Gemma Dryburgh and Cassie Porter post a 66 in alternate shot to lead Dow Championship
Dryburgh is a 32-year-old from Scotland, while Porter is a 22-year-old Australian in her rookie season on the LPGA Tour. They carefully picked out which holes for the longer Porter to start at Midland Country.
Advertisement
'Cassie hits it further than me, and I'm nice and down the middle usually,' Dryburgh said. 'We kind of picked the right holes for each other, and I think we gelled really well. We complemented each other really nicely.'
Cassie Porter (left) and Gemma Dryburgh have the lead following Thursday's alternate shot at the Dow Championship.
David Berding/Getty
Thompson, who has gone six years without an LPGA victory, and Khang had five birdies offset by two bogeys.
'I knew coming out here for alternate shot that we just had a make to a few birdies and pars were good,' Thompson said. 'Just tried to stay consistent and be patient.'
Maguire and Kupcho had an early bogey and then played bogey-free with four birdies over the final 16 holes to join the large group at 67.
For an alternate-shot format that can be stressful, Maguire and Kupcho kept it simple. Both are rarely out of position and consistently good putters.
Advertisement
'We don't get too aggressive on attacking pins,' Kupcho said. 'So we give ourselves lots of putts and kind of have our speed under control and kind of just make it easy on each other.'
Kupcho teamed with Lizette Salas to win the 2022 event.
The format switches to fourballs on Friday, which yields lower taking the lowest score of each player.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
an hour ago
Jennifer Kupcho and Leona Maguire shoot a best-ball 60 to take the lead in the Dow Championship
MIDLAND, Mich. -- Jennifer Kupcho and Leona Maguire shot a 10-under 60 in better-ball play Friday to take the second-round lead in the Dow Championship, the LPGA Tour's only team event. The Solheim Cup rivals had a 13-under 127 total at Midland Country Club after opening with an alternate-shot 67 on Thursday. 'The plan today was just to give ourselves as many chances as we could, try to get two chances on every hole,' said Maguire, from Ireland. 'For the most part, we did that. It was nice to start off with a birdie and sort of an eagle very early on to get the ball rolling.' They had a one-stroke lead over Cassie Porter and Gemma Dryburgh, the first-round leaders who parred the final six holes in a 62. The teams will play another alternate-shot round Saturday, and close with a better-ball round Sunday. 'Lots of golf to go,' said Kupcho, the 2022 winner with fellow American Lizette Salas. 'I think just kind of staying where we're at and continuing what we're doing the best we can.' The teams of Sarah Schmelzel-Albane Valenzuela (61), Manon De Roey-Pauline Roussin-Bouchard (61) and and Yan Liu-Yahui Zhang (62) were 11 under. 'It was a great round,' Valenzuela said, 'I feel like I definitely feed off Sarah's energy. She makes it really easy for me on the course.' Lexi Thompson and Meghan Kang, tied for second after an opening 67, had a 65 to drop into a tie for ninth at 8 under. 'Fairways and greens, hole a few more putts,' Thompson said. 'That's the goal.' Defending champions Ruoning Yin and Jeeno Thitikul, both among the top five in the women's world ranking, were 6 under after a 66. ___
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Yahoo
Solheim Cup rivals grab lead in Dow Championship
Jennifer Kupcho and Leona Maguire shot a 10-under 60 in better-ball play to take the second-round lead in the Dow Championship. The Solheim Cup rivals posted a 13-under 127 total at Midland Country Club after opening with an alternate-shot 67 on Thursday, in the LPGA Tour's only team event. One final birdie for Leona Maguire sees the Irish Goodbyes finish with the clubhouse lead at -13 💥 — LPGA (@LPGA) June 27, 2025 "The plan today was just to give ourselves as many chances as we could, try to get two chances on every hole," said Irishwoman Maguire. "For the most part, we did that. It was nice to start off with a birdie and sort of an eagle very early on to get the ball rolling." They hold a one-stroke lead over Australian Cassie Porter and Gemma Dryburgh, the first-round leaders who parred the final six holes in a 62. The teams will play another alternate-shot round Saturday, and close with a better-ball round Sunday. "Lots of golf to go," said Kupcho, the 2022 winner with fellow American Lizette Salas. "I think just kind of staying where we're at and continuing what we're doing the best we can." The teams of Sarah Schmelzel-Albane Valenzuela (61), Manon De Roey-Pauline Roussin-Bouchard (61) and and Yan Liu-Yahui Zhang (62) are at 11 under. "It was a great round," Valenzuela said, "I feel like I definitely feed off Sarah's energy. She makes it really easy for me on the course." Lexi Thompson and Meghan Kang, tied for second after an opening 67, had a 65 to drop into a tie for ninth at eight under. "Fairways and greens, hole a few more putts," Thompson said. "That's the goal." Defending champions Ruoning Yin and Jeeno Thitikul, both among the top five in the women's world ranking, are at six under after a 66.
Yahoo
4 hours ago
- Yahoo
Jennifer Kupcho and Leona Maguire shoot a best-ball 60 to take the lead in the Dow Championship
MIDLAND, Mich. (AP) — Jennifer Kupcho and Leona Maguire shot a 10-under 60 in better-ball play Friday to take the second-round lead in the Dow Championship, the LPGA Tour's only team event. The Solheim Cup rivals had a 13-under 127 total at Midland Country Club after opening with an alternate-shot 67 on Thursday. Advertisement 'The plan today was just to give ourselves as many chances as we could, try to get two chances on every hole,' said Maguire, from Ireland. 'For the most part, we did that. It was nice to start off with a birdie and sort of an eagle very early on to get the ball rolling.' They had a one-stroke lead over Cassie Porter and Gemma Dryburgh, the first-round leaders who parred the final six holes in a 62. The teams will play another alternate-shot round Saturday, and close with a better-ball round Sunday. 'Lots of golf to go,' said Kupcho, the 2022 winner with fellow American Lizette Salas. 'I think just kind of staying where we're at and continuing what we're doing the best we can.' The teams of Sarah Schmelzel-Albane Valenzuela (61), Manon De Roey-Pauline Roussin-Bouchard (61) and and Yan Liu-Yahui Zhang (62) were 11 under. Advertisement 'It was a great round,' Valenzuela said, 'I feel like I definitely feed off Sarah's energy. She makes it really easy for me on the course.' Lexi Thompson and Meghan Kang, tied for second after an opening 67, had a 65 to drop into a tie for ninth at 8 under. 'Fairways and greens, hole a few more putts,' Thompson said. 'That's the goal.' Defending champions Ruoning Yin and Jeeno Thitikul, both among the top five in the women's world ranking, were 6 under after a 66. ___ AP golf: The Associated Press
