Midland: South Korean LPGA sophomores Im Jin-hee and Lee So-mi clinched their first U.S. titles at the Dow Championship held at the par-70 Midland Country Club in Michigan. The duo emerged victorious on Sunday after defeating the American team of Megan Khang and Lexi Thompson in a tense playoff.
According to Yonhap News Agency, both the South Korean team and the American team finished the 72-hole event with a score of 20-under 260. Im and Lee achieved an impressive bogey-free final round, shooting an eight-under 62 with eight birdies, although both missed birdie attempts on the par-3 18th hole. Their opponents, Khang and Thompson, ended their final round with a 60, thanks to Thompson's birdie on the finishing hole.
The tournament featured a format alternating between foursomes and fourball. The first and third rounds were played in foursomes, where teammates alternated shots using the same ball. The second and final rounds followed the fourball format, with each player hitting their own ball and the better score counting as the team's score for each hole.
In the playoff, the competition reverted to the foursomes format on the 18th hole. Im secured the victory by sinking a crucial birdie putt set up by Lee's tee shot, while Khang's shorter birdie attempt missed the mark, resulting in Im and Lee's maiden LPGA wins.
Im, 27, and Lee, 26, both former Korean tour players who joined the LPGA in 2024, shared a winner's prize of US$799,020, receiving $399,510 each. They also became the fourth and fifth South Korean players to win on the LPGA Tour this year, following the successes of Kim A-lim, Kim Hyo-joo, and Ryu Hae-ran. Im and Lee are the first South Koreans to win the Dow Championship, which commenced in 2019.
The Dow Championship marked the 17th event of the LPGA Tour season, with each tournament crowning a different champion in 2025. Lee's performance was particularly notable, marking her third consecutive top-10 finish and her fourth in the last five tournaments.
Entering the final round, Im and Lee were positioned in second place at 12-under, trailing behind Sarah Schmelzel of the United States and Albane Valenzuela of Switzerland. Another team, Manon De Roey from Belgium and Pauline Roussin-Bouchard from France, also stood at 12-under, while the South Korean team of Park Sung-hyun and Yoon Ina were tied for fourth at 11-under.
Im initiated the final round with a birdie on the first hole, adding four more birdies on the front nine. Lee made pivotal putts on the back nine, notably tying the lead at 20-under with the Khang-Thompson team courtesy of a birdie on the 17th. The American team had completed their round earlier with a 60.
On the decisive 18th hole, both Im and Lee landed their tee shots on the green, but missed birdie opportunities led to the playoff. Returning to the 18th for the sudden death, Thompson's tee shot was about five feet from the cup, but Lee's was slightly further. Im's successful birdie putt intensified the pressure on Khang, who subsequently missed her attempt, sealing the victory for the South Korean duo.