Cool as ice - South Korean super duo Lee and Im win first LPGA titles after bagging the team-format Dow Championships in a playoff
MIDLAND, MICHIGAN - JUNE 29: Jin Hee Im and Somi Lee of South Korea pose with their trophies after the final round of the Dow Championship 2025 at Midland Country Club on June 29, 2025 in Midland, Michigan. -- The LPGA - Photo byMIDLAND, Michigan, USA: The Korean duo of Somi Lee and Jin Hee-Im won the team format Dow Championship on Sunday, edging the American pair of Lexi Thompson and Megan Khang in a playoff at Midland Country Club.
With the win, Lee and Im both became Rolex First-Time Winners in their second year on the LPGA Tour.
The Dow Championship is the LPGA Tour's only official team event, where Rounds 1 and 3 are played using the foursomes (alternate shot) format, while Rounds 2 and 4 are contested in four-ball (best ball).
Lee and Im had finished regulation play with a combined score of 20-under-par 260, following an eight-under-par 62 in the final day four-ball. Playing three groups ahead, Thompson and Khang had earlier signed in a superb 10-under-par 60 to set the clubhouse target.
Both Lee and Im missed birdie putts on the final green for the outright win, forcing the playoff which reverted to alternate shot and was contested at the par-three closing hole.
The Korean pair prevailed when Im hit her tee shot to eight feet of the pin and Lee made the putt, before Khang missed her five-foot birdie attempt on the low side.
This was the first playoff at the Dow Championship since the tournament's inception in 2019.
'I can't believe it. Last year we were in our rookie season, and the LPGA is very tough and different than KLPGA. Now we are winners, so I'm so happy,' said Lee, who was making her second start in the Dow Championship following a T23 finish partnering compatriot Haeran Ryu last year.
This was Im's maiden appearance in the Dow Championship. Both players were prolific winners on the Korea LPGA Tour, with Im winning six times and Lee being a five-time champion on the domestic circuit.
Playing a limited schedule since the start of this year, Thompson has not won on the LPGA Tour since picking up her 11th tour title at the 2019 ShopRite LPGA Classic.
The Dow Championship was her eighth tournament this year.
American Lindy Duncan and China's Miranda Wang carded the day's low score of 59, moving up into tied third place on 18-under-par 262 with the Belgian-French pair of Manon De Roey and Pauline Roussin-Bouchard who closed with a 64.
54-hole leaders Albane Valenzuela of Switzerland and Sarah Schmelzel of the USA closed with a 66 and settled for outright fifth place on 17-under-par 263. 2024 champions Jeeno Thitikul of Thailand and Ruoning Yin of China finished tied 27th on 12-under-par 268.
Following a one-week break, the LPGA Tour heads to Europe for a three-event swing which includes the final two Majors of the 2025 season – The Amundi Evian Championship (July 10-13) at Evian Resort in France and the AIG Women's Open (July 31-August 3) at Royal Porthcawl in Wales. - The LPGA
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Sun
3 hours ago
- The Sun
Putintseva requests spectator removal during Wimbledon match
KAZAKHSTAN'S Yulia Putintseva asked for a spectator to be removed after expressing concerns about their behaviour during her first-round match at Wimbledon on Monday. At the start of her match against American Amanda Anisimova on Court 15, the 30-year-old approached the umpire to report the spectator, describing the person as 'crazy' and 'dangerous.' 'Can you take him out, I am not going to continue playing until he leaves. These people are dangerous, they are crazy,' Putintseva said according to the BBC. It was not immediately clear what action was taken regarding the spectator, but play resumed after the chair umpire consulted security personnel. A visibly emotional Putintseva lost 6-0 6-0 in a match lasting only 44 minutes. 'Following a complaint about the behaviour of a spectator at the match on Court 15, the chair umpire informed security and the matter was dealt with,' a spokesperson for All England Lawn Tennis Club said.
