Kim Hyo-joo held off a fierce charge from world No. 2 Nelly Korda of the United States to claim victory last week. This week, she turned at the halfway mark trailing leader Korda by two strokes, but in a "moving day" third-round head-to-head pairing, Kim set a new LPGA Tour 54-hole scoring record to reclaim the solo lead.
Kim fired an 11-under-par 61 with one eagle and nine birdies in the third round of the LPGA Tour Ford Championship (total purse $2.25 million) at Whirlwind Golf Club (par 72) in Phoenix, Arizona, on Sunday. Her three-round total of 25-under-par 191 gave her a four-stroke lead over Korda heading into the final round, boosting her hopes of defending the title and winning back-to-back weeks.
At last week's Founders Cup, Kim fended off Korda's charge to secure a wire-to-wire victory, her eighth career LPGA win. On the final day, Korda briefly pulled level, but Kim prevailed by one stroke after Korda missed a one-meter par putt on the par-3 17th hole.
Players typically experience a temporary letdown the week after a victory, but Kim was different. She posted a 61 on the opening day and another 61 two days later, eclipsing by one stroke the 54-hole record of 192 previously shared by Annika Sorenstam of Sweden, Kim Sei-young, Nasa Hataoka of Japan, and Danielle Kang of the United States.
Kim was paired with Korda in a two-player group on the day. She trimmed four strokes on the front nine, then sank a birdie putt of approximately 10 meters on the par-3 10th hole to take the solo lead by one. She followed with a birdie on the par-4 11th, an eagle on the par-5 12th, and a birdie on the par-4 13th — going five-under through holes 10 to 13 to pull further clear of Korda.
Over three rounds, Kim has made just two bogeys while piling up three eagles and 21 birdies. She hit 78.5% of fairways, found 83.3% of greens in regulation, and averaged 26.6 putts per round — a virtually flawless pace.
"Today everything went my way — the putter, the irons, and even the driver," Kim said after the round. "I will maintain my focus in the final round."
Korda said in admiration: "She made putt after putt and kept hitting great shots. I shot five-under and it doesn't even feel like I had a good round. She played an unbelievable round."
Last week at the Founders Cup, Kim entered the final day with a five-stroke lead over Korda and won by one. This time, she takes a four-stroke cushion into the final 18 holes. It will be their second consecutive week dueling in the final pairing.
A victory would add another milestone for Korea's LPGA contingent. Following Lee Mi-hyang's win at the Blue Bay LPGA in China earlier this month, it would mark three consecutive tournament victories by Korean players — a feat not achieved since Yang Hee-young, Park Sung-hyun, and Ko Jin-young did so in 2019, seven years ago.
Yun I-na sits in a tie for third at 16-under-par alongside Lydia Ko of New Zealand, among others. Jeon In-ji is in eighth place at 15-under-par, in position for her first top-10 finish in two years and seven months since the CPKC Women's Open in August 2023. Rookie Hwang Yu-min missed the cut by one stroke the previous day.