Is There a Cut at the 2024 Dow Championship? LPGA Team Event’s Unique Format Explored

The LPGA Tour’s next stop is Michigan. After a drama-filled weekend at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, the women’s side of the game is revving to tee it up at the Dow Championship, the one-of-a-kind signature annual team event of the LPGA Tour.

The talent-filled 144-player field will return to Midland Country Club and divide themselves up into 72 teams of two players each. These teams will then compete in a 72-hole competition, which will feature a stroke play format with alternating rounds of foursomes (alternate shots) and four-balls (best balls).

According to Rule 22 in the Rules of Golf, the alternate shot or foursomes format is “a form of match play or stroke play where you and a partner compete as a side by playing one ball in alternating order on each hole. You and your partner must alternate in teeing off to start each hole.”

Whereas, according to Rule 23, the best ball or low ball format “is a form of play (in either match play or stroke play) involving partners where you and your partner compete together as a side, with each of you playing your own ball, and your side’s score for a hole is the lower score of the two of you on that hole.”

The championship will also feature a cut after playing 36 holes, just like other regular Tour events. The low 35 teams and any ties for 35th will not make the cut and will not move forward to the weekend. Furthermore, in the event of a tie after 72 holes, the tied champions will have to engage in a hole-by-hole playoff using the foursomes format, and the winning player will be declared the official winner. But what will such a winner receive?

Well, the winner of this unique alternating round of foursome and fourball stroke play will receive a significant chunk of the $3 million worth of an increased prize purse. Apart from this, 400 Race to the CME Globe points are also at stake, making this sixth year of the already unique event all the more exciting! But what are some other notable features of this unique event?

What are some other notable features of the Dow Championship?

The list of cutting-edge features does not end here. This unique team-play event of the LPGA Tour is the first-ever to receive the GEO Certified® award for sustainability in golf, an internationally recognized certificate. Formerly called the Dow Great Lakes Bay Invitational, the new name has also given this week-long event a longer list of features.

Apart from the interesting format and free admission for spectators under the age of 17, the event will also include the LPGA Tour Pro-Am Tournament, youth-related programming, the famous and one-of-a-kind Eat Great Trail, the on-site STEM Center, and unique leadership events for its younger audiences. All of this is available at very affordable ticket prices.

Quick Tip: Apart from children below the age of 17, past and present military personnel can also avail of the free tickets!

This weekend has surely got it all covered! Don’t you think so? With Nelly Korda out of the field for this after missing three consecutive cuts, which pair do you think will win?