South Korea’s Hyo Joo Kim shot a 2-under-par 70 on Friday to build a four-shot lead heading into the weekend at the Fortinet Founders Cup in Menlo Park, Calif.
The seven-time LPGA Tour winner bogeyed two of her first eight holes in the second round to fall back to 7 under. However, Kim quickly rediscovered her form by pouring in four birdies over her final 10 holes.
Kim, 30, is at 11-under 133 at the halfway mark of the tournament, which is being held at Sharon Heights Golf & Country Club for the first time. She has missed 10 of 36 greens through two rounds but has needed only 52 putts.
Kim’s closest pursuer is Mexico’s Gaby Lopez at 7 under. Another shot back is a group of seven players that includes World No. 1 Jeeno Thitikul from Thailand and No. 2 Nelly Korda.
Competing for the first time since winning the weather-shortened Tournament of Champions to open the 2026 season, Korda had five birdies against a lone bogey in posting a 68 on Friday. She said it is a “tricky” course to play in competition on for the first time, so she opted for hitting less than driver multiple times during the second round.
“You really have to shape it out here,” Korda said. “Some of the trees are a little bit intimidating and the greens are tough, too. Not only are they really undulated, but sometimes they’re a little bit harder to read, too, where I thought it was going to go.
“I’ve had like a bunch of putts inside of 10 feet that I missed this week where I thought it was going to go one way and I hit it really solid and just kind of went the other way.”
Thitikul, who leads the Race to CME Globe standings, rebounded from an opening-round 72 to tied for the low round of the day with a 66 on Friday. After an opening bogey, she carded seven birdies over the remainder of her round.
“Surprisingly I thought it would be easier than this. I found yesterday it was difficult,” Thitikul said with a smile. “But if you ask me what to do well here, you have to be on the fairway first. Find the fairway. The rough was rough.”
The event began in 2011, with the most recent iteration seeing Yealimi Noh beat former World No. 1 Jin Young Ko by four strokes at Bradenton (Fla.) Country Club last year for her first career LPGA Tour victory.
Rose Zhang, a California native who is preparing to graduate Stanford this spring, will play the weekend. However, the 2024 Founders Cup champion is 11 shots off the lead at 1 over following a 73 on Friday.
–Field Level Media
