Teams Jelly, All In, and M&M headline the LPGA Tour’s return to action at the Dow Great Lakes Bay Invitational following a two-week hiatus.
The team competition is the only event of its kind on Tour and makes for a fun four days full of laughs. But the stop in Midland, Michigan also provides players with a final chance to make adjustments, albeit in a more relaxed environment, prior to a stretch of European events which includes two major championships.
The team event is made up of the top-ranked players, joining forces with a teammate of their choosing, in which they compete in a 72-hole tournament that features both foursomes and a four-ball competition. Golf is largely a solitary pursuit, so players get creative in formulating their partnerships. How some of these teams come together is more obvious than others.
Take the siblings, for example.
When a pair of sisters also happen to be some of the best golfers in the world it seems only natural that they’d want to team up. That’s exactly what the Korda and Jutanugarns have done once more in 2022. Nelly Korda, the top-ranked player in the field, will reunite with her sister, Jessica, to form Team Jelly. But they’re not the only sister act in Michigan as Team M&M features defending champions Ariya and Moriya Jutanugarn, who crafted their team nickname based on their own names. Ariya often goes by the nickname May and Moriya is known as Mo, hence the M&M.
The shared experience of competing together in a Solheim Cup has also brought together a number of teams competing in Michigan. Take Lizette Salas and Jennifer Kupcho, who partnered for the U.S. Team at Inverness Club in 2021, who are teaming up again in Michigan. Their fellow Solheim Cup teammates Lexi Thompson and Brittany Altomare will also play together in the team event. Brittany Lang and Gerina Mendoza, two moms on Tour who combined for eight Solheim Cup appearances for the American squad, will also partner in Michigan.
For others, the chance to pick a teammate opens up a special opportunity Like getting a chance to play alongside the game’s greats.
Take Madelene Sagstrom who selected fellow Swede Annika Sorenstam as her partner. The 10-time major champion has made a steady return to competition in recent years and will make a rare start on the LPGA Tour when she makes her debut in the team competition. And what has made Sorenstam’s return all the more exciting? Karrie Webb, largely her biggest rival during her prime, will also make a rare appearance when she teams up with Marina Alex. It will be the first time the two World Golf Hall of Fame members are in the same field since 2008. The event will be a tune-up of sorts for both Webb and Sorenstam who are also competing the following week at the LPGA Senior Championship.
The third playing of the Dow Great Lakes Bay Invitational will also see the return of teammates Stacy Lewis and Maria Fassi, two former players for the University of Arkansas, who partnered in 2021. Jasmine Suwannapura and Cydney Clanton, who formed Team All In to win the inaugural team event in Michigan, are reuniting once again. Stephanie Meadow and Cristie Kerr will team up once more, and so will Jodi Ewart Shadoff and Emma Talley, Sarah Kemp and Alena Sharp, Vicky Hurst and Mo Martin, Katherine Kirk and Amy Olson, Sophia Popov and Anne van Dam.
The team competition ushers in the Tour’s return to action and kicks off a five-week stretch. The stop in Michigan will be the last U.S. competition until September. Following the Dow Great Lakes Bay Invitational, the Tour heads to the fourth major of the year at the Amundi Evian Championship. Then the best in the game spend two weeks in Scotland for the Trust Golf Women’s Scottish Open followed by the final major of the year at the AIG Women’s Open. The next week, it’s on to Northern Ireland for the ISPS Handa World Invitational presented by Modest! Golf Management. Players will enjoy a much-deserved week off before making the trip to Canada for the CP Women’s Open.
The stop in Michigan kicks off a busy, and what could be an intense stretch with the final two majors of the year on the horizon. But first, there’s time for a bit of fun, a lot of laughs, and a chance to see the world’s best compete alongside family and friends at the Dow Great Lakes Bay Invitational.
And with team names like Jelly, All In, and M&M, it’s hard not to crack a smile.
)
)
)
)
