Kim A-rim and Yoon Yi-na finished tied for fourth on the opening day of the Dow Championship, an LPGA Tour team event with a total purse of $3.3 million.
In the first round, which concluded Sunday at Midland Country Club (par 70) in Midland, Michigan, Kim and Yoon combined for five birdies and three bogeys to card a 2-under-par 68. They sat one stroke behind the leaders in a tie for ninth.
Nicole Broch Estrup (Denmark)-Gemma Dryburgh (Scotland), Michelle Zhang (China)-Camille Boyd (U.S.), and Hira Naveed (Australia)-Gurleen Kaur (U.S.) shot 3-under-par 67 to share the lead.
The Dow Championship is a team competition in which two players form a pairing. The first and third rounds use the foursomes format, in which the two players alternate hitting a single ball, while the second and fourth rounds use the four-ball format, in which the two players each play their own ball and the better score counts as the team's result.
Both Kim A-rim and Yoon Yi-na are power hitters. Kim, who debuted on the LPGA Tour in 2021, has three wins, including the 2020 U.S. Women's Open title. Yoon, who debuted on the LPGA Tour last year, has yet to record a victory.
It was disappointing that Kim and Yoon could not carry their early momentum through the back nine. The pair made consecutive birdies on holes 4 and 5, followed by a birdie on the par-3 7th hole, cutting four strokes on the front nine alone. But they made consecutive bogeys on the par-4 12th, 14th, and 15th holes on the back nine. Fortunately, they recovered one stroke on the par-4 17th hole.
The Kim Hyo-joo-Choi Hye-jin pairing was at 1-under-par, tied for 13th, while the defending champions Lee So-mi-Lim Jin-hee were at even par, tied for 16th.
Julie Inkster (U.S.), a "65-year-old veteran" who is an LPGA Hall of Fame inductee with 31 career wins, made a pleasant start at 1-under-par, tied for 13th, playing alongside Angel Yin (U.S.). World No. 1 Nelly Korda (U.S.), competing in this event for the first time in four years, teamed up with Olivia Cowan (Germany) to finish at even par, tied for 16th.
