Menlo park: Kim Hyo-joo has gone wire-to-wire for her eighth career LPGA Tour title. Kim won the Fortinet Founders Cup at Sharon Heights Golf and Country Club in Menlo Park, California, by shooting 16-under 272. The South Korean veteran held off world No. 2 Nelly Korda by one stroke to earn US$450,000 in prize money.
According to Yonhap News Agency, Kim entered Sunday with a five-shot lead over Korda, only to see her advantage evaporate after 10 holes in the final round. The 30-year-old South Korean then managed a couple of birdies and made crucial par saves down the stretch to secure the victory. Kim is the second consecutive South Korean champion on the LPGA Tour, following Lee Mi-hyang's win at the Blue Bay LPGA in China two weeks ago.
Kim had also claimed victory at the Founders Cup in 2015 as a teenager when it was sponsored differently and held on another course. During the final round, Kim bogeyed the second hole but birdied the sixth and seventh to reach 18-under. Korda, who also bogeyed the second, made birdies on four of the next five holes, coming within three shots of Kim at 15-under.
Kim's lead shrunk to two strokes after bogeying the eighth hole while Korda saved par. Korda then moved within a shot of Kim with a birdie on the ninth, with Kim narrowly missing her own birdie attempt. Korda pulled into a tie with Kim with a birdie on the 10th, marking her fifth birdie over a six-hole stretch.
Kim regained a one-shot lead at 18-under by making a short birdie putt on the 11th while Korda saved par from a greenside bunker. A lucky break on the par-3 13th allowed Kim to walk away with a par after her chip shot hit the flagstick. Kim increased her lead by curling in a birdie putt on the 14th. Korda couldn't follow with a matching birdie.
Korda saved par on the 15th despite finding trouble off the tee, and Kim missed her birdie attempt, keeping her two-shot lead with three holes to go. Kim's three-putt bogey on the 16th gave Korda some hope, reducing the lead to one. However, at the par-3 17th, Kim saved par while Korda dropped a shot, leaving Kim two strokes ahead.
Both players found the fairway bunker on the final hole. Kim's third shot landed in a greenside bunker, while Korda's was just beyond the green. Korda settled for par, and Kim needed two putts from a few feet to clinch the win, which she managed, securing the narrow victory. Kim has now won LPGA tournaments in her teens, 20s, and 30s.