Kim Hyoju Delivers a Shot Eagle and Perfect 9-Under... "Keeping This Feeling"

Kim Takes Two-Stroke Lead After Round 1 of Fortinet Founders Cup
Lee Dong-eun in Second, Lim Jinhui and Mack Tied for Third
Yoon Ina, Choi Hyejin, and Minjee Lee Share Seventh Place

Kim Hyoju delivered a flawless performance.

On March 19 (local time), at the Sharon Heights Golf & Country Club (par 72, 6,542 yards) in Menlo Park, California, USA, Kim played the first round of the LPGA Tour Fortinet Founders Cup (total prize money: 3 million dollars). She carded one eagle and seven birdies. Shooting a 9-under-par 63, Kim took the lead by two strokes.

Kim Hyoju is putting on the 16th hole of the first round of the Fortinet Founders Cup. Menlo Park, USA - AFP Yonhap News Agency

Kim Hyoju made birdies on holes 3 and 5, then scored three consecutive birdies from holes 7 to 9, reducing her score by five strokes just on the front nine. On the back nine, she added birdies on holes 14 and 17 and capped off with a shot eagle on the final 18th hole (par 5). Her putting was exceptional, needing only 22 putts for the round. Kim has seven career victories on the LPGA Tour. This year, she has participated in two events and finished third at last month's Honda LPGA Thailand.

Kim said, "I'm satisfied that I made no bogeys. I made several mistakes early on, but managed to save well, and finishing with an eagle felt great." Regarding her eagle, she laughed, "From my position, I couldn't see the hole, but when I heard the gallery's cheers change from 'Oh...' to 'Yeah!' I realized the ball went in." Kim added, "I actually felt my shot condition was even better in Thailand, so today's score was a bit unexpected. I think it's thanks to improved course management," and expressed her determination, "I want to manage my game as well as I did today for the remaining days."

Lee Dong-eun, a long hitter making her debut on the U.S. tour this year, combined one eagle, seven birdies, and two bogeys to finish in second place (7-under-par 65). Lim Jinhui and Polly Mack (Germany) tied for third (6-under-par 66), while Yoon Ina, Choi Hyejin, Minjee Lee (Australia), and Saigo Mao (Japan) shared seventh place (4-under-par 68). Jeon Inji and Jeon Ji-won were tied for twelfth (3-under-par 69).

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.