After a long and thrilling day, Hyo Joo Kim defeated Lilia Vu in a playoff to win the Ford Championship in Chandler, Arizona, her seventh career win and first since October 2023.
Kim came into the day four strokes back, but saved her best round of the week for last, shooting a masterful -8 64. The veteran from Korea made really one mistake of the day, a horrible approach shot on the par 5 12th, one of the easiest holes of the day, that ended up in the water. She did recover to make bogey.
Kim was a machine, predictably hitting it straight and putting well. In regulation, she hit 13/14 fairways, 13/18 greens and had only 24 putts. On the lone extra hole, Kim hit a perfect tee shot, an incredible approach and knocked in a solid putt. It was a quick summation of her day.
Kim, now ranked No. 30 in the world, the lowest for her in years, needed a great week after some uncharacteristic struggles in over the last couple of seasons.
Vu struggled to get into real rhythm on the day, making a lot of pars and letting the scoreboard get bunched. She was passed by Kim late, and then had to deal with some lengthy delays in the group in front of her. Regardless, she hit a fantastic bunker shot and made birdie on 17 and had a great up-and-down for par on 18 to force the playoff. Vu had par on the playoff hole.
The LPGA and Hyo Joo Kim are back Wednesday in Las Vegas for the T-Mobile Match Play.
