Sports
Hyo Joo Kim sets 54-hole record in taking control of Ford Championship
Apr 25, 2025; The Woodlands, Texas, USA; Hyo Joo Kim Korea hits an shot onto the green at the 18th hole during the second round of The Chevron Championship golf tournament. Mandatory Credit: Erik Williams-Imagn Images South Korea’s Hyo Joo Kim took an emphatic step toward defending her title at the Ford Championship on Saturday, setting an LPGA 54-hole record to build a four-stroke lead in Chandler, Ariz.
Despite that hot start, Kim is focused on keeping her approach consistent on Sunday.
“This course, anyone is capable of scoring low, so I will continue to just focus on the same game plan that I did today,” Kim said.
If that focus nets similar results, Kim will be in historic territory. On Saturday, Kim matched her first-day, 11-under-par 61 to put her at 25 under for the tournament, a pace through 54 holes that is the best in LPGA history.
Her 25-under stretch broke the previous record held by four players by one stroke.
Her bogey-free round included birdies on four of her first seven holes before she exceeded that hot start with four straight holes under par on Nos. 10-13. That stretch included an eagle on the par-5 No. 12.
Kim finished her remarkable day at the Cattail Course at Whirlwind Golf Club with birdies on 16 and 17, giving her nine birdies and an eagle on the day.
“I play with my mind, just focusing on one shot at a time,” Kim said. “When I think about the shots, whether it’s striking a certain distance or how I play, I just focus on each at a time.”
Kim’s closest pursuer, unsurprisingly, is World No. 2 Nelly Korda, who led after two rounds and carded a 5-under 67 on Saturday to get to 21 under.
The pair have seen a lot of each other of late, playing in the same group over five straight rounds. Kim kept Korda at bay in last week’s Founders Cup to win by a single stroke in Menlo Park, Calif.
“Nelly is my favorite player,” Kim said. “It’s been great playing together. You know, it’s been great playing with her, competing with her and it’s just been fun overall.”
Korda’s day included five birdies and no bogeys.
“I’m never going to complain about a bogey-free round and 5-under, so it was a solid one,” Korda said.
Korda herself has a healthy lead over her closest competitors, as five golfers are tied at 16 under, five strokes behind Korda (and nine behind Kim). That group consists of England’s Mimi Rhodes (63 on Saturday), Japan’s Chizzy Iwai (67), South Korea’s Ina Yoon (67), Japan’s Minami Katsu (69) and New Zealand’s Lydia Ko (69).
–Field Level Media
Sports
Cole Caufield scores 45th as Canadiens begin road trip with fourth straight victory
Mar 28, 2026; Nashville, Tennessee, USA; Nashville Predators goaltender Juuse Saros (74) blocks the shot of Montreal Canadiens left wing Juraj Slafkovský (20) during the second period Gat Bridgestone Arena. Mandatory Credit: Steve Roberts-Imagn Images Jacob Fowler stopped 23 of the 24 shots he faced to help the Montreal Canadiens kick off their critical five-game road trip with a 4-1 victory over the Nashville Predators on Saturday.
Cole Caufield continued his chase for the Maurice Rocket Richard trophy as he found the back of the net for his 45th goal of the season for the Canadiens (41-21-10, 92 points). Ivan Demidov, Oliver Kapanen and Alex Newhook all picked up a goal and an assist, while Nick Suzuki also finished with a pair of assists as Montreal secured its fourth consecutive win.
Demidov struck first for the Canadiens as he soared into the zone and fired a wrist shot off the far post and in with 8:26 remaining in the first.
The Predators (34-30-9, 77 points) have a precarious hold on a wild card slot in the Western Conference and had a chance to find an equalizer after Zachary L’Heureux took a behind-the-back pass from Roman Josi, but he jammed his backhand shot wide of the cage with just over five minutes remaining in the first.
Montreal doubled up its advantage just under four minutes into the second period as Newhook found Kapanen out front and he tapped it into the empty cage for his 22nd goal of the season.
Erik Haula eyed Nashville’s first goal while on the man advantage, but he found the right post with his wrist shot close to five minutes into the second period.
Caufield was looking to make it a three-goal game as he toe dragged around his defender, but found the iron with 8:43 remaining in the second.
The Canadiens’ sniper didn’t waste much time to get his revenge as three minutes later he stepped into the middle and slid his shot past Saros to make it 3-0 for the Canadiens.
After failing to score on his one-timed chance, Demidov spotted an open Newhook, who made no mistake with 3:37 remaining in the middle frame to make it 4-0 for the Canadiens.
L’Heureux ended Fowler’s shutout bid late in the third with a lucky goal as the puck bounced off the stanchion and on his stick with an empty net in front of him.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Hawks retain No. 6 seed with win over last-place Kings
Mar 28, 2026; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Sacramento Kings guard Malik Monk (0) reaches for the ball against Atlanta Hawks guard Nickeil Alexander-Walker (7) during the first quarter at State Farm Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jordan Godfree-Imagn Images Nickeil Alexander-Walker scored 27 points, Jalen Johnson added 26 points and 10 assists and the Atlanta Hawks held off the visiting Sacramento Kings for a 123-113 victory on Saturday.
