After a taxing week of major championship golf, LPGA players are back in Michigan for the more relaxing atmosphere of partner golf at the Dow Championship. The annual team competition features 72 teams —including a number of blockbuster duos — and takes place beginning Thursday at Midland Country Club.
The first and third rounds will be played in foursomes (alternate shot), and the second and final rounds will be played in a four-ball (best ball) format. After 36 holes, the field will be cut to the low 33 teams and ties. The purse of $3 million will award a first-place team prize of $732,165 ($366,082 each).
There are two past winning teams in the field: Cheyenne Knight/Elizabeth Szokol (2023) and sisters Ariya Jutanugarn/Moriya Jutanugarn (2021).
LPGA members on the winning team will receive the standard two-year winner’s exemption. CME points and prize money will be official for the purposes of the current-year LPGA Official Money List and Race to the CME Globe Standings. Rolex Player of the Year, Louise Suggs Rolex Rookie of the Year and U.S. Solheim Cup points will not be allocated and statistics will not be calculated. Rolex Women’s World Rankings Points also will not be allocated.
Here are 15 teams to watch in Midland (with Rolex ranking in parenthesis):
Rose Zhang and Alexa Pano of team USA pose before the start of the foursomes during the fourballs on day one of the 2018 Junior Ryder Cup at Disneyland Paris on September 24, 2018 in Paris, France. (Photo by Aurelien Meunier/Getty Images)
Zhang and Pano, both winners on the LPGA, grew up together on the AJGA and represented the U.S. together Junior Ryder Cup and Junior Solheim Cup teams. Zhang says they’ve been friends since they were “itty-bitty.”
Lexi Thompson of the United States looks on while playing the 14th hole during the second round of the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship at Sahalee Country Club on June 21, 2024 in Sammamish, Washington. (Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images)
Two of the LPGA’s most popular players are back together in Midland. Though they combine for 24 LPGA titles, the pair missed the cut last year.
(L-R) Charley Hull of England celebrates with Georgia Hall in the 18th green after winning The Ascendant LPGA benefiting Volunteers of America at Old American Golf Club on October 02, 2022 in The Colony, Texas. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images)
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