South Korea’s Hyo Joo Kim took an emphatic step toward defending her title at the Ford Championship on Saturday, setting an LPGA 54-hole record to build a four-stroke lead in Chandler, Ariz.
Despite that hot start, Kim is focused on keeping her approach consistent on Sunday.
“This course, anyone is capable of scoring low, so I will continue to just focus on the same game plan that I did today,” Kim said.
If that focus nets similar results, Kim will be in historic territory. On Saturday, Kim matched her first-day, 11-under-par 61 to put her at 25 under for the tournament, a pace through 54 holes that is the best in LPGA history.
Her 25-under stretch broke the previous record held by four players by one stroke.
Her bogey-free round included birdies on four of her first seven holes before she exceeded that hot start with four straight holes under par on Nos. 10-13. That stretch included an eagle on the par-5 No. 12.
Kim finished her remarkable day at the Cattail Course at Whirlwind Golf Club with birdies on 16 and 17, giving her nine birdies and an eagle on the day.
“I play with my mind, just focusing on one shot at a time,” Kim said. “When I think about the shots, whether it’s striking a certain distance or how I play, I just focus on each at a time.”
Kim’s closest pursuer, unsurprisingly, is World No. 2 Nelly Korda, who led after two rounds and carded a 5-under 67 on Saturday to get to 21 under.
The pair have seen a lot of each other of late, playing in the same group over five straight rounds. Kim kept Korda at bay in last week’s Founders Cup to win by a single stroke in Menlo Park, Calif.
“Nelly is my favorite player,” Kim said. “It’s been great playing together. You know, it’s been great playing with her, competing with her and it’s just been fun overall.”
Korda’s day included five birdies and no bogeys.
“I’m never going to complain about a bogey-free round and 5-under, so it was a solid one,” Korda said.
Korda herself has a healthy lead over her closest competitors, as five golfers are tied at 16 under, five strokes behind Korda (and nine behind Kim). That group consists of England’s Mimi Rhodes (63 on Saturday), Japan’s Chizzy Iwai (67), South Korea’s Ina Yoon (67), Japan’s Minami Katsu (69) and New Zealand’s Lydia Ko (69).
