Noh doubt about it… The First Win is a “Sweet One!”
By: Beverly Wise
Photos by: Beverly and Greg Wise
BRADENTON, Fla. — California resident, Yealimi Noh won the 2025 Founders Cup presented by U.S. Virgin Islands, beating Jin Young Ko by four strokes to become the season’s first Rolex First-Time Winner at Bradenton Country Club.
Noh began the final round Sunday afternoon 18-under par with a one-stroke lead over Ko. That increased to two strokes after her first birdie of the round at the par-4 2nd hole.
Ko responded with a birdie on the fourth hole, narrowing the gap back to one stroke, and then matched Noh’s score at 19-under par with a second birdie on the par-5 6th hole.
Let’s just say… the race was on…
by this final twosome.
Ko took the lead from Noh on the par-5 8th hole with her third birdie, reaching 20-under. At the 13th hole, Ko dropped to 19-under with a bogey. Noh’s birdie on the 13th hole created a 2-stroke swing and she regained a one-shot lead over Ko with a score of 20-under. Subsequently, Noh secured another birdie on the 14th hole, advancing to 21-under, while Ko recorded her second consecutive bogey, moving to 18-under.
Noh, with a well-established three-shot advantage with four holes remaining in Bradenton, Florida wasn’t on cruise control yet. She stayed solid down this stretch… to out-distance the Ko by 4-stokes securing her first LPGA Tour win at the Founders Cup presented by U.S. Virgin Islands.
“This means so much to me,” Noh said on the 18th green. “I worked really hard the past few years and went through a lot of struggles. This means so much to me. I told myself 2025 is going to be my year, so this is the best way to start it.
“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 and the rest of the year.”
Congratulations on your first victory at the Foundation Cup presented by U. S. Virgin Islands and collecting the first-place check of $300,000.
To Par Strokes
Yealimi Noh (USA) -21 264
Jin Young Ko (KOR) -17 267
Megan Khang (USE) -16 268
Hannah Green (AUS) -13 371
Jin Hee Im (KOR) -13 271
Miyu Yamashita (JPN) -13 271
Greg and Beverly Wise have been traveling the world, playing and writing about their golf experiences as “Golf the Wise Way,” and submitting to numerous publications.
Greg has played golf for more than 60 years and truly believes that “a picture is worth a thousand words…” so, Beverly and Greg both excel in getting the right photos to enhance their stories.
