Teams to Watch
Jin Young Ko/Minjee Lee- The highest ranked team in the Rolex World Rankings at No. 2 and No. 3 come into Midland Country Club off varying forms of rest. Lee took a week off before the Marathon Classic last week where she finished T19. Ko took two weeks off, finishing T18 at the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship. The two have been incredibly consistent this season, having only four finishes outside the top 25 between the two of them in 28 starts.
Lexi Thompson/Cristie Kerr- The 2015 and 17 Solheim Cup duo get another test run before the Solheim Cup in 2019, bringing a 4-0-2 team record to the Dow Great Lakes Invitational. Thompson returned to her string of strong play with a 2nd place finish at the Marathon Classic presented by Dana, her third second place finish in her last five starts. Cristie Kerr had a cold June after a T9 finish at the Pure Silk Championship, coming in fresh to Midland Country Club after taking the last two tournaments off.
Ariya Jutanugarn/Moriya Jutanugarn- The Jutanugarn sisters both took the Marathon Classic off, with Ariya finishing in second place at the Thornberry Creek Classic for her best result of the year. Ariya is on an upswing in her game, having finished in the top 10 in three of her last four starts. Moriya had her fourth top 10 finish of the season at the Meijer LPGA Classic, and posted a 65 in her first round at the Thornberry Creek LPGA Classic.
The Format
It’s the first iteration of a team event in LPGA history, taking on two styles of stroke play this week, best ball and alternate shot. The first and third rounds will be alternate shot, where each player on a team will take turns playing the same ball. The second and fourth rounds will be best ball, where both players on the team will play through the hole and the team will take the best score of the two players. It’s not a match play event, all players will have to play out the hole and have a counting score.
Due to the varying formats, scoring stats this week will not count towards the season totals.
Numbers to Know
6,599- The yardage at Midland Country Club
400- Race to CME Points up for a victory this week.
71- Number of two woman teams forming the field
35- The number of teams and ties that will make the cut
About This Week
The first iteration of the Dow Great Lakes Bay Invitational will air on the Golf Channel this week from Wednesday through Saturday. The first round on July 17th will air from 4:00-6:00 P.M. EST. The second and third rounds on July 18th and 19th will be tape-delayed from 8:00-10:00 P.M. EST, and the final round will air July 20th from 6:00-8:00 P.M. EST.
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