South Korea’s Kim Hyo- joo rolled in a six-foot birdie putt on the preliminary playoff opening to win the LPGA Ford Championship on Sunday upfront of American Lilia Vu.
Kim had 9 birdies in her eight-under-par 64, essentially the most inexpensive spherical of the day on the Whirlwind Golf Club in Chandler, Arizona, taking her to a 22-under whole quantity of 266.
Overnight chief Vu carded a four-under-par 68, nevertheless once they went again to the par-four 18th for the playoff Kim positioned her method 6 ft from the pin whereas Vu left herself larger than 15 ft.
The American’s putt misplaced and Kim sank hers to say her seventh LPGA success, and her preliminary contemplating that 2023.
“So it’s been a while since I had any wins so I was getting a little bit stressed,” the 29-year-old Kim confessed.
“But I did work out a lot during the winter time so now that I have a win I’m a little bit lighthearted.”
“The feeling was great today,” claimed Kim, that required merely 24 putts. “I just thought one birdie at a time.”
Having started the day 4 photographs off Vu’s lead, Kim had 7 birdies within the preliminary 11 openings to confiscate the solo lead on 21-under.
However, she found the water off the tee at 12 heading to a bogey, lacking out on a short the identical degree preserve effort.
Kim after that drained pipes a birdie putt from off the environment-friendly at 16 and included yet one more birdie at 17 to land within the membership with a one-stroke lead.
But Vu rose and down for birdie from a greenside shelter on the seventeenth, blowing up out of the sand to relating to a foot.
Vu, that had truly withstood a protracted haul for the environment-friendly to take away at 17 had yet one more strained hold-up on the 18th tee as Nanna Koerstz Madsen seemed for her spherical within the desert scrub.
– No nerves –
Vu’s 2nd shot bounded by way of the environment-friendly nevertheless the two-time important victor and former globe prime cracked to relating to 6 ft and holed the par putt to compel a playoff.
Kim had truly been ready and having fun with as Vu accomplished her spherical.
“I kept on thinking we might go on a playoff, so I kept stretching,” she claimed. “I thought I would be very nervous, but I really wasn’t.”
Vu, that missed out on 3 months in 2014 with a again harm that also difficulties her, was happy together with her week, whatever the playoff frustration.
“I’m proud that I kind of stuck to my goal, my weekly goal. The only goal is to be in tune with my body,” she claimed.
“This is probably the most I’ve felt like me in the past year and a half.”
American Allisen Corpuz, the 2023 United States Women’s Open champ, drive herself proper into opinion with a bogey-free seven-under-par 65 nevertheless wanted to decide on third on 267.
World second Jeeno Thitikul of Thailand remained within the quest, sharing the lead after her sixth birdie of the day on 13.
But the birdies ran out and her six-under 66 left her alone in 4th on 268.
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