Lydia Ko blazed to the lowest round of her LPGA career with a stunning 12-under 60 in Thursday’s opening round of the Ford Championship, igniting Whirlwind Golf Club’s Cattail Course with four straight birdies to start and never letting up.

Historic birdie barrage

The 28-year-old New Zealander, in her 13th LPGA season, grabbed attention immediately by birdieing her first four holes (starting on No. 10), then added two more to cap a front-nine 28. A mid-round surge included birdies on her 14th and 15th, flirting with LPGA history — 59 remains the holy grail, held solely by Annika Sorenstam’s 2001 mark. Ko rimmed out a 7-footer for eagle on the par-5 seventh but closed birdie-birdie anyway, marking just the ninth sub-60 LPGA round ever.

Defending champion Hyo Joo Kim matched the occasion with a 61 — the first double-digit under-par opener since 2003’s Keebler Classic — featuring a blistering 28 on her front nine capped by birdie-eagle-birdie. World No. 1 Nelly Korda fired a 63 (one of her career bests), holing out from the 18th fairway, but trailed by three as morning-wave leaders dominated before 100°F afternoon heat slowed late starters like Atthaya Thitikul (2-under at the turn).

Ko’s putter magic

Ko credited a rare Tuesday putter switch to a Scotty Cameron 12 model — “It’s been a while since I tried a different one” — for her hot stroke play. “When things go well, you think about what could go wrong,” she said post-round. “I stayed patient and it rolled beautifully.” Thoughts of 59 crept in after consecutive birdies, but she shrugged off the near-miss: “Maybe if I holed that 7-footer, I wouldn’t have made the last two. It evens out.”

Six morning players shot 65 or better on the benign setup, leaving limited-schedule veteran Lexi Thompson stranded at 75 in her 2026 debut — 15 shots back. Ko leads by one over Kim entering Round 2, with Korda lurking in a tournament already etched in LPGA lore.