After joining the tour in 2020, Yealimi Noh was still looking to win for the first time on the LPGA Tour. She got that victory last weekend at the Founders Cup.
It was a moment worth the wait for the 23-year-old American. In just over five years, she's had 14 top 10s but had yet to breakthrough until Sunday.
She won the tournament by four strokes over Jin Young Ko. Noh posted a bogey-free 68 to secure the victory and claim the cup. She only had three bogeys for the entire tournament.
She was one stroke up over Ko at the end of the third round after posting a 63 and making eight birdies, seven coming on the back nine.
“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," she told reporters after.
It is early in the season, but it should provide Noh with momentum for the rest of the year. It allows her to gain 500 Race to the CME Globe points, which puts her in 1st place in the early part of the year.
Are more wins on the horizon for Yealimi Noh?
The points could prove valuable towards the end of the year as players like Nelly Korda likely accumulate top 10s and victories of their own. Nelly Korda finished in a tie for 7th at the Founders Cup. It was the veteran's second top 10.
In addition to her #1 CME Globe ranking, Noh is 1st in greens in regulation percentage at 93%. She also ranks 1st in Greens from the rough percentage at 88.24% after her recent win.
Despite playing in only one tournament thus far, the young golfer also ranks 19th in birdies made this season with 24.
As Yealimi Noh continues her season, she can only hope to build off the momentum that was gained from her first victory. She can also take confidence from holding off the likes of Korda and Megan Khang during the final round, who also made a run on Sunday.
Despite only being 23, she showed great poise playing bogey-free golf to claim her first victory. If that continues, she could easily be a huge part of Sundays moving forward for the rest of the season.