Hyo Joo Kim scores an eagle on the 18th hole, leading the Founders Cup by 2 strokes.
MENLO PARK, Calif. — Hyo Joo Kim concluded an impeccable round at Sharon Heights by making an eagle on the par-5 18th hole, finishing with a score of 9-under 63, which provided her with a two-shot advantage in the Fortinet Founders Cup.
The most favorable scoring occurred in the morning at the course, which is hosting an LPGA event for the first time, prior to the greens becoming firm and fast, making it challenging to approach the pins.
Kim expressed greater satisfaction in avoiding bogeys on the tree-lined layout than with her eagle on the final hole.
“I am just so satisfied I had no bogeys,” Kim stated. “I made some errors early on, but I managed to recover. Ending with an eagle made me quite happy.”
Regarding her eagle?
“I couldn’t see the hole from my position, but I heard the crowd cheering and then someone shouted ‘Yeah!’ So I assumed it went in,” Kim remarked.
LPGA rookie Dongeun Lee also recorded an eagle on the par-5 finishing hole, finishing with a score of 65. Polly Mack from Germany bounced back from a double bogey on the par-5 10th to card a 66, tying with Jim Hee Im.
Mack hit only two fairways and three greens but utilized her length and wedges effectively, making eight birdies to compensate for the double bogey.
“I hit a lot of fairways and greens, giving myself numerous birdie opportunities. I had many wedges into the greens, which I focused on improving during the offseason,” said Mack, who concluded her college career at Alabama. “It’s rewarding to see that practice paying off and witnessing my progress. I had a lot of short birdie putts and capitalized on most of them.”
Gaby Lopez, Gemma Dryburgh, and Nastasia Nadaud all finished with scores of 68, achieving the lowest scores in the more challenging afternoon conditions.
Nelly Korda, who opted out of the Asia swing after winning the season opener in 54 holes due to cold weather, recorded a score of 70. Jeeno Thitikul, the top-ranked player in women’s golf, shot a 72.
The tournament commenced as a homage to the 13 founders of the LPGA. It started in Arizona in 2011 and was the second event of the season last year, held in Florida. It has drawn eight of the top 10 players in the women’s world rankings and marks the beginning of a four-tournament series in the West leading up to the first major of the year.
