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Arab News
31-03-2025
- Sport
- Arab News
Hyo Joo Kim tops Vu in playoff to win LPGA Ford Championship
LOS ANGELES: South Korea's Hyo Joo Kim rolled in a six-foot birdie putt at the first playoff hole to win the LPGA Ford Championship on Sunday ahead of American Lilia Vu. For the latest updates, follow us @ArabNewsSport Kim had nine birdies in her 8-under par 64, the lowest round of the day at the Whirlwind Golf Club in Chandler, Arizona, taking her to a 22-under total of 266. Overnight leader Vu carded a four-under-par 68, but when they returned to the par-four 18th for the playoff Kim put her approach six feet from the pin while Vu left herself more than 15 feet. The American's putt came up short and Kim sank hers to claim her seventh LPGA victory, and her first since 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 admitted. '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,' said Kim, who needed just 24 putts. 'I just thought one birdie at a time.' Having started the day four shots off Vu's lead, Kim had seven birdies in the first 11 holes to seize the solo lead on 21-under. However, she found the water off the tee at 12 on the way to a bogey, missing a short par save attempt. Kim then drained a birdie putt from off the green at 16 and added another birdie at 17 to land in the clubhouse with a one-stroke lead. But Vu got up and down for birdie from a greenside bunker at the 17th, blasting out of the sand to about a foot. Vu, who had endured a long wait for the green to clear at 17 had another tense delay on the 18th tee as Nanna Koerstz Madsen searched for her ball in the desert scrub. Vu's second shot bounded through the green but the two-time major winner and former world number one chipped to about six feet and holed the par putt to force a playoff. Kim had been waiting and watching as Vu finished her round. 'I kept on thinking we might go on a playoff, so I kept stretching,' she said. 'I thought I would be very nervous, but I really wasn't.' Vu, who missed three months last year with a back injury that still troubles her, was pleased with her week, despite the playoff disappointment. '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 said. 'This is probably the most I've felt like me in the past year and a half.' American Allizen Corpuz, the 2023 US Women's Open champion, thrust herself into contention with a bogey-free seven-under-par 65 but had to settle for third on 267. World No. 2 Jeeno Thitikul of Thailand was in the hunt, sharing the lead after her sixth birdie of the day on 13. But the birdies dried up and her six-under 66 left her alone in fourth on 268.
USA Today
31-03-2025
- Business
- USA Today
2025 Ford Championship prize money payouts for each LPGA player at Whirlwind Golf Club
2025 Ford Championship prize money payouts for each LPGA player at Whirlwind Golf Club The LPGA returned to the U.S. for the first time since early February with the 2025 Ford Championship just outside Phoenix. The $2.25 million purse marked the first time for some in the field of 144 to earn a paycheck in more than a month. The winner at Whirlwind Golf Club earned $337,500. A total of 74 players made the cut. While Hyo Joo Kim made the headlines with her playoff victory, it was a meaningful week for a player like Lindy Duncan, who has struggled at times to keep her card in recent years but posted an early top-5 finish to set herself up well for the rest of the year. LPGA Hall of Famer Lydia Ko continued her march to the top of the all-time money list with her T-6 showing, good for a $58,674 payday. Ko came into the week trailing all-time leader Annika Sorenstam by $1,988,588. Here's the breakdown of how much money each player earned at the LPGA Ford Championship.
Yahoo
31-03-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Kim Hyo-joo tops Vu in playoff to win LPGA Ford Championship
South Korea's Kim Hyo-joo celebrates after winning the LPGA Ford Championship in a playoff (Mike Mulholland) South Korea's Kim Hyo-joo rolled in a six-foot birdie putt at the first playoff hole to win the LPGA Ford Championship on Sunday ahead of American Lilia Vu. Kim had nine birdies in her eight-under-par 64, the lowest round of the day at the Whirlwind Golf Club in Chandler, Arizona, taking her to a 22-under total of 266. Advertisement Overnight leader Vu carded a four-under-par 68, but when they returned to the par-four 18th for the playoff Kim put her second shot six feet from the pin while Vu left herself more than 15 feet. The American's birdie attempt came up short and Kim rolled in her birdie effort to claim her seventh LPGA victory, and her first since 2023. "It has been a while since the last win," she said. "I worked hard in the winter time and it's a surprise that it came so quickly, the win. "The feeling was great today," said Kim, who needed just 24 putts. "I just thought one birdie at a time." Advertisement Having started the day four shots off Vu's lead, Kim had seven birdies in the first 11 holes to seize the solo lead on 21-under. However, she found the water off the tee at 12 on the way to a bogey, missing a short par save attempt. Kim then drained a birdie putt from off the green at 16 and added another birdie at 17 to land in the clubhouse with a one-stroke lead. But Vu got up and down for birdie from a greenside bunker at the 17th to regain a share of the lead, blasting out of the sand to about a foot. Vu, who had a long wait before for the green to clear before she hit her second shot at 17 had another long, tense wait on the 18th tee as Nanna Koerstz Madsen searched for her ball in the desert scrub. Advertisement But after her second shot bounded through the green Vu, a two-time major winner and former world number one, chipped to about six feet and rolled in the par putt to force the playoff. American Allisen Corpuz, the 2023 US Women's Open champion, thrust herself into contention with a bogey-free seven-under-par 65 but settled for third on 267. World number two Jeeno Thitikul of Thailand was in the hunt, sharing the lead after her sixth birdie of the day on 13. But the birdies dried up and her six-under 66 left her alone in fourth on 268. bb/rcw
