Hyo Joo Kim shot 8-under today to put herself in contention for her 7th win on the LPGA Tour. Lilia Vu battled back to the top of the leaderboard with a scramble save for par on Hole 18 to force a playoff at the Ford Championship. The pair returned to Hole 18, where Kim proceeded to win the first playoff hole with a birdie to Vu’s par.
After watching Vu’s final round, Kim was prepared for the possibility of the playoff.
“I kept on thinking we might go on a playoff so I kept on stretching… I just felt it was an extension of the continuous game from 18.”
Kim’s win at the Ford Championship was her second win in Arizona, the last time being in 2015 at the JTBC Founders Cup.
“I believe my first win was in Arizona, but maybe not here, so I really had good thoughts, and now that everything got connected again, it’s pretty amazing and I will have a wonderful memory about Arizona,” said Kim.
At 29 years old, Kim is currently the oldest winner on tour this season. In addition to her 7th title, she also accrued 500 points toward the CME Globe rankings. As a major winner and two-time Olympian for Korea, Kim is no stranger to the winner’s circle.
Lilia Vu was also happy with her play this week. She said, “I have what it takes, even with or without distance. I feel like that’s something that’s been lingering like a chip on my shoulder. I feel like I hit it shorter than everyone and I feel like I start off the tournament handicapped. But with the first two days I wasn’t really hitting it anywhere, but I was still around in
contention, so just knowing that. And then body started to feel better. Mind started to feel better. Just went
out there and had a lot of fun.”
The women look towards Las Vegas next, where the LPGA Tour returns to play at the T-Mobile Match Play starting April 2nd.
