nelly could go for it, she missed a short par putt on 9. And on 10 came an almost decisive twist: Kim left her approach a foot from the hole for birdie and Korda failed to save par. Two strokes difference. Again a cushion. Again Hyo Joo ahead and with a buffer.
Still, Korda did not give up. She never does. She closed with an eagle-birdie for a final round of 67 strokes, but it was not enough. Her 26 under par is the lowest to-par score she has ever posted on the LPGA Tour. But this time it didn’t suffice. She ran into a player in sublime form.
Korda herself summed it up almost jokingly: “I’m done playing with her, no more”, she said, after sharing a group with Kim for the fifth consecutive time. It’s not a bad way to explain what has happened over the last two weeks. Hyo Joo Kim has beaten one of the world’s best players twice in a row. And that doesn’t happen by chance.
Behind them, Japanese Minami Katsu finished third outright with a final round of 65 strokes, while Lydia Ko, who had started the tournament with a spectacular 60, ended up fourth, eight shots off the winner.
Good finish for Julia López and Carla Tejedo
From a Spanish perspective, the final day left a very positive take. Julia López and Carla Tejedo, the two Spaniards who made the cut, finished the tournament on a high with identical rounds of 68 strokes (-4).
Julia finished in a notable 14th place, moving up the leaderboard on the final day and confirming a very solid week in a high-quality event. Carla Tejedo also finished on the rise, ending in 42nd place, likewise with a final round of four under par that allowed her to gain ground on the leaderboard and finish with better form. Another display from the young Castellón player. She managed to recover from a poor Saturday and regain some of the lost ground.