Yahoo
30-03-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Vu outduels Hull to grab lead at LPGA Ford Championship
American Lilia Vu grabbed the lead after the third round of the LPGA Ford Championship (Mike Mulholland) Two-time major winner Lilia Vu birdied three of the last four holes to seize a two-stroke lead over England's Charley Hull after Saturday's third round of the LPGA Ford Championship. The 27-year-old American, who also led by two shots when the day began, fired a four-under par 68 in firm and windy conditions to stand on 18-under 198 after 54 holes at Whirlwind Golf Club in Chandler, Arizona. Advertisement "It was pretty difficult," Vu said. "Not only that, I feel like my ball-striking hasn't been as great the past few days but today it was good." Hull closed with a birdie to shoot 68 and stand on 200, putting herself in the final pairing with Vu, with Japan's Ayaka Furue and Denmark's Nanna Koerstz Madsen sharing third on 201. A fifth-place pack on 202 included China's Zhang Yahui, South Koreans Ryu Hae-ran and Kim Hyo-joo, American Allisen Corpuz and world number two Jeeno Thitikul of Thailand. A double bogey by Vu at 14 left her level with Hull for the lead, but the American birdied the next three holes to seize command. Advertisement "I feel like I got a huge stop sign after that," Vu said after her stumble at 14. "I was telling my caddie I just can't get the numbers right today. "He just said to me I'm just going to get you on the green and we can try to make the putt from there and that's exactly what we were doing." Sixth-ranked Vu, a former world number one, seeks her sixth LPGA title and the first since last June's Meijer Classic, her first event after a three-month absence for a still-nagging back injury. "I'm not thinking too much about it," Vu said of winning. "I'm just going to go out there and have fun." Advertisement World number 10 Hull seeks her third career LPGA triumph and first since the 2022 Volunteers of America Classic. Hull and Vu battled for the lead much of the day, the American answering whenever challenged. Vu birdied the par-5 second and sandwiched birdies at the fifth and par-5 seventh around her first bogey of the week at the sixth before closing the front nine with another bogey. That opened the door for Hull, who overcame an opening bogey with birdies at the second, fifth and seventh and another at the par-5 12th to match Vu for the lead at 15-under. Vu responded with a birdie at the par-4 11th and a four-foot birdie putt at the par-5 12th to reach 17-under and when Hull made bogey at 14, Vu's lead was up to three shots. Advertisement But Hull answered with a birdie at 16 and when Vu made a double bogey at the 14th they were again tied for the lead. Vu answered once more with a long birdie putt at the par-3 15th and tap-in birdies at 16 and the par-5 17th to reach 18-under and lead by three before Hull's closing birdie. js/bb
Yahoo
29-03-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Vu fires 64 to seize lead at LPGA Ford Championship
American Lilia Vu fired a 64 to grab the lead after the second round of the LPGA Ford Championship (Mike Mulholland) Two-time major winner Lilia Vu fired an eight-under par 64 to grab a two-stroke lead after Friday's second round of the LPGA Ford Championship. The 27-year-old American made eight birdies in a bogey-free round to stand on 14-under par 130 after 36 holes at Whirlwind Golf Club in Chandler, Arizona. Advertisement "I just stayed in my bubble," Vu said. "My caddie knew I was stressed this morning, and on the range he just said, 'Just hit your start lines and I'll handle the rest. We're going to be OK.' That definitely gave me a sense of comfort." Sixth-ranked Vu, a former world number one, seeks her sixth LPGA title and the first since last June's Meijer Classic, her first event after a three-month absence for a back injury that still bothers her. "I wasn't worried too much about the golf. I was kind of more focused on my body stuff and trying to get through the round without any pain and just stay strong throughout," Vu said. "I've been trying to get in tune with my body. I'm not in pain anymore. I'm just waiting for the power to kick in a little bit. I think that's something that's kind of been lacking, but I just focused on staying true to my process and just playing golf." Advertisement A second-place pack on 132 included top-ranked Nelly Korda of the United States who fired a 65, and world number two Jeeno Thitikul of Thailand who shot 64. Also two adrift were England's Charley Hull and Denmark's Nanna Koerstz Madsen. Korda, a back-nine starter, made five birdies in her first nine holes then three more after the turn against a lone bogey at the par-4 fourth. "Got off to a good start," Korda said. "Slowed a little down on the back nine, but the wind picked up a little. It was starting to play a little bit firmer. Once the round and the heat starts to play a factor, you have to be a little bit more timid." Advertisement Thitikul, also a back-nine starter, began with three birdies and an eagle at the par-5 12th in her first four holes. She added four birdies the rest of the way and made her only bogey at four as well. "I didn't have a good confidence before coming here with my putter much, but I think for this two round I putted really well," Thitikul said. Hull, who fired a 63 on Thursday for the 18-hole lead, fired a 69. "I felt like I played pretty solid out there," Hull said. "I holed some good putts and I missed some that I probably should have holed, but it was a bit windy. I'm pretty happy with that and looking forward to the weekend." Advertisement World number 10 Hull seeks her third career LPGA triumph and first since the 2022 Volunteers of America Classic. Madsen, whose lone LPGA win came in Thailand in 2022, fired a 68. "It was tricky out there. The greens were really firm. It got a little windy," Madsen said. It was good to make pars." js/bb
