The Ford Championship brings 144 of the best LPGA Tour players to Whirlwind Golf Club in Phoenix, Arizona. And the format is designed to reward consistency across four days while building toward a thrilling Sunday finish.

All golfers compete in threesomes over Thursday and Friday, split into morning and afternoon waves. To keep things moving, each group starts at both the 1st and 10th holes. The same three players stay together for both rounds, one in the morning and one in the afternoon. Only the top 65 golfers and ties make it through the cut after 36 holes.

Well, it’s the weekend when things get intriguing.

The leaderboard logic changes for Saturday and Sunday pairings. The golfers who are lowest on the leaderboard tee off first, and the leaders tee off last. This makes real drama happen because the front-runners watch everyone else set the target before they play.

And the winner is decided in the simplest way possible.

The lowest total score across all 72 holes wins. If golfers are tied after 72 holes, a sudden-death playoff determines the winner. The champion takes home a piece of the $2.25 million purse, making every shot count from the first tee on Thursday.

Interesting facts that make the Ford Championship worth watching

The Ford Championship is only in its third year, but it has already packed in enough drama to feel like a tournament with decades of history behind it. Nelly Korda won the first 2024 tournament at Seville Golf and Country Club as part of her historic five-win streak. She finished the last round with a bogey-free 65. That’s the kind of start that sets the mood.

The tournament didn’t even stay in the same place. In 2025, it moved to the Cattail Course at Whirlwind Golf Club in Chandler, Arizona, after only one year at Seville. The 17th hole is an Aon Risk Reward Challenge hole, which means that every round, players have to make a real choice under pressure.

In the last round of 2025, Hyo Joo Kim came back from four shots down to win a playoff with an 8-under 64. People watch for that kind of comeback on a Sunday at a tournament with a prize pool of more than $2 million.

The tournament isn’t just about golf, though. The Thunderbirds Military Outpost is a special place for active-duty military and first responders to stay near the 18th green. In 2026, the event got more Arizona-focused by including local artists and youth programs connected to the Gila River Indian Community.

How the 2026 leaderboard played out

H.J. Kim won the 2026 Ford Championship with a score of 28-under par, two shots ahead of Nelly Korda, who finished at 26-under. Minami Katsu came in third with a score of 23-under, and Lydia Ko came in fourth with a score of 20-under after her record-breaking opening round of 60.

The win wasn’t an easy one, though. M. Rhodes, F. Kinhult, and I.N. Yoon all finished sixth with a score of 18-under. D. Weber, E. Henseleit, R. Zhang, and C. Iwai all finished ninth with a score of 17-under. Amateur Asterisk Talley also did well, finishing tied for 29th at 12-under against one of the best groups of women golfers.

With this win, Kim is now just the fourth player since 2020 to win back-to-back weeks on the LPGA Tour. The remarkable part is who she keeps beating to do it. Nelly Korda’s only losses this year have both come at the hands of Hyo Joo Kim. Twice. Korda jokingly summed it up perfectly after the round: “I’m done playing with her.”

Hyo Joo Kim’s dominance continues this season, showing that consistency wins. Meanwhile, the Ford Championship also keeps giving high-pressure finishes and top-level competition.