▲ Kim Hyo-joo
Kim Hyo-joo and Choi Hye-jin have surged to a tie for 4th place in the second round of the 2026 Dow Championship (total prize money of $3.3 million), an LPGA Tour team event.
On June 13, the pair carded an 8-under 62 with eight birdies and no bogeys at the Midland Country Club (par 70) in Midland, Michigan, bringing their total to 9-under 131. They trail the teams of Celine Borge (Norway) and Polly Mack (Germany) at 12-under 128, Ayaka Furue and Yuna Nishimura (both Japan) at 11-under 129, and Nelly Korda (USA) and Olivia Cowan (Germany) at 10-under 130.
The Dow Championship features two-player teams. The first and third rounds are played in a foursome format, where teammates alternate hitting the same ball, while the second and fourth rounds are played in a four-ball format, where each player plays their own ball and the better score counts for the team.
Starting on the 10th hole (par 4), the duo saw Kim Hyo-joo make a birdie on the 14th hole (par 4), followed by both players recording birdies on the 16th hole (par 4).
They continued to lower their score as Choi Hye-jin birdied the 17th hole (par 4) and Kim Hyo-joo birdied the 1st hole (par 4).
After both players carded birdies on the 3rd hole (par 5) and 7th hole (par 3), they alternated birdies on the 8th hole (par 4) and 9th hole (par 4) to climb into the top tier of the leaderboard.
After the round, Choi Hye-jin said, "Today's round felt more comfortable than yesterday. I expected Hyo-joo to make many birdies, so I adopted a strategy of securing pars and waiting for opportunities."
She added, "We will continue to trust each other and try to create many opportunities in the remaining rounds."
The team of Kim A-lim and Yu Ina, who were tied for 4th after the first round, finished the day with 6 birdies and 1 bogey for a 5-under 65, placing them in a tie for 8th at 7-under 133.
Defending champions Im Jin-hee and Lee So-mi are tied for 10th at 6-under 134, while An Na-rin and Joo Soo-bin are tied for 16th at 5-under 135.
Twin sisters Chisato Iwai and Akiie Iwai (both Japan) are tied for 4th at 9-under 131.
LPGA Hall of Famer and 31-time winner Juli Inkster (USA), a veteran born in June 1960, finished tied for 25th with Angel Yin (USA) at 3-under 137, successfully making the cut by one stroke.
Inkster also set the record for the oldest player to make a cut on the LPGA Tour.
After the match, she stated, "Sometimes in life, you have to take courage, and this tournament was that moment for me," adding, "I achieved a good record thanks to a great partner. She stayed positive even when I made mistakes, which helped me play comfortably."
The team of Lee Jeong-eun (born in 1988) and Lee Jeong-eun (born in 1996) missed the cut with a total of 9-over 149.
(Photo: Getty Images)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.