Coming hot off the heels of the Evian Championship, the LPGA has a quick turnaround as attention turns to the Dana Open in Sylvania, Ohia.
Established in 1984 as the Jamie Farr Toledo Challenge, the Dana Open will celebrate it’s 40th anniversary this week, making it one of the longest running events on the LPGA Tour. Sweden’s Linn Grant comes into the week as defending champion after a T26 in France lase week. Stephanie Meadow will be the sole Irish interest, coming off the back of a missed cut at the Evian.
Highland Meadows Golf Club will play host to the 144-strong field vying for their share of the $1.75M purse and the 500 Race to CME Global points on offer. Established in 1925, Highland Creek will present plenty of challenges for the pack this week with its tree lined fairways and challenging greens intersected by 10-miles of creek.
Back-to-back par-5s await on the final holes of the front nine to challenge the players as they negotiate their way around, while the homeward nine boasts three par-3s. Plenty of scoring chances for players to attack as they make their way home. The four days of this week kick off on Thursday the 18th through to Sunday 21st in the Ohio countryside.
Defending champion Grant was on hand ahead of the week’s action to reflect on her good memories of this course: “Obviously I just have a lot of good memories,” she remarked. “I remember that I really like this course. It reminded me a lot of playing at home as a junior. Just the same grass type, just layout looks very familiar, so gives me a good feeling coming back.”
Asked about the excitement on this traditionally low scoring golf course: “Like you said, there is a lot of birdie opportunities like if you can be good off the tees,” said Grant. “Greens are very small, so if you are good from the tees to the green you’ll have a lot of short birdie putts, which I think is fun to have that in mind. Even if you have a bad hole, you make a bogey, there is also a lot to catch up on, which gives a nice feeling.”
Meadow heads into the week looking for a spark to ignite her season as she comes in off the back of a disappointing run of five missed cuts in her past six events on Tour. The 32-year-old, who sits in fifth spot on Tour for putting average and in 88th in the Race to CME Globe Season rankings will be hoping for better fortune in this week’s Dana Open and is looking to kickstart a late-season drive for the top 60 in the rankings and a place in the LPGA’s grand finale.
Friday this week will see the Tournament pay tribute to LPGA stalwart and retiring from the professional game this season with “Lexi Thompson Day”. A fly-past by a pair of F-16’s from the Ohio will coincide with her tee-time of round two at 1.02PM local time to mark Thompson’s career. Thompson has fond memories of her trips to Toledo, Ohio, where in 2013, at just 18 years of age, she made a hole-in-one to win a car during the final round. “It was the best feeling,” Thompson said afterward as she high-fived fans lining the par-3 14th hole at Highland Meadows Golf Club. Just two Americans have won the Dana Open since 2009. Could Thompson sign off her glittering career with a victory this week on Highland Meadows? She comes to Ohio in-form after three consecutive top-10 finishes under her belt.
Among the jet-lagged runners and riders arriving from France this week, Evian runner-up Stephanie Kyriacou will be buoyed by her career best finish at last weeks Major after being in contention all week in France. Four past champions including defending champ Grant will tee it up on Highland Meadows. Grant is joined by Gaby Lopez (2022), Jasmine Suwannapura (2018) and Heather Bowie Young (2005) as those who know what it takes to win around this course.
The action gets underway on Highland Meadows in the early morning in Sylvania with the lead off three-ball of Robn Choi, Malia Nam and Mariajo Uribe kicking things off at 7.15AM local time off the first tee. Lexi Thompson follows them out on the first at 7.59AM while Meadow will begin her tilt at the Dana Open, again off the first at 8.32AM. She will have Elizabeth Szokol and Karrie Webb for company for her opening two journeys around.
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