LOS ANGELES: South Korea’s Hyo Joo Kim rolled in a six-foot birdie putt at the first playoff hole to win the LPGA Ford Championship on Sunday ahead of American Lilia Vu.

Kim had nine birdies in her 8-under par 64, the lowest round of the day at the Whirlwind Golf Club in Chandler, Arizona, taking her to a 22-under total of 266.

Overnight leader Vu carded a four-under-par 68, but when they returned to the par-four 18th for the playoff Kim put her approach six feet from the pin while Vu left herself more than 15 feet.

The American’s putt came up short and Kim sank hers to claim her seventh LPGA victory, and her first since 2023.

“So it’s been a while since I had any wins so I was getting a little bit stressed,” the 29-year-old Kim admitted.

“But I did work out a lot during the winter time so now that I have a win I’m a little bit lighthearted.”

“The feeling was great today,” said Kim, who needed just 24 putts. “I just thought one birdie at a time.”

Having started the day four shots off Vu’s lead, Kim had seven birdies in the first 11 holes to seize the solo lead on 21-under.

However, she found the water off the tee at 12 on the way to a bogey, missing a short par save attempt.

Kim then drained a birdie putt from off the green at 16 and added another birdie at 17 to land in the clubhouse with a one-stroke lead.

But Vu got up and down for birdie from a greenside bunker at the 17th, blasting out of the sand to about a foot.

Vu, who had endured a long wait for the green to clear at 17 had another tense delay on the 18th tee as Nanna Koerstz Madsen searched for her ball in the desert scrub.

Vu’s second shot bounded through the green but the two-time major winner and former world number one chipped to about six feet and holed the par putt to force a playoff.

Kim had been waiting and watching as Vu finished her round.

“I kept on thinking we might go on a playoff, so I kept stretching,” she said. “I thought I would be very nervous, but I really wasn’t.”

Vu, who missed three months last year with a back injury that still troubles her, was pleased with her week, despite the playoff disappointment.

“I’m proud that I kind of stuck to my goal, my weekly goal. The only goal is to be in tune with my body,” she said.

“This is probably the most I’ve felt like me in the past year and a half.”

American Allizen Corpuz, the 2023 US Women’s Open champion, thrust herself into contention with a bogey-free seven-under-par 65 but had to settle for third on 267.

World No. 2 Jeeno Thitikul of Thailand was in the hunt, sharing the lead after her sixth birdie of the day on 13.

But the birdies dried up and her six-under 66 left her alone in fourth on 268.

HOUSTON: Top-ranked Scottie Scheffler and world No. 2 Rory McIlroy play their final tuneups for the Masters at this week’s PGA Houston Open, seeking a title while preparing for Augusta National.

McIlroy, who won the Players two weeks ago after taking the Pebble Beach crown last month, is making his first Houston trip in 11 years and playing the course for the first time.

“It has been a great start to the season for me and I want to continue it,” McIlroy said.

But the 35-year-old from Northern Ireland visited Augusta National this week to start preparations for the Masters, the only major title he needs to complete a career Grand Slam.

“I use those trips just to refamiliarize myself with the place, clubs off tees, looking to see if they changed any greens,” McIlroy said.

“There are four greens that are new this year that they’ve redone. You have a look at those and see if there’s any new hole positions they give you, stuff like that.

“Honestly for me, it’s nice to play a practice round without people around and it sort of takes the pressure off the start of the (Masters) week for me.”

His time in Houston, however, is about competing and trying to add another title to his season before his quest for a green jacket resumes.

“I just want to get a card in my hand and shoot scores and hopefully get myself in contention and try to win another golf tournament,” McIlroy said. “It’s not as if I’m playing here this week and thinking about two weeks’ time. I’m here, I’m in the present, I’m trying to do my best this week and trying to win this golf tournament.”

Repeated shotmaking under tournament pressure is on McIlroy’s mind.

“I want to keep playing well, so I think every round you play where you see good things you’re filling up that confidence bucket a little bit, so I want to see that,” he said.

“It was great to get a win a couple weeks ago but I still feel I could have played a lot better. I tried to poke holes in a lot of my game last week and think about things I could do better, and there were definitely things that I could work on.

“It’s a good opportunity to go out and see if some of the work I did at home and I’m continuing to do here... is all going in the right direction.”

Scheffler was the runner-up in Houston last year, a season in which he won nine titles include Olympic gold and his second Masters title.

But Scheffler missed the first month of this season with a hand injury and is only now getting back to normal form.

“Feeling pretty good. Excited about the stuff we’re working on right now and game feels like it’s in a good spot. Definitely excited to get the season going this week,” he said.

He finds Houston’s Memorial Park course a worthy place to prepare for the challenge of winning a third Masters in four seasons.

“With it being rye grass in the fairways now I think definitely improves the prep for the Masters, it’s a similar grass to what we see at Augusta,” Scheffler said.

“It’s also a big golf course. You’ve got to hit it far out here, so there is definitely some similarities and good preparation between here and Augusta.”

Like McIlroy, however, Scheffler is concentrating on winning this week before trying for another major win.

“I try to focus as much as I can on the tournament at hand,” he said.

“I think in the back of your mind at all times the majors are always kind of there... so when you’re here with the Masters being only two weeks away, it’s very easy for us to look ahead. But I’m trying to do my best to focus on this week.”