Walking up to the 18th green as the opening theme song from Game of Thrones played in the background, Cheyenne Knight and Elizabeth Szokol needed only a par to secure their place on the Iron Throne (the top of the leaderboard) and tie the Dow Great Lakes Bay Invitational 54-hole scoring record of 193 set by 2022 champions Jennifer Kupcho and Lizette Salas. But, with an impressive 25-foot putt for birdie, Knight drove the team’s sword deeper into their fellow competitors, securing a new 54-hole scoring record (192), the 18-hole foursomes scoring record (62), and a three-stroke lead at -18 going into the final round. With nine birdies on the day and a single bogey on No. 8, the two made the alternate shot format look easy, dropping three birdies right off the bat on 1, 3 and 4 and adding six more on the back at 11, 12, 14, 15, 16 and 18.
“We both putted really well. We gave each other a lot of chances,” said Szokol, who finished T4 at last year’s event alongside Knight. “I think after getting that first (foursomes) round under our belts, we played solid today and gave each other a lot of good opportunities.”
Knight added, “Yeah, on this day last year I think we shot about 4-under. So we tried not to psych ourselves out with alternate shot because it is such a hard format. I think we told each other yesterday ‘you can make birdies in alternate shot.’ I think you just kind of have to have the mindset like you can make birdies and just try to be aggressive and fearless rather than try not to make a mistake. Yeah, and we didn't really make many mistakes…”
Playing well in foursomes could be the difference for the team heading into the final round, where the fourball format will mean lots of birdies and lower scores across the board. During Thursday’s fourball round, Knight/Szokol shot the second-lowest round of the day with a 9-under 61. Though a three-round lead is a comfortable position heading into final-round play, victory is not assured for the duo on what is sure to be a low-scoring day.
Sitting in second behind Knight/Szokol are first-round leaders and last year’s runners up Matilda Castren and Kelly Tan (Team FinAsia), who shot an impressive 64 and 63 during rounds one and two before slightly cooling off with a 68 on Friday. In T3 at -13 are Jodi Ewart Shaoff and Emma Talley (Team Hot John’s Girls) who earned the low fourball round of the week on Thursday with a -10, 60. They are joined by Celine Borge and Polly Mack, aka Mackle Borge, who are looking to become the third and fourth rookie winners of the season, following Grace Kim and Rose Zhang. The duo earned an impressive eagle on the par-4 No. 12 thanks to a nearly 300-yard drive from Mack, who landed on the green in one.
“Yeah, the wind was kind of in my favor because the pin was further back from yesterday. Yeah, I was 265 meters to the pin, so around 290 yards,” Mack said. “It was just a nice drive. I tried to get that feeling back from yesterday what I did, and it worked really well. It landed perfectly and rolled up there.”
Borge said of the shot, “It was very good. I was very happy. It was an easy second shot. I'm very happy that she hits it far and down the fairway… or onto the green.”
Saturday’s final round will air on CBS from 4-6 p.m. EDT, making the Dow Great Lakes Bay Invitational the fifth consecutive LPGA Tour event to air on network TV.
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