‘It looks like’ Dow Championship will remain in June

It’s not official yet, but Dow Championship Director Carlos Padilla II says it “looks like” the LPGA team event at Midland Country Club will take place in late June next year.

The Dow Championship ended on Sunday afternoon with the victory for the team of Atthaya Thitikul and Yin Ruoning. This was the first time the tournament had been held in June, after taking place in the third week of July for the first four years.

“It looks like it’s going to be June again. We should have some more clarity in the coming weeks,” Padilla said shortly after the trophy presentation on the 18th green.

Regardless, the Dow Championship will remain at Midland Country Club through at least 2029.

While this year’s Olympic Games in Paris, which begin in late July, were initially cited as a reason to hold the Dow Championship in June, Padilla said a few other factors make June a favorable time frame for the long term.

Some of these have to do with the tournament’s host, Midland Country Club.

“We want to be considerate of the Country Club and the members here. We only have so many months to play golf because of the colder weather,” Padilla said. “So we feel like introducing it a little bit earlier in the year than where we’ve had it in years past, which will give (the Country Club) more time (for golf) during some of the nicer months of the year.

“In addition, Todd Beals (Country Club General Manager) can schedule a few extra days off for his team after July 4. As you can imagine, these people have worked a tremendous amount of hours over the past 10 days.”

Padilla added that the Dow Championship in its current time frame offers golfers a nice change after a packed Women’s PGA Championship the week before.

“For us to be able to follow that up by coming out here and having fun with one of their friends, I think it fits in really well with the schedule. That makes it attractive for the LPGA,” he said.

Dow Chairman and CEO Jim Fitterling told the crowd at the trophy ceremony that an announcement will come sometime in July detailing the dates of next year’s Dow Championship.

“We’ll see. We’ll let our emotions calm down and get the feedback from all of our stakeholders, including the community, the LPGA, the sponsors and everyone (before we make a decision),” Padilla said.

Meanwhile, this year’s Dow Championship underwent a number of other changes, including a new name, a new trophy, the first-ever mascot named Champ and a new location for registrations and volunteer headquarters.

“I feel like everything has definitely gone as well as it could and better,” Padilla said of the changes. “Change is not always easy, especially when you’re at a company as large as Dow. Communication has to be very fluid to get the consensus that you need to make the change.

“The team was tasked with doing a rebrand and coming up with a new trophy and putting that all into practice and communicating it to the right stakeholders so that people actually knew what was happening. And I couldn’t be happier with what we’ve seen over the last week.”

Padilla said this year’s attendance was the highest in the event’s five years.

Another change had to do with announcing the golfers’ names and playing their selected walk-up music for the crowd as they walked to the 18th green. Previously, that tradition took place on the final day of the tournament, using the best ball size. This year it happened on the third day, Saturday, using the alternative recording format.

“Because it’s a five-year tournament, we get a little better every year,” Padilla said. “… And what we’ve learned over the years with the walk-up music is that it works well with one format (alternate shot), because nobody’s teeing off on the next tee right off the green; you’re not distracting them.

“With the other format (best ball), you distract others who are playing golf on adjacent holes with the loud music and the PA system. … Ultimately, it’s about adhering to the rules and the competition.”

Managing Editor Dan Chalk writes about business, education, sports, the military and interesting people and events in the Midland region. Email him at [email protected].