“We had a lot of fun out there… She hit it so well that all I had to do was putt.” Atthaya “Jeeno” Thitikul’s easy smile said it all after she and Ruoning Yin edged the field at Midland 2024. The LPGA’s only team event returns to Midland Country Club from 23 to 29 June 2025, again alternating foursomes with four-ball across the four rounds.

Tournament director Wendy Traschen already has 22 of the Rolex top-50 committed, including Lydia Ko and the first-time pairing of Haeran Ryu with Rose Zhang. He stated “We’ve got some great players. We’re very happy with the field list.” Defending champions Yin-Thitikul headline what could be the most potent lineup yet. Away from the leaderboard, the #TeamUp program pairs 36 local nonprofits with the teams, guaranteeing at least US$4,500 for each charity and pushing total Dow donations past US$2.5 million. It’s the time that blends community work with one of the largest checks on the schedule.

Midland itself remains unpredictable. Last year, a windy Saturday pushed the scoring average more than five shots higher than the calm four-ball day before it, and 2023 winners Cheyenne Knight and Elizabeth Szokol missed the cut by a single stroke. Have you ever seen a venue flip the script that quickly? Alternate-shots magnify every mistake, so even top teams can see two days’ work wiped away by one loose drive. So, Is There a Cut at the Dow Championship 2025?

Yes. After the first two rounds, the 2025 Dow Championship will again trim its 72-team field to the low 33 teams and ties. The alternating foursomes and four-ball format stays intact, so half the duos must survive the scoreboard to chase the $3.3 million purse.

From Invitational to Championship—What’s New in 2025?

The tournament began in 2019 as the Great Lakes Bay Invitational, featuring a US$2 million purse. Five editions later, it is simply the Dow Championship, backed by a new silver trophy and an earlier late-June slot that frees players for Olympic and major schedules. The purse has risen to US$3.3 million, an increase of more than 65%, while crowds have topped 26,000, and the event has generated roughly US$49 million for the local economy. With the calendar now settled and long-term sponsor support in place, 2025 feels less like a transition year and more like a chance to see how high the event can reach.

Those bigger numbers raise the competitive bar as well. The 72-hole record of 253 (-27) from 2019 still stands, and last season’s four-ball 58 showed that low scores are possible when conditions soften. Course staff say the greens could play a touch firmer this June, a move meant to reward careful alternate-shot play and temper early-week aggression. Even so, the projected winners’ share of about US$402,691 each is hard to ignore. For the Dow Championship, the course will play to a par 70 and is the second-shortest venue that these athletes have encountered so far this season, measuring 6,277 yards.

World No. 1 Nelly Korda skipped the tournament last year, explaining that she “didn’t want four events in a row” and preferred some practice time before the Evian stretch—proof that even the best juggle schedules when the stakes pile up. With the prize fund now higher than ever, records and decisions alike may look different in 2025.

Which partnership do you think will keep its cool and leave Midland with new numbers next to its name?