The Star
3 hours ago
- The Star
Tennis-Putintseva asks for spectator be removed at Wimbledon
Tennis - French Open - Roland Garros, Paris, France - May 31, 2025 Kazakhstan's Yulia Putintseva in action during her third round match against Russia's Mirra Andreeva REUTERS/Denis Balibouse/File Photo LONDON (Reuters) -Kazakhstan's Yulia Putintseva asked for a spectator to be removed after expressing concerns about their behaviour during her first-round match at Wimbledon on Monday. At the start of her match against American Amanda Anisimova on Court 15, the 30-year-old approached the umpire to report the spectator, describing the person as "crazy" and "dangerous." "Can you take him out, I am not going to continue playing until he leaves. These people are dangerous, they are crazy," Putintseva said according to the BBC. It was not immediately clear what action was taken regarding the spectator, but play resumed after the chair umpire consulted security personnel. A visibly emotional Putintseva lost 6-0 6-0 in a match lasting only 44 minutes. "Following a complaint about the behaviour of a spectator at the match on Court 15, the chair umpire informed security and the matter was dealt with," a spokesperson for All England Lawn Tennis Club said. (Reporting by Tommy Lund in Gdansk; Editing by Ken Ferris)
The Star
4 hours ago
- The Star
Tennis-American men still searching for a way to emulate Keys and Gauff success
Jun 30, 2025; Wimbledon, UNITED KINGDOM; Madison Keys of the United States tosses the ball to serve during her match against Elena-Gabriela Ruse of Romania on day one at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club. Mandatory Credit: Susan Mullane-Imagn Images LONDON (Reuters) -With Madison Keys and Coco Gauff raising hopes that they could complete an "American slam" of the majors this year, their male counterparts at Wimbledon can only look on enviously. Keys ended her long wait to get her hands on a Grand Slam trophy at the Australian Open this year and when Gauff triumphed at the French Open earlier this month it seemed like there was no stopping the Americans - in the women's draw at least. Unfortunately for the men, Andy Roddick's U.S. Open victory in 2003 remains a painful reminder -- year after year -- of how long it has been since an American man picked up a singles trophy at one of the four majors. The singles draw at Wimbledon is populated with 45 Americans -- 19 in the women's and 16 in the men's -- which is almost double that of any other country. Some of the players in action this year at Wimbledon, such as Learner Tien and Alex Michelsen, were not even born when Roddick was the toast of Flushing Meadows. This year, the leader of the men's pack was supposed to be fifth seed Taylor Fritz, who came into the tournament riding high on confidence after winning his fourth Eastbourne title two days ago. In fact, in the Wimbledon men's field, he owns the second highest number of grasscourt titles - his haul of five only behind seven-times Wimbledon champion Novak Djokovic. But on Monday he came within two points of going out in the first round before hanging tough to win the fourth set tiebreak and leave the match deadlocked at two sets all when play was suspended for the night, 45 minutes before the 11pm curfew. Fritz's day summed up the plight faced by American men. He seemed to be on the verge of becoming the highest-seeded casualty even though he never got broken and had set points in the first two sets which Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard won 7-6(6) 7-6(8) before the American won the next two 6-4 7-6(8). Should he survive Tuesday's final set shootout, he will join 12th seed Frances Tiafoe, Tien, Jenson Brooksby and Ethan Quinn in the second round. Americans Brandon Holt, Mackenzie McDonald, and Nishesh Basavareddy all lost on the hottest opening day recorded at Wimbledon, with temperatures soaring above 32 degrees Celsius, while eight others will be in action on Tuesday. AMERICAN QUARTET While Fritz was lucky to play in a cool temperature-controlled environment thanks to the Court One roof being closed before his match started, Keys was among many players who had to toil under the blazing sun. Britain's heatwave, however, failed to throw her off stride as she led a quartet of American women into round two with a 6-7(4) 7-5 7-5 win over Elena-Gabriela Ruse. Amanda Anisimova was even more impressive as she delivered the dreaded 6-0 6-0 double bagel to Yulia Putintseva. Ann Li and Ashlyn Krueger also won, while Gauff is in action on Tuesday. With American women having won 25 Grand Slam titles since Roddick lifted the U.S. Open trophy 22 years ago -- with Venus and Serena Williams accounting for 19 of them -- Keys had one message for her male counterparts - "Keep up". "I feel like the American women have been probably inspiring the men for a while. I can't really think of a time the past 20 years where U.S. women weren't doing incredibly well," she said. "Granted, we had the Williams sisters for a long time leading that charge. There were also a lot of great American women constantly in the top 20, 10, 30. "I think the men are inspired and they want to try to keep up." (Reporting by Pritha Sarkar, editing by Ken Ferris)
