Kim Hyo-joo maintained her position atop the leaderboard through the third round of the LPGA Tour Fortinet Founders Cup ($3 million purse), raising hopes for a wire-to-wire victory and her eighth career title.
At the Sharon Heights Golf and Country Club (par 72) in Menlo Park, California on Saturday, Kim carded a 6-under-par 66 with one eagle, seven birdies, and three bogeys. She holds sole possession of first place for the third consecutive day at 17-under-par 199, five strokes ahead of second-place Nelly Korda (12-under-par 204). Barring an upset on the final day, Kim's chances of victory appear strong. A win would mark her first title in exactly one year since the Ford Championship in March 2024.
Kim has deep ties to this tournament honoring the LPGA's 13 founders. After winning the Evian Championship as a non-member in 2014 to earn her LPGA Tour card, she captured her first LPGA victory at this event in 2015.
Kim came out aggressively from the start. She birdied the first hole (par 4), then recorded consecutive birdies on the third (par 4) and fourth holes (par 3). She eagled the fifth hole (par 5) and added another birdie on the sixth (par 4), shaving six strokes in her opening six holes.
After trading a bogey on the seventh hole (par 5) for a birdy on the 10th (par 5), Kim stumbled briefly with consecutive bogeys on the 11th (par 4) and 13th holes (par 3), but recovered with two more birdies.
"The course itself is difficult, but I seem to be posting incredibly good scores," Kim said. "Since I have a big lead over second place, I will focus even more on finishing the final round well."
Choi Hye-jin added 3-under-par to reach 9-under overall, tied for fifth with world No. 1 Jeeno Thitikul of Thailand and others. Jeon In-ji and Lim Jin-hee are tied for ninth at 8-under-par, while Kim Sei-young and Ryu Hae-ran share 18th place at 6-under-par.