Welcome back to this week’s Golf Insider, everyone!
Another week, another showdown between Nelly Korda and Hyo Joo Kim. And for the second week in a row, Kim came out victorious.
On March 29, she successfully defended her title at the 2026 Ford Championship presented by Wild Horse Pass for her second consecutive LPGA Tour win. Let’s take a look at how the duel shook out.
The golf in the desert this week was unreal, with multiple players carding notable low rounds. Lydia Ko got a hot start out of the gate with a first-round 60 (-12), her career low score. 17-year-old amateur Asterisk Talley shot a 65 (-7) in Friday’s second round and sat tied for 11th going into the weekend.
But ultimately, it was Korda and Kim who consistently shined the whole tournament. Kim shot an 11-under-par 61 in her first round, and Korda shot a 9-under-par 63. Neither player carded a bogey in their first rounds.
The pace was set, to say the least.
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On day two, Korda shined with a 7-under-par 65, overshadowing Kim’s 3-under-par 69. Korda surged into the lead heading into the weekend at 16-under-par, setting the best 36-hole score of her LPGA Tour career. Kim followed two strokes behind at 14-under, but kept the pressure on the rest of the way.
Saturday’s round came, and Kim once again shot a bogey-free 61 (-11). Her round included nine birdies and an eagle to cruise four strokes past Korda to take the lead going into Sunday. Kim’s round was good enough to set the LPGA Tour record for lowest 54-hole score (191). Can we be for real? Who shoots two 61s in a tournament? Kim is out of her mind.
And if it weren’t for her record-breaking third round, Kim may have lost the tournament. In yet another Kim-Korda final-round pairing, the pressure was on. But Korda, as always, was up to the challenge.
On the par-5 second hole, the World No. 2 recorded an eagle 3 to climb to 23-under-par. Kim started the day with two pars in a row, so Korda was now inching closer. Kim then birdied No. 4 to widen the gap between her and Korda. Korda made par on that hole.
Korda and Kim matched birdies on holes No. 5 and 7, but some troubles set the two back at the end of the front nine. Kim shot a 1-under-par 35, and Korda carded a 3-under-par 33. Korda was just two back going into the final nine of the tournament.
But Kim was not going to be denied a second consecutive trophy. Her back nine wasn’t flashy; it was consistent. That ended up winning her the tournament. Birdies on holes No. 10 and 12 put her, once again, four strokes above Korda on the leaderboard. Kim strung together three pars on the next three holes, but then bogeyed the par-4 16th hole to drop to 27-under-par for the tournament.
Still, the gap was just too large to close, despite Korda’s valiant efforts. She went eagle-birdie in her last two holes, but Kim birdied No. 17 to climb to her unreachable lead to 28-under-par. Korda finished the day with a 5-under-par 67, bringing her tournament total to 26-under-par. Kim – after solidifying her career-best and the 72-hole Ford Championship scoring record of 260 – was victorious.
The win was Kim’s ninth on the LPGA Tour, and it was the first time she had won twice in a row. Kim is the first repeat winner of the 2026 LPGA Tour season. And another fun fact: it was the first time the same two players finished in positions 1-2 on the leaderboard in back-to-back weeks since Annika Sorenstam and Se Ri Pak in 2001. The level of golf that Kim and Korda are playing at this spring is absurd.
These two players battled it out for two straight weeks on the LPGA Tour. Can they go for three? The LPGA Tour and LET combine for the 2026 Aramco Championship at Shadow Creek in Las Vegas from April 2-5.
See you next week, golf fans.
