LPGA Players are Teaming Up to Compete and Give Back at the Dow Great Lakes Bay Invitational

Dedicated to giving back to their community, Dow Chemical will host their first annual charity LPGA tournament, the Dow Great Lakes Bay Invitational (GLBI), in Michigan’s Great Lakes Bay Region at Midland Country Club July 17-20, 2019. With a focus on doing good in their community, an innovative team format, and featuring some great LPGA players, the Dow GLBI is not just another stop for the LPGA Tour.

Enriching the Community through Golf

Founded in 1928, Midland Country Club sits just half an hour away from Saginaw Bay. In late June, Midland Country Club hosted one of this year’s six LPGA Leadership Academies, a two-day event that prepares girls for leadership roles through golf.

In addition to encouraging leadership opportunities for girls, the Dow has also partnered with the GEO Foundation, an international non-profit which develops sustainability practices in the golf world, to promote environmental sustainability. The Dow GLBI hopes to become the first fully GEO Certified Tournament on the LPGA Tour. This partnership includes the development of a 5-year Dow Great Lakes Bay Sustainability Commitment and Action Plan.

Innovative Team Format

The tournament will also be the first team format event on the LPGA Tour. As a team event, seventy-one teams of two players alternate between rounds of foursome and four-ball play throughout the week. During the first and third rounds, playing partners will alternate shots throughout the 18 holes. During the second and fourth rounds, each player hits their own ball with only the lower score on each hole contributing to the team’s total. After the first two rounds, the field will be cut to the top 35 teams (plus ties).

A central focus of the Dow GLBI is community impact. Each player pairing will be matched with one of 36 Great Lakes Bay Region non-profits for #TeamUp for the Great Lakes Bay Region. The teams will start with $2,000 each for their organization and the non-profits can earn bonus dollars based on their teams’ performances.

Teams to Watch

Who will be the inaugural champions of the Dow GLBI? Player pairings have been announced over the past few months. You may have seen #TeamBabyMommas Stacy Lewis and Gerina Mendoza announce their pairing with an adorable video featuring their children, Lewis’s 8-month-old daughter, Chesnee, and Mendoza’s one-year-old son, AJ.

Other teams to watch include sisters Nelly and Jessica Korda, Canadian duo Brooke Henderson and Alena Sharp, and rookies Jennifer Kupcho and Maria Fassi, who finished first and second at the Augusta National Women’s Amateur, receiving sponsor exemptions for the Dow GLBI.

“With their performance at Augusta, Jennifer and Maria set the tone for a new wave in women’s golf,” said Chris Chandler, executive director of the Dow Great Lakes Bay Invitational. “Their energy on the course is contagious and we are thrilled to be able to showcase that camaraderie with our innovative team format.”

Schedule

Visitors to the Dow GLBI can expect a packed week of golf and additional community events.

The Eat Great Food Festival will take place on July 14^th and 15^th in downtown Midland. Foodies will be able to sample bites from 40 different regional restaurants.

On Tuesday, July 16^th, Karen S. Carter will host the SOAR Leadership Summit on diversity and inclusion. This event will bring together 200 Dow customers, suppliers and leaders in the region to advance inclusivity in the workplace.

You can watch the tournament on the Golf Channel July 17^th 4-6:00 PM (ET), July 18^th and 19^th 8-10:00 PM (ET) and July 20th 6-8:00 (ET).