Every LPGA Tour event brings its own intensity, but the Fortinet Founders Cup stands out. Especially because of the sudden-death format. And as Nelly Korda and Hyo Joo Kim battle it out for the lead in the final round, let’s take a look at the format of the $3M tournament.

Like most LPGA Tour events, the Fortinet Founders Cup is a 72-hole stroke play competition, with 144 players battling across four rounds from Thursday to Sunday. The mix of top-ranked LPGA Tour stars, former champions, and exemptions will tee it off at Sharon Heights in two waves for the first couple of rounds, i.e., morning wave and afternoon wave. Each wave will incorporate one round. And the same threesomes will swing together in the first two rounds at the first and 10th tees. 

Out of the 144 players, the top 65 will proceed to the final two rounds after they make the cut following 36 holes. In the third round, players will be paired and given a tee time based on their total score through their respective last rounds. Players will be arranged in descending order of their scores, with the lowest total in the final group. 

But what if two or more players finish with the exact same score? Well, in such cases, the Fortinet Founders Cup deploys a sudden-death playoff format. This means that there’s no extended series or aggregate scoring. Instead, the players play the 18th hole repeatedly until a clear winner emerges. 

This format places immense pressure on precision and composure, as even a single mistake can immediately end a player’s chances. After all, the stakes are pretty high with a $3M purse and 500 Race to the CME Globe points on the line. 

But is sudden-death a frequent phenomena at the Founders Cup? Well, not really!

How often have we seen sudden-death at the Founders Cup?

The last time we saw a sudden death at the Founders Cup was in 2023. And that’s the only sudden-death in the tournament that has happened since 2011. It came when Jin Young Ko and Minjee Lee finished at 13-under. Ultimately, Ko defeated Lee to win her third Founders Cup title.

In the last two years, the winners were declared by a margin of multiple strokes. In 2024, Rose Zhang won the tournament by two strokes and after shooting a final round 66. It marked her second LPGA Tour title in her professional debut season. 

Last year, we saw Yealimi Noh posting a bogey-free final round 68 to win the Founders Cup. And that win came by a margin of four strokes. It marked Noh’s first LPGA win. But it’s worth noting that the champions earned $450,000 between 2021 and 2024. In 2025, the winning prize money amounted to $300,000. 

This year, Hyo Joo Kim took the lead with a total of 16-under 272 in the final round, leaving Nelly Korda in second spot with a score of 15-under 273. By the looks of it, it’s unlikely for the 2026 Fortinet Founders Cup to end with a playoff. But the top two spots are still in a tight competition.