The 2022 Dow Great Lakes Bay Invitational will feature a wonderful blend of past and present. While sisters Nelly Korda and Lexi Thompson are two the biggest names on the current tour, Annika Sorenstam and Karrie Webb are two of the biggest names of all time. They’ll all be in action in the same field this Wednesday-Saturday at the LPGA’s only team event.
This year, 72 two-person teams will vie for a purse of $2.5 million at Midland Country Club in Michigan. The victory will be considered an official LPGA title.
Here are 10 teams to keep an eye on this week, with Rolex Ranking in parenthesis:
The Korda sisters will team up for a third time at Midland Country Club. The pair tied for 12th in 2019 and tied for 17th last year at the Dow.
In the Solheim Cup, the sisters are 2-1-0 in foursomes in two appearances.
Annika Sorenstam, the most decorated player in the modern era, will pair up with fellow Swede Madelene Sagstrom, who broke through on the LPGA in 2020. Sagstrom grew up idolizing the legendary Swede and competed in her events.
The 2021 Dow champions shot 59 – twice! – in best-ball play for a three-stroke victory. Together, they have 14 LPGA victories.
Australian legend Karrie Webb will make her debut in the Dow team event with good friend Marina Alex, who won earlier this year in California for her second LPGA title. Webb, 47, has teed it up on the LPGA twice this season, most recently the ShopRite LPGA Classic.
Lexi Thompson and Brittany Altomare have teamed up together in two Solheim Cups in the foursomes format, combining for a 1-2-0 record. While Altomare hasn’t placed in the top 10 since April, Thompson comes in off a heartbreaking runner-up finish at the KPMG Women’s PGA.
Successful European pairing at 2021 Solheim Cup went 2-0-1 together in foursomes and four-balls. Loads of fire in this pairing.
Why are two players ranked outside the top 100 on this list? Because they won this event together in 2019 and finished runner-up in 2021. It was Clanton’s only LPGA title and revitalized her career; Suwannapura has two career victories.
The two former Razorbacks teamed up in 2021 at the Dow, and Maria Fassi walked away a changed player, learning much from the former No. 1. Perhaps the experience will ignite the second half of Fassi’s 2022 season in a similar way.
Jennifer Kupcho and Lizette Salas because fast friends through their experience being in the same pod at the Solheim Cup. The duo played together three times at Inverness, compiling a 2-1-0 record.
A Lim Kim and Yealimi Noh tied for third together at this event last year. Neither have played particularly well coming into this week. Perhaps they can find some momentum.