Lydia Ko produced the lowest round of her LPGA career at the Ford Championship, carding a 12-under 60 to take a one-shot lead after the opening round in Phoenix. Ko began with four consecutive birdies and closed with two more, thriving in a day of unusually low scoring. She said she had never started a round with four straight birdies before, and credited patience and a hot putter for keeping her calm when good moments raised the usual ‘‘what ifs.’’
Defending champion Hyo Joo Kim shot a 61, creating the first opening round in which two players were double digits under par since the 2003 Kellogg-Keebler Classic. Kim, who began on the 10th hole, posted a 28 on her front nine and capped her day with birdie-eagle-birdie, including a hole-out from the fairway on the par-four eighth.
In her 13th season, Ko said a recent change to her putter helped establish a rhythm on the Cattail course at Whirlwind Golf Club. The possibility of shooting 59 briefly crossed her mind after birdies at 14 and 15, but she missed a seven-foot birdie putt on the par-five seventh. She shrugged off the near miss, noting that golf evens out with unexpected makes and misses.
Ko’s 60 was the ninth round of 60 or lower in LPGA history, the most recent prior occurrence being Lucy Li’s round at Pinnacle Country Club in Arkansas in 2024.
Nelly Korda, fresh off a 54-hole victory in Florida earlier this year and a runner-up finish last week in California, holed out from the 18th fairway for an eagle and posted a 63, one of her best career rounds. All of the low rounds came in the cooler morning waves; players in the hotter afternoon groups, when temperatures climbed toward 38 degrees Celsius, were unable to match the scoring. Frida Kinhult led the afternoon with a 64, while world No. 1 Jeeno Thitikul opened with a 69.