Hyo Joo Kim and Hye-Jin Choi shot a 1-under 69 in foursomes Saturday to take a one-shot lead at the Dow Championship, where only six teams broke par in swirling wind. Double major winner Nelly Korda and Olivia Cowan struggled and fell six shots behind after bo
MIDLAND, Mich. — The wind came hard on Saturday at Midland Country Club, turning every approach into a guessing game. Hyo Joo Kim and Hye-Jin Choi faced the gusts with steady hands and enough birdies to surge ahead in the LPGA team event.
Kim and Choi posted a 1-under 69 in foursomes and built a one-shot lead as only six teams managed to break par in the round. For a format that asks players to absorb pressure together. their performance left the rest of the field chasing what felt. at least for that day. like a narrow path through tough conditions.
Double major winner Nelly Korda and Olivia Cowan will need another big showing in Sunday fourballs if they want to catch up. They made only one birdie, had bogey on both par 5s, and shot 76, dropping them six shots behind the lead. Korda and Cowan were tied for 13th after Saturday’s foursomes. and it will be only the second time this year on the LPGA that Korda is not in the final group.
Kim, speaking after the round, pointed directly to what made the day different. “The wind was obviously very strong today so that was a big factor that was different than the first round,” she said. Kim and Choi had also shot 69 in foursomes in the opening round.
At 10-under 200, Kim and Choi sit ahead of the teams most likely to make a run. Gina Kim and LPGA rookie Yana Wilson closed the day with a moment that shifted momentum at the finish: a birdie on the par-3 closing hole. which was playing downwind to a front pin over the water. That gave them a 70 and left them one shot back.
Alison Lee and Lilia Vu had held the lead until the 16th hole, when Vu’s tee shot went out-of-bounds and the pair ended up with a triple bogey. They settled for a 69 and were in third place at 8-under 202.
Vu later tried to describe how the hole turned. “It’s a pretty meaty hole. I’ve been kind of leaking my drives out right so just wanted to make sure I had a draw but it was a pulled draw instead,” she said.
In another story of endurance under shifting conditions, Juli Inkster teamed with Angel Yin. At 66, Inkster became the oldest player in LPGA history to make the cut in an official event, and on Saturday she and Yin shot 70. They were tied for 20th.
The standings heading into Sunday are set by one simple truth: on a windy day at Midland. only the teams that kept finding birdies could separate themselves. For Kim and Choi, the separation is just one shot. For Korda and Cowan, it starts with what they can do when the wind loosens—or tightens—again.
LPGA Dow Championship Midland Country Club Hyo Joo Kim Hye-Jin Choi Nelly Korda Olivia Cowan foursomes fourballs wind team event
Wind did it lol. If it’s “swirling” then nobody should even count this.
Nelly Korda falling six shots behind?? I thought she was basically unstoppable. Maybe Midland Country Club is like cursed or something, idk.
So they’re saying only six teams broke par… but a 69 is like good, right? I’m confused how that turns into “everyone else is struggling.” Also foursomes sounds like dating groups or am I mixing it up.
The wind was strong and the hole is downwind over water… ok but why does golf always sound like random chaos with fancy numbers. The South Korea duo shot 69 again and somehow that’s a “team lead,” like the wind didn’t do the same to everyone. I bet tomorrow’s gonna be totally different and everybody will pretend they knew.