Hyo Joo Kim rallies with 64 and
beats Lilia Vu in an LPGA playoff in Arizona
[March 31, 2025]
CHANDLER, Ariz. (AP) — Hyo Joo Kim rallied from a four-shot
deficit Sunday with an 8-under 64 to force a playoff, defeating
Lilia Vu on the first extra hole with a 6-foot birdie putt in the
Ford Championship.
Kim won for the seventh time on the LPGA and emerged from a long and
wild day in the desert at Whirlwind Golf Club with 10 birdies in the
19 holes she played.
Vu hit a splendid bunker shot on the par-5 17th to set up a short
birdie to tie Kim. Her approach on the 18th bounded across the firm
green, she chipped to 7 feet and holed the par putt for a 68 to send
the tournament into extra holes.
Vu missed a birdie putt from about 15 feet, setting up Kim for the
win.
“The feeling was great today and I just thought one hole at a time,
one birdie at a time,” Kim said through her interpreter.
Vu, who started with a two-shot lead over Charley Hull, rolled in a
short birdie putt on the par-5 12th to create a four-way tie for the
lead with Kim, Allisen Corpuz and Jeeno Thitikul.
Corpuz made two birdies on the back nine, both times giving her a
share of the lead. She closed with a 65. and finished third.
Thitikul charged into contention with three straight birdies, only
to settle for six closing pars for a 66 to finish fourth.
“Had it going on the front nine. Couldn’t quite get a few to drop on
the back, but overall still really proud of the week,” Corpuz said.
Kim, a 29-year-old South Korean who has 23 titles across four the
main tours in women's golf, seized control with a 31 on the front
nine, followed by two birdies to start the back nine. And then she
let everyone back into the tournament by hitting in the water right
of the 12th green and making bogey on a par 5.
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Hyo Joo Kim, of South Korea, holds the champions trophy after the
final round of the Ford Championship LPGA golf event, Sunday, March
30, 2025, in Chandler, Ariz. (AP Photo/Matt York)
But she bounced back with an 18-foot birdie putt on
the 16th to break out of the four-way tie, and she two-putted for
birdie on the par-5 17th to regain the lead.
She was at her best in the playoff, especially with the combination
of wind and bouncy greens making it difficult to figure out where to
land shots on the green. Kim's approach in the playoff rolled out
perfectly.
They finished at 22-under 266. Kim won $337,500, sending her over
$10 million for her career on the LPGA Tour.
Hull couldn't get a putt to drop in the final group and had to
settle for a 71, finishing five shots behind. Defending champion
Nelly Korda fell out of the mix on Saturday and shot a 69 on Sunday
to finish in a tie for 22nd.
The LPGA next week moves 300 miles north for the T-Mobile Match Play
at Shadow Creek north of Las Vegas.
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