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 six-foot birdie putt in the Ford Championship.
Kim won for the seventh time on the LPGA Tour 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 seven 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.
Brooke Henderson of Smiths Falls, Ont., finished in a seven-way tie for 27th at 13 under. Savannah Grewal of Mississauga, Ont., finished in a six-way tie for 38th at 11 under.
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.
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 US$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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