Just three weeks into a 10-week stretch of tournaments, the LPGA Tour will remain in the Midwest for the Dow Great Lakes Bay Invitational after a sensational weekend in Ohio that saw Linn Grant shoot 21-under en route to her first LPGA Tour win. In a season that has already seen so much excitement, the thrills won’t stop with this week’s team competition that will see new friends come together as partners and old friends return to the course.
Jane Park Back on Tour
For the first time since the 2021 Ascendant LPGA benefiting Volunteers of America, Jane Park will play on the LPGA Tour. The 15-year Tour veteran put her golfing career on hold to become a full-time caregiver for her daughter, Grace Godfrey, when, at just 10 months old, she experienced a series of seizures that caused severe brain damage. Though she hasn’t been inside the ropes in nearly two years, Park hasn’t lost touch with her friends on Tour. Ahead of the last three Cognizant Founders Cups, Golf4Her has hosted a fundraiser for Grace which is attended by dozens of LPGA Tour players. Now, 2 years old, Grace will be able to see her mom and her dad on Tour for the first time as Park partners with major champion and good friend Paula Creamer at the Dow GLBI with her husband, Pete Godfrey, on the bag. Throughout the week there will be plenty of opportunities for fans to show their support for the entire family. Special hats will be available to purchase at the Dow GLBI, with the proceeds donated to the Epilepsy Foundation and the Golf4Her Foundation. Players will also wear ribbons throughout the week to show their support.
A Season of Team Competition
For all lovers of team competition, no season will ever rival 2023. The schedule features three different events, all with unique formats that feature team play: the Hanwha LIFEPLUS International Crown, the Dow Great Lakes Bay Invitational and the Solheim Cup. The Thailand Team (Atthaya Thitikul, Patty Tavatanakit and Ariya and Moriya Jutanugarn) captured the biennial Hanwha LIFEPLUS International Crown in May in dominant fashion and the Solheim Cup is set to be played this September at Finca Cortesin in Andalucia, Spain. Unlike the International Crown and the Solheim Cup, players do not have to qualify for the Dow GLBI nor are they representing their country and they pick their partners, resulting in some unique and intriguing pairings. This week will see LPGA superstars Brooke Henderson and Lexi Thompson team up for the very first time. Between the two of them, they have won three major championships and 21 additional LPGA Tour titles. Play will get underway on Wednesday with an alternate shot format before switching to a four-ball format for round two. Moving Day will see the return of alternate shot before wrapping things up with a final round four-ball.
Solheim Cup Standings
After the Dow GLBI, there is just one team competition remaining, the prestigious Solheim Cup, and this week will be one of the last chances for Solheim Cup hopefuls to prove their mettle. It feels like ages since the qualifying period began at the 2021 Portland Classic, but the wait is nearly over as both teams will be finalized at the end of August after the CP Women’s Open. There are 12 spots on each team which fill up quickly based on qualification criteria. The U.S. team will be comprised of the top seven players in the U.S. Solheim Cup point standings (currently Nelly Korda, Lilia Vu, Allisen Corpuz, Danielle Kang, Megan Khang, Lexi Thompson and Jennifer Kupcho), the top two players in the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings that do not qualify through points (currently No. 34 Rose Zhang and no. 37 Ally Ewing) and three players hand-picked by 13-time LPGA Tour winner Stacy Lewis, who is teaming up with Maria Fassi at Midland Country Club this week. As it stands, Cheyenne Knight, who is playing with Elizabeth Szokol, and Alison Lee, who is teaming up with Khang, are just outside of qualifying and are vying for those final three spots. A strong showing this week could go a long way in getting them on the Solheim Cup squad.
Terrific Teams
Though they certainly pack the most punch, Henderson and Thompson won’t be the only team to look out for this weekend. Georgia Hall and Ryann O’Toole, who are partners off the course, will be teeing it up together for the first time this weekend and are certainly fan favorites to win. Additionally, Cydney Clanton and Jasmine Suwannapura – who won the inaugural edition of the Dow GLBI in 2019 – will be teeing it up together again in hopes of recapturing some magic from that win four years ago. This will be the third go-round at the Dow GLBI for University of Arkansas Razorbacks Lewis and Fassi. After teaming up in 2021 and finishing T12, they returned in 2022 and finished in solo third place and will certainly be looking to continue their upward trajectory this week and fight for a win. The winningest French player on Tour, Celine Boutier, is returning to the event for the first time since a T12 finish alongside fellow Frenchwoman Karine Icher in 2019. This time she will be playing with Rory McIlroy swing-alike Yuka Saso, who finished fifth in her last appearance at the event in 2021 playing with Minjee Lee.
Tour on TV
The Dow GLBI will serve as the finale of the LPGA Tour’s run of five straight tournaments on network television. So far, six events have found their way onto TV screens across the country, including the Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions, The Chevron Championship, the Meijer LPGA Classic for Simply Give, the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, the U.S. Women’s Open – which saw the Tour make its debut on primetime for the third and final rounds – and the Dana Open. After this week’s programming, fans will have to wait until the AIG Women’s Open to see the Tour on network TV with the CME Group Tour Championship on NBC finishing off the 2023 season’s network television schedule. Coverage of the Dow Great Lakes Bay Invitational will start on Wednesday from 3-6 p.m. ET on the Golf Channel. Round two will air on the Golf Channel from 12-3 p.m. ET and Friday will be broadcast from 1-3 p.m. ET. CBS will carry the final round of competition on Saturday from 4-6 p.m.