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This week in women’s golf
LPGA News
Featured groups: 2026 Aramco Championship
Field breakdown: 2026 Aramco Championship
How to watch the 2026 Aramco Championship
Michelle Wie West announces playing in the 2026 U.S. Women’s Open
Nelly Korda continues her impressive start to 2026 with yet another runner-up result
Lydia Ko secures top-five finish at Ford Championship, eyes Las Vegas
Hyo Joo Kim tops Nelly Korda again and wins on LPGA for second straight week
Nasa Hataoka makes an ace and wins a Ford Bronco in the third round of the Ford Championship
Jenny Bae cards second ace of 2026 in Ford Championship opening round
LET News
Shadow Creek takes center stage for Aramco Championship
March 2026 LET Player of the Month nominees announced
Alexander tops Order of Merit heading into April
McGinty leads Rookie of the Year standings after Australian swing
Epson Tour News
Epson Tour graduate Sophia Schubert goes low at Ford Championship
Augusta National Women’s Amateur News
How to watch the 2026 Augusta National Women’s Amateur
First-timers ready to make their mark
At 16, Aphrodite Deng prepares for Augusta National debut
Paula Martin Sampedro and Andrea Revuelta look to continue Spanish tradition in Augusta
World No. 1 Kiara Romero ready for Augusta return
Several contenders prepare for unique challenge in Augusta
More than a game: How family carried Brooke Biermann to the Augusta National Women’s Amateur
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Five at The IX: 5 players to watch at 2026 Augusta National Women’s Amateur
When I think of spring, I think of Augusta National. The Women’s Amateur and the Masters, within weeks of one another, mark the start to golf’s high season.
The 2026 Augusta National Women’s Amateur (ANWA) started Wednesday, and the second round is currently underway.
The top 30 players who make the cut at Champion’s Retreat will play the final round at Augusta National on Saturday. (Don’t worry, the entire field gets to play the coveted course on Friday for a practice round.)
As we move toward the weekend, here are five players to keep an eye on in the rest of this year’s competition.
Asterisk Talley
The little star is on fire. Talley is having herself a wonderful 2026, and it’s only April. The 17-year-old Stanford commit won the Fortinet Stanford Invitational in February, notching her fifth AJGA invitational win. She became the first repeat champion at the Junior Invitational in March.
Talley also put on a solid performance at the LPGA Tour’s Ford Championship. In a tournament with 22 of the top 25 players in the world, she sat tied for 11th place heading into the weekend. Talley shot a 3-under-par 69 in Thursday’s first round but made waves with her 7-under-par 65 on Friday. Watch out for the 2025 ANWA runner-up as she looks to finally come out on top.
Paula Martín Sampedro
The Stanford standout and 2025 Women’s Amateur champion is never a sleeper. Sampedro is on a run of five consecutive top-five finishes with Stanford, and she grabbed a down-to-the-wire victory at the Bruin Wave Invitational on Feb. 24. This led her to take the ACC Player of the Month award for February.
I think she’ll want to redeem herself after a T-18 finish at the 2025 ANWA. Can she carry on the tradition of Spanish brilliance at Augusta National?
María José Marín
The 2025 NCAA DI Women’s Golf Individual and 2025 Women’s Amateur Latin America champion is gearing up for her fourth time at the ANWA. Marín has 10 top-10 finishes for Arkansas, and in the fall, she notched two runner-up results. She collected a share of another individual victory when she tied for first at the Clemson Invitational on March 29, making it five individual wins.
After missing the cut at last year’s contest, Marín has got a bone to pick. She’s going to want to see Augusta National in a competitive round.
Catherine Park
Park is a veteran amateur player. The USC senior is having a monster season; she was named the Big Ten Golfer of the Week two times this season. Park captured the Alice and John Wallace Women’s Golf Classic by five strokes on Feb. 16. She also earned her fifth top-10 finish of the season at the PING ASU Invitational, where she finished tied for second, only one stroke behind the leader.
Park tied for fourth place in last year’s ANWA, carding a solid 67 at Augusta National to propel herself into that position. She’ll surely have her eyes set on the title this year.
Megha Ganne
How can we not bring Ganne into the conversation? The 2025 U.S. Women’s Amateur champion set the first round record (63) at Champion’s Retreat during the 2025 ANWA and has been so close to nabbing the elusive title. Something about Augusta National will just cloud the mind. But in her sixth appearance in the tournament, expect Ganne to use her veteran expertise to her advantage.
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