BRADENTON, Fla. — It was a two-horse race on Sunday at the Founders Cup presented by U.S. Virgin Islands, but Yealimi Noh beat out former Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings No. 1 Jin Young Ko by four strokes to become the season’s first Rolex First-Time Winner at Bradenton Country Club.

Noh began the final round one stroke ahead of Ko at 18-under and extended her advantage to two after picking up her first birdie of the round on the par-4 2nd hole. Ko birdied the fourth to once again sit one behind Noh and then tied the lead alongside her at 19-under with a birdie on the par-5 6th hole.

Ko took the lead from Noh after picking up her third Sunday birdie on the par-5 8th hole to climb to 20-under, and that’s where things stood until the pair got to 13. After going bogey-free for 95 holes, a streak that began last Saturday at the Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions, Ko tripped up with a bogey on the 13th, a misstep that dropped her back to 19-under.

Noh birdied 13 to regain a one-shot lead over Ko at 20-under, and when she picked up another birdie on 14 to move to 21-under and Ko made her second consecutive bogey to slip to 18-under, Noh had a three-shot advantage with four holes to play in Bradenton, Fla.

Ko made another bogey on 16, and at that point for Noh, the pressure was off and she easily parred in to post a 3-under 68, emerging victorious for the first time in her LPGA Tour career at the Founders Cup presented by U.S. Virgin Islands.

“This means so much to me,” Noh said on the 18th green. “I worked really hard the past few years and went through a lot of struggles. This means so much to me. I told myself 2025 is going to be my year, so this is the best way to start it.

“I've been in contention a couple of times, and I told myself I could do it, but this is the first time it got done. This is a really big confidence booster for me and the rest of the year.”

While Ko was, of course, disappointed to not pick up her fourth career victory in this event on Sunday afternoon, there were still plenty of positives to be gleaned from her second consecutive top-five finish on the LPGA Tour, good energy that she will be carrying with her as she looks ahead to her scheduled start at the Honda LPGA Thailand in just a couple of weeks.

“Overall, I had great weeks last couple of weeks, and it's going to be a big year for me, I guess,” said Ko, who tied for fourth last week at Lake Nona Golf and Country Club. “I think it paid off, so I practiced a lot the last couple of months and working out every day, and my distances are getting farther than last two years. I'm very, very happy to be on the course.

“I was pain for like I had bogey today. I don't care about winning. I just want to continue bogey-free round until maybe Thailand or Singapore. I did my best, I think, and I had a great week. So much fans out there and Koreans out there, so they are supporting me.”

Megan Khang finished solo third at 16-under overall, her first top-five finish on the LPGA Tour since the ISPS Handa Women’s Scottish Open and her second consecutive solo-third result at Bradenton Country Club, as Khang finished alone in third at the LPGA Drive On Championship in 2024. Three players tied for fourth at 13-under, a group that includes Olympians Hannah Green and Miyu Yamashita and 2024 LPGA Tour rookie Jin Hee Im.

Bradenton native and 2024 LPGA Drive On Championship winner Nelly Korda tied for seventh at 12-under total, with fan favorite Lexi Thompson tying for 13th after finishing at 9-under for the tournament.

Noh Doubt: Yealimi Noh Becomes Rolex First-Time Winner at Founders Cup

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