Coming off her victory at last week’s Fortinet Founders Cup, 30-year-old Hyo Joo Kim of South Korea defeated America’s Nelly Korda for the second straight week to capture the 2026 Ford Championship presented by Wild Horse Pass.
On Sunday at Whirlwind Golf Club, Kim held the overnight lead with a four-shot advantage over Korda, who still had hopes of besting the South Korean after their first head-to-head just a week prior. Though the American quickly fought her way into contention with an early eagle at the 2nd and a pair of birdies at the 5th and 7th. Kim made three birdies of her own at holes 4, 5, and 7 to keep Korda at arms length however, her lead was cut to one after a costly double bogey at the 8th, which also ended her bid to break the LPGA scoring record of 257 set by Sei Young Kim at the Thornberry Creek LPGA Classic in 2017.
Still trailing Kim, the World No. 2 failed to take immediate advantage of her errant shot, as she made back-to-back bogeys at the 9th and 10th. Korda fell back to four shots adrift as Kim stepped up with birdies at the 10th and 12th. She bogeyed the 16th but birdied the 17th before closing with a par, and despite the strong eagle-birdie finish from Korda, it wasn’t enough as Kim secured successive victories for the first time in her career.
“I wanted to ask Nelly how it feels to win back to back,” Kim said with a laugh afterwards, referencing Korda’s 2024 season, when she won five times in a row.
Finishing at 28-under 260, Kim played some of the best golf of her career, posting two rounds of 61 for the week, that included a total of 27 birdies and 3 eagles. Korda, in search of her second win of 2026, had some strong rounds of her own, despite the putting issues she faced.
“Where it went wrong? There’s a couple shots here and there that I would like to get back, more like a couple putts throughout the week,” Korda said. “I’m going to miss a bunch of those putts throughout my entire career, and I just can’t get down on myself.”
Korda however set a new personal record, as her 26 under finish was the lowest she has ever been under par. In her three starts of the year, Korda has now won once and finished runner-up twice—both times to Kim.
“I’m done playing with her,” Korda joked. “Hyo Joo has been playing amazing golf. She’s a phenomenal player, and person. She definitely motivates me on the golf course.”
Japan’s Minami Katsu finished three shots further back of Korda to settle for third at 23 under. New Zealand’s Lydia Ko left with fourth at 20 under, while South Korea’s In Gee Chun rounded off the top 5 at 19 under.
What is the next event?
The next event on the LPGA Tour is Aramco Championship taking place between 2-5 April at Shadow Creek in Las Vegas, Nevada..