Hyo Joo Kim Fends Off Nelly Korda, While Natasha Oon Becomes Founders Cup Darling

Well that was fun!

After spending the week out in San Fran watching and following the best in the world take on the Tour's new track out at Sharon Heights, I sat and watched the final round of the Founders Cup unfold on my couch Sunday evening completely enthralled by what I was seeing.

RELATED: Skratch on Site at Founders Cup

While the first round was getting under way, I was busy being ushered around to see an inside look at how the LPGA broadcast comes together with an exclusive tour of the broadcast booth. You may have noticed some of the off-season upgrades that the tiny-yet-mighty team has been working hard on to make sure coverage still goes off without a hitch (hi Trackman and drone shots!). And it wasn't until I was back home when I finally got to see all that hard work pay off.

This year's Founders Cup was a step in the right direction for so many reasons—let's break them down.

The Broadcast Was Humming

This week is proof that more is more.

Since November Craig Kessler and his team have been teasing us with revamping the way the women's golf product is shown and the time finally arrived. The enhanced coverage features that we've heard so much about—more cameras, drones, walk and talks—debuted at Founders, and its safe to say that people were pleased.

RELATED: 15 Minutes With LPGA Commissioner Craig Kessler

The first two days were soured just a bit with the Valspar coverage bleeding into the LPGA window, but once the weekend rolled around, things were right on time.

Sharon Heights Showed its Teeth

I hope this is a track that we continue to see for quite some time. With cybersecurity company Fortinet coming in as the title sponsor for a multi-year deal, it's nice to know that the Tour will stay in the Bay Area at least for a little while.

Visually, I think it's one of my favorite courses. It appears tight to the eye, with the towering Redwoods taunting you ever so slightly. The bunkers with their shaggy eyebrows add a links-y look. And who doesn't love a center-line fairway?

RELATED: An Insider's Look at The LPGA's New Venue Sharon Heights

But most importantly, this course proved to be a real challenge for players. The walk is brutal, the greens can be tough to read, and shot placement off the tee is everything. Some of the score cards we saw were insane, and I love it.

Because yeah, watching golf is way more fun when one of the best golfers in the world can make a snowman and an eagle in consecutive holes.

Hyo Joo Goes Wire to Wire

Golf Channel's Grant Boone had a spot on call as the final putt dropped for Hyo Joo Kim saying "she bent, but didn't break." Kim who began her Sunday with a five shot lead saw that disappear in just 10 holes. She had a hungry, and well-rested Nelly Korda hunting her down making the entire back nine feel like match play.

With miraculous pars on the closing par-3s, 13 and 17, Kim managed to hold off a charging Korda who made a few rare mental mistakes on the final two holes. Korda missed a short 2-footer for par on the 17th and then drove her ball into a fairway bunker on 18.

Though she stalled on Sunday, Kim's rounds of 63-70-66-73 to go 16-under for the tournament was enough to help her capture her 8th career title, and her second Founders Cup title. "I think just in the back nine my two par saves were probably the things I'm proudest about today," Kim said after the round. "Just because my shots weren't playing as well."

Image credit to LPGA/Getty.

She'll head to Arizona this week, where she's set to defend at the Ford Championship.

Nelly Chasing

The Tour's new Chief Marketing Officer Chad Coleman was also loving the action.

I briefly got to chat with Coleman and watch his team at work, and already I felt a difference in the media center. The LPGA marketing and content teams were working in overdrive and that was evident in the quality and sheer volume of social assets that went out during the week. Go ahead and follow the Tour's socials if you're not already, big changes have been made and I think you all will dig it.

Another thing golf fans every dig is when Nelly Korda is in contention.

Her win at TOC was overshadowed by its abrupt ending, and we haven't seen her compete in six weeks so it was nice to see Korda surging up the leaderboard and make things interesting on Sunday.

The World Fell in Love With Natasha Oon

And perhaps what worked the best at Founders this week was that even with all the drama happening at the top of the leaderboard, further down the scoresheet were plenty of fan-favorites to root for, including Bay Area native and 2026 rookie Natasha Oon who has truly captivated the world with her energy.

She's a breath of fresh air, a ray of sunshine, a true star in the making.

Quick background story on Natasha. She was born in Jakarta, Indonesia but grew up in Malaysia before coming to the U.S. to play golf at San Jose State. She played her ass off in college and was a mentee to the legendary Juli Inkster and her husband Brian. Oon then took all that potential to the Epson Tour and was even named the 2023 Rookie of the Year on the qualifying circuit. With a win and a slew of top-10s, she earned her LPGA status for the 2024 season, but unfortunately was sidelined for nearly two years due to a foot-injury.

At long-last she made her LPGA debut at Founders, where the bubbly 24-year-old giggled her way into her pre-tournament press conference, gifted me my favorite moment of my career, and captivated the entire room.

It was a storybook week for her. With her mom, host family, and friends all in tow—Oon not only made the cut, but landed herself on SportsCenter with her insane hole out eagle during the second round.

She's got game but she also a player who understands the entertainment factor of golf. She's performing, kinda like her current idol Alysa Liu—a collab that I need to see and soon.

Natasha was the cherry on top to a great week for the Tour. It's onward and upward from here.