PHOENIX — Hyo Joo Kim blew past Nelly Korda and right into the LPGA record book Saturday with her second score this week of 11-under 61, giving her the lowest 54-hole score in LPGA history and a four-shot lead in the Ford Championship.
Kim had seven consecutive one-putt greens, including her torrid start to the back nine on the Cattail course at Whirlwind Golf Club when she went birdie-birdie-eagle-birdie as she started to pull away.
Even her bad shots turned out good. On the par-4 16th, the 30-year-old South Korean looked away in disgust when she pulled her approach, only for the ball to bounce right and take the slope down to 7 feet for yet another birdie.
She had a two-putt birdie on the 17th, and her par on the 18th put her at 25-under 191, breaking by one shot the 54-hole record previous shared by four players.
“All round everything was great – putter, iron, driver, everything was as I would want it to go,” Kim said.
There was little Korda could do about. She started with a two-shot lead, posted a bogey-free 67 and goes into the final round trailing by four shots.
“It was great,” Korda said. “I mean, playing with someone like Hyo Joo today it didn’t feel like that good of a round. She played unbelievable golf, putted really well. Overall, I’m never going to complain about a bogey-free round and 5 under. So it was solid.”
Kim is the defending champion in Phoenix, and she is coming off a victory last week in the Founders Cup when she held off a late rally by Korda to win by one. Sunday will be their fifth consecutive round playing in the same group.
“Nelly is my favorite player. It’s been great playing together,” Kim said.
Kim also shot a 61 in the opening round when morning conditions were ripe for good scoring. That round was overlooked because Lydia Ko shot a 60. Ko has faded since then with rounds of 71 and 69, while the South Korean with the smooth putting touch has soared.
Kim took only 25 putts in the third round. Korda had said Friday after her third straight round playing with Kim, “Watching someone putt the way that she does, I mean it’s always so mesmerizing for me.”
Mimi Rhodes, the 24-year-old LPGA rookie from England, earlier posted a 63 and was in a large group tied for third that included Ko, Chizzy Iwai, Minami Katsu and Ina Yoon. But all of them are nine shots behind.
Sunday was shaping up as a two-person race between players who already have won this year. Korda took the season opener that was cut to 54 holes because of extreme cold and wind in Florida, while Kim won last week at Sharon Heights.
At stake for Kim is a chance to break the 72-hole record set by Sei Young Kim at 257 in the 2018 Thornberry Creek LPGA Classic.
“You see her make putt over putt over putt and hit really good shots, but you have to really remind yourself that it’s just Saturday,” Korda said. “There is still 18 more holes left.”
