Michigan Golf Journal July 2019

Two LPGA Tour rookies have a good understanding of what it means to play team golf. After all, they are fresh off their senior seasons in college, where team scoring is a premium. Yet, the same goes for two pairs of sisters who will #TeamUp at the Dow LPGA Great Lakes Bay Invitational, set for July 15-20 in the Tour’s first-ever team scoring event that will pair up players in a best-ball and alternate shot format. Jennifer Kupcho, the 2018 NCAA Champion and inaugural winner of the Augusta National Women’s Amateur that took place in April – and that tournament’s runner up, Maria Fassi, who recently won the 2019 NCAA team and individual championships at Arkansas, are just two of the players who will pair up for the grand event. Sisters Nelly and Jessica Korda have paired up, too, as have the Jutanugarn sisters – Ariya and Moriya. The LPGA Tour golfers will play a 72- hole, four-day format of 72 teams alternating the format each day between foursomes and four-ball for a $2 million purse. Both players on the winning team will each receive a trophy and season-long points and other perks as would individual tournament winners. “Maria and I have a great relationship,” Kupcho said at the recent media day for the tournament at the Midland Country Club. “We’ve definitely become really good friends this year. Really, it’s just that we both want to play well Dow LPGA Shaping Up for Unique #TeamUp By Tom Lang Michigan Golf Journal Dow Great Lakes Bay Invitational