“Wire-to-wire” – the phrase denotes the ultimate victory, in which a competitor takes the lead from the starting gun and never relinquishes it, leading the field from start to finish. A wire-to-wire win is what Korea’s Hyo Joo Kim was chasing in Sunday’s final round of the LPGA’s Fortinet Founders Cup tournament – and it’s what she ultimately got, but not without a fight.
Korea’s Hyo Joo Kim went wire-to-wire to win the 2026 LPGA Fortinet Founders Cup tournament at Sharon Heights G&CC in Menlo Park, California (photo credit: LPGA, Getty)
Kim served notice on the 144-player field on Day 1 when she opened with a 9-under 63 on the par-72 Sharon Heights course. Only a handful of players were within five or even six shots of her first-round tally, and though she fell off of her pace slightly on Friday with a two-under 70, her third-round 66 kept her firmly in control of the lead going into the final round.
It wasn’t as if she went unchallenged, though. Current World No. 2 Nelly Korda stepped up her game in even 2-stroke increments over the first three days of the event, carding rounds of 70-68-66–204 on her way to solo second at the end of the third round, five strokes back of Kim’s 17-under 199.
It is in the normal order of things in a golf tournament for players to move up and fall back through the opening rounds, with everyone working to put themselves into position to either be defending a lead, or challenging for a lead, on Sunday. At this level, rounds in the mid- to high-60s are common, and to be in contention for the win on Sunday certainly three rounds of par or better is almost a iron-clad requirement.
Of the top 13 players coming into the final round today, none had carded a round lower than par, and the majority of their rounds were in the range from 68 to 70.
Kim’s first-round 63 was boosted by a remarkable 22 putts, the lowest total of the round and the tournament overall through three rounds – an impressive feat anywhere, but especially on the remarkably subtle (if not downright devious…) greens at Sharon Heights.
Several players had been making moves before Kim and Korda stepped onto the first tee box, but all of those moves were background noise to the main attraction: World # 2 Nelly Korda chasing down H.J. Kim and her five-stroke lead.
Korda slipped a bit with a bogey on the par-4 second hole, but followed it up with birdies on five of the next seven holes, making the turn in 32 and closing to within a stroke of Kim, who could manage no better than an even-par 36 with offsetting pairs of bogeys (holes 2 and 8) and birdies (holes 6 and 7.)
After the turn, Korda tied it up with a birdie on the 10th hole to Kim’s par, but the Korean got the lead back with a birdie at 11 after Korda made a clutch par putt after wedging it close from the front-right greenside bunker.
It was a seesaw battle over the remainder of the back nine, but Korda seemed to have lost the edge that had allowed her to make up a five-stroke deficit earlier in the round. The most crucial moments were her missed birdie putt on 16 after Kim left her par putt well short and pulled a shortie for par, and then a weak birdie-putt effort on 17 which fell well short, followed by a spectacularly poor par putt that slid by on the right.
At the final hole both players took on the right-side fairway bunker on the scenic uphill par-five, and both fell short, in the sand. Korda had better position, further back and away from the lip, so was able to advance her second shot farther, and had a wedge into the final green, while Kim, at 194 yards out, pulled a 4-hybrid for her approach.
Kim found sand again with her third shot, this time in a left-side greenside bunker – her first greenside bunker of the tournament – and then fired a nicely played wedge shot, relatively low and running, to about six feet past the hole.
Korda, in the meantime, even with a wedge in her hands from less than 100 yards, flew her approach well past the hole and didn’t get the roll-back that she was hoping for. When she failed to make the 30-odd foot birdie putt she effectively handed the win to Kim, who had two putts to win – and took them.
It was a valiant effort by World #2 Nelly Korda, and an edge-of-the-seat back nine for her fans – an exciting finish for this event’s first outing at a new venue. Word around the clubhouse is that the Founders Cup will be back at Sharon Heights G&CC for at least the next two years, which will be a treat for Bay Area golf fans who are already missing the now-defunct PGA Tour event at Silverado Country Club & Resort that we have enjoyed for the past several years.
Also on the schedule for the Bay Area is the Hanwha World Crown team event, which will pit eight teams from individual nations against each other in fourball, foursome, and singles matches. It was last held in the area in 2023 at TPC Harding Park; it will return in 2027 to be played at nearby Lake Merced Golf Club, the erstwhile home of the Swinging Skirts and then Mediheal LPGA events, 2014-2017/2018-2021.
