Midland, Michigan – Jin Hee Im, who poured an 8-foot birdie putt in his first playoff hole with South Korea’s Somi Somi Lee, won the DOW title on Sunday, denying Lexi Thompson’s first LPGA Tour title in six years.
Thompson’s partner Megan Khang had a chance to expand the playoffs, but she missed a 5-foot birdie putt, which was at the low end of the hole from the start.
Thompson made an 8-foot birdie putt in the 18th par 3, and Khang still faced a 6-foot birdie attempt as the US duo ended with a 40-under 60 40. They are the first to post in less than 260.
Lee made a 10-foot birdie putt on the 17th to lead. IM and Lee missed the birdie chance in 18th to win.
Switch to four players in the playoffs. Thompson hit the tee on the 18th, 5 feet from the right of the cup. Lee approached the pin but was 8 feet long, setting the IM for the winning putter.
“It’s hard to miss the last one in the playoffs to force another hole, but we’re very happy with the way we play,” Khang said.
Thompson hasn’t won the championship since the 2019 Shoprite LPGA Classic and decided last summer not to participate in the full schedule. The Dow Jones Index champion is her eighth game of the year.
IM and Lee entered their second year of the LPGA Tour, their first title in the U.S., although both are prolific champions of the South Korean LPGA. IM won six championships in KLPGA, while Lee has five KLPGA titles.
“I can’t believe it,” Lee said at the end of the 18th green.
Lindy Duncan and Miranda Wang have a 59 ball format and are third in the playoffs with two shots. Manon de Roey and Pauline Rousin-Bouchard joined them, joining forces at the age of 64.
Albane Valenzuela and Sarah Schmelzel, who had a 54-hole lead, finished with a 66-shot run and failed to make a birdie in the last seven holes. They finished the fifth time, three shots behind.
Thompson didn’t indicate when she would play again. The next one in the LPGA schedule is the Evian Champion in France, which Thompson skips to 2019 every year.
The Dow Jones Index Championship is the only official team event on the LPGA schedule.