CJ McCollum scored 22 points, while Jock Landale finished with 19 points and 13 rebounds for the Hawks (42-33), who won their 15th game in 17 tries. Zaccharie Risacher tallied 13 points and Mohamed Gueye chipped in 10 for Atlanta, which holds a half-game lead over Philadelphia for the East’s No. 6 seed — the last guaranteed playoff spot.
DeMar DeRozan led Sacramento (19-56) with 22 points, followed by Maxime Raynaud’s 18 points and 10 boards. Precious Achiuwa had 16, DaQuan Jeffries scored 15 and Daeqwon Plowden had 14 for the Kings, who dropped their third straight. Malik Monk and Killian Hayes both scored 10 points.
Atlanta pushed its 12-point halftime lead to 16 on Gueye’s 3-pointer with 8:08 left in the third.
The Kings pulled within nine on DeRozan’s layup, before Atlanta extended the lead back to 13.
Sacramento closed the third on a 7-1 run — including Hayes’ buzzer-beating triple — to cut its deficit to 88-82 entering the fourth.
The Kings tied the game at 97 apiece on Plowden’s 3-pointer with 8:03 left. Johnson’s five straight points began an 11-0 run that gave the Hawks a 108-97 edge with 5:47 remaining.
The margin was pushed to 14 on Landale’s triple. After DeRozan and Plowden’s 3-pointers, McCollum’s trey sealed the Atlanta win.
Neither team took a lead larger than five in the first quarter, as Jeffries’ 3-pointer with 46 seconds left gave the Kings a 30-27 lead after 12 minutes.
Sacramento opened up a seven-point lead on Plowden’s dunk at the 9:05 mark of the second quarter.
After Monk’s hook shot put the Kings ahead by 2, Alexander-Walker’s triple and Gueye’s dunk stamped a 14-0 run to put the Hawks up 63-51.
McCollum beat the first-half buzzer with a mid-range jumper to give Atlanta a 66-54 lead. Alexander-Walker had 14 first-half points, while Achiuwa’s 12 led the Kings.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Dominic Smith's walk-off grand slam lifts Braves past Royals
Mar 28, 2026; Cumberland, Georgia, USA; Atlanta Braves first baseman Dominic Smith (8) hits a walk-off grand slam against the Kansas City Royals in the ninth inning at Truist Park. Mandatory Credit: Mady Mertens-Imagn Images Dominic Smith hit a walk-off grand slam in the ninth inning to help the Atlanta Braves overcome a two-run deficit and beat the visiting Kansas City Royals 6-2 on Saturday night.
Smith’s home run, a 386-foot shot to right-center field, came with one out against Royals closer Carlos Estevez (0-1), who failed to hold a 2-0 lead.
The rally started when Drake Baldwin walked to lead off the bottom of the inning, took third on Matt Olson’s single and scored on Mike Yastrzemski’s one-out single. After Ozzie Albies walked, Jorge Mateo — running for Olson — scored the tying run when Michael Harris II lined a pitch off Estevez for a single.
The winning pitcher was Osvaldo Bido (1-0), who struck out all three batters he faced in the ninth. The right-hander was making his first appearance since joining the team off waivers from the New York Yankees on Tuesday.
Kansas City starter Michael Wacha pitched six scoreless innings, allowing three hits and one walk with seven strikeouts. He has now allowed three or fewer earned runs in 24 of his 30 road starts with the Royals.
Salvador Perez broke the scoreless tie with a solo home run in the seventh inning — ending a 15-inning scoreless streak to start the season — on the first pitch from Reynaldo Lopez. It was the 304th homer of Perez’s his career, leaving him 13 away from tying Hall of Famer George Brett for the franchise record.
Lopez was impressive in his first start since exactly one year earlier, May 28, 2025. He was then shut down for the season with shoulder issues that required surgery He allowed one run on three hits and two walks with three strikeouts on Saturday.
Kansas City tacked on an insurance run in the eighth. Maikel Garcia walked with one out by reliever Joel Payamps and went to third on a single by Bobby Witt Jr. Garcia scored when Atlanta’s sure-handed first baseman Olson missed a routine grounder with the infield in off the bat of Vinnie Pasquantino.
The Braves kept Kansas City off the board in the third inning. With Isaac Collins on third base, Garcia hit a fly to right field that was caught by Ronald Acuna Jr. Collins appeared ready to tag up but changed his mind when Acuna fired a strike to the plate.
–Field Level Media
Cole Caufield scores 45th as Canadiens begin road trip with fourth straight victory
Hawks retain No. 6 seed with win over last-place Kings
