The top of the Dow Championship leaderboard is packed, with one team taking the outright lead and six in a tie for second, just one shot behind. It’s also crammed full of Epson Tour alumni, as half of the athletes at the top of the board once competed as members of the Official Qualifying Tour of the LPGA.

Two alumni, Gemma Dryburgh and Cassie Porter, lead the way after 18 holes, posting a team score of 4-under on Thursday. The duo, who named their squad the Kilted Koalas and even got matching t-shirts made, carded five birdies and one bogey during Thursday’s foursomes format, just barely holding off the rest of the field.

Porter, a 2024 Epson Tour graduate, credited her team’s game plan as the key to their success.
“From my point of view, we drove really nicely,” said Porter. “We assigned the holes really well. I was on evens, and Gem was on odds. We drove the green on 12, which was nice, and that set up a really nice birdie for Gem. We rolled really well together.”

Dryburgh, whose last season on the Epson Tour was in 2021, hit it off with the 2025 LPGA Tour rookie early in the season, and as was evident in the post-round press conference, has been a guiding light for Porter as she navigates her journey on the biggest stage in women’s golf.

While five of the seven groups tied for second have Epson Tour alumni scattered throughout them, Team Y&Y joins Porter and Dryburgh as the only team at the top that consists of two Epson Tour alumni. The pair is comprised of 2022 Epson Tour graduate Yan Liu and 2024 Gaelle Truet Rookie of the Year Yahui Zhang.

After playing together in the People’s Republic of China, Liu and Zhang realized that they were both in need of a partner for the Dow Championship. They shook hands on becoming teammates, and the rest is history.

“I just checked the score, and Yan told me we got two birdies back-to-back,” said Zhang following Thursday’s first round. “I think that's the highlight of today. She had some really good putts on the second shot, and I got a few good putts, too.”

With 54 holes left at the 2025 edition of the Dow Championship, anyone could find themselves in the winner’s circle come Sunday afternoon. But based on Thursday’s first round, chances look good for another Epson Tour alum to hoist a trophy.

Other Epson Tour alumni in a tie for second include:

Heather Lin, 2024 graduate and 2024 Epson Tour Championship winner – paired with alum Jodi Ewart Shadoff
Saki Baba, alumni – paired with Yuri Yoshida
Leona Maguire, 2019 graduate – paired with Jennifer Kupcho

Epson Tour Alumni Shine Early at Dow Championship

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