Kim Hyo-joo, Choi Hye-jin take one-stroke lead at Dow Championship

The pairing of Kim Hyo-joo and Choi Hye-jin battled through fierce winds to take a one-stroke lead at the Dow Championship, the LPGA Tour's only team event, which carries a $3.3 million purse.

Playing foursomes — in which partners alternate shots on a single ball — at Midland Country Club (par 70) in Midland, Michigan, the duo carded four birdies and three bogeys for a 1-under-par 69, moving to 10 under par (200) overall. They lead the American pairing of Jina Kim and Yana Wilson by one stroke.

Entering the final round as leaders, the Kim-Choi pairing has a strong chance of claiming the title. Kim Hyo-joo has nine LPGA Tour victories, including two this season, while Choi Hye-jin has recorded 32 top-10 finishes since joining the tour in 2022 but has yet to win.

The championship represents Choi's best opportunity yet for a maiden title, and her path became clearer when the formidable pairing of Nelly Korda of the United States and Olivia Cowan of Germany collapsed with a 6-over-par 76, dropping to a tie for 13th at 4 under par.

Former UCLA teammates Allison Lee and Lilia Vu had been near the top of the leaderboard before disaster struck at the 16th hole, where Vu's tee shot went out of bounds and the pair made a triple bogey. They finished the round at 1-under 69 and fell to sole third at 8 under par (202).

Conditions at the course were brutal, with sustained winds averaging 24 to 32 kilometers per hour and gusts reaching 40 to 48 kph. The wind swirled constantly from shifting directions, making club selection and distance calculation extremely difficult for all competitors.

Only six pairings managed to finish under par for the round, including Kim and Choi. "The wind was very strong today — it was a completely different challenge from the first round, a huge variable," Kim Hyo-joo said after play. The pair had also shot 69 in the first-round foursomes.

The tournament features 72 two-player teams competing over 72 holes of stroke play, with the format alternating by round. Rounds 1 and 3 are played in foursomes, while rounds 2 and 4 use a four-ball format, in which both players play their own ball and the better score counts as the team's result.

The pairing of Kim A-rim and Yoon I-na carded one birdie and two bogeys for a 1-over-par 71, sitting in sole sixth place at 6 under par (204). Defending champions Lee So-mi and Lim Jin-hee also dropped one stroke but remain in a tie for seventh at 5 under par (205).