American Yealimi Noh broke through for her maiden LPGA Tour victory at the 2025 Founders Cup presented by U.S. Virgin Islands.
Making her 118th tour start, Noh carded rounds of 68, 64, 63 and 68 at Bradenton Country Club for a 21-under-par 263 total. The 23-year-old Californian finished four strokes ahead of 36-hole leader Jin Young Ko of South Korea, a three-time winner of this event.
Noh had started the final round one stroke ahead of Ko, a former Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings number one. A birdie at the 2nd hole saw Noh extend her lead to two shots, but Ko responded with birdies on Holes 4 and 6 to tie for the lead on 19-under-par.
Ko took the lead after picking up her third birdie of the day at the par-five 8th hole. After going bogey-free for 95 holes, a streak that began last Saturday at the Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions, Ko dropped a shot on the 13th hole while Noh made birdie for a two-shot swing.
Noh picked up another birdie on 14 to move to 21-under-par, while Noh made her second consecutive bogey to fall three shots back. It was plain sailing for Noh from there on and she parred her way home for her first career LPGA Tour title.
“This means so much to me. I worked really hard the past few years and went through a lot of struggles. I told myself 2025 is going to be my year, so this is the best way to start it,” said Noh, who became the first Rolex First-Time Winner of the 2025 LPGA Tour season.
“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 for the rest of the year,” she added.
While Ko was disappointed to miss out on a fourth Founders Cup title, the 29-year-old was still upbeat about her second consecutive top-five finish.
“Overall, I had great last couple of weeks, and it's going to be a big year for me. I practiced a lot the last couple of months and worked out every day, and my distances are getting farther than the last two years,” noted Ko, a 15-time LPGA Tour winner.
Megan Khang of the United States finished third on 16-under-par, three shots clear of Australia’s Hannah Green, Japan’s Miyu Yamashita and Korean Jin Hee Im.
World number one and Bradenton native Nelly Korda tied for seventh on 12-under-par with France's Celine Boutier and Japan's Minami Katsu.
Following a one-week break, the LPGA Tour will head to Asia for the Honda LPGA Thailand (February 20-23) at Siam Country Club in Pattaya, the HSBC Women's World Championship (February 27-March 2) at Singapore’s Sentosa Golf Club, and the Blue Bay LPGA (March 6-9) at Jian Lake Blue Bay Golf Course in Hainan, China.
