Heading into the final round of the 2025 Dow Championship, the team of Sarah Schmelzel and Albane Valenzuela lead at -13, one stroke over the teams of Jin Hee Im and Somi Lee and Pauline Roussin-Bouchard and Manon De Roey.
Coming into the day a stroke back of Jennifer Kupcho and Leona Maguire, Schmelzel and Valenzuela got off to a quick start on the front nine of the two-ball format thanks to a pair of hot putters. They made birdies on 1, 6, 7 and 9 with a lone front nine birdie on 5.
Strategically this team was in sync, with Valenzuela striking the ball well, leaving the excellent putter Schmelzel with makable birdie conversions, which she executed well.
On the back, this team continued to hit a lot of good putts, but they just weren’t falling at the same rate despite some real burned corners. They had a bogey on the par 5 11, which was playing somewhat difficult for the afternoon groups, but made pars the rest of the way around.
Overall, they scored -2 for the day, which in this format wasn’t too bad, especially with how some of the other leading groups struggled throughout the final round.
Both Schmelzel and Valenzuela are looking for their first win, something that is a long time coming for both. They have a combined 26 top 10 finishes in their careers, both have Solheim Cup experience and are two of the best without a title yet.
The final round of the 2025 Dow Championship kicks off on Golf Channel at 3:00 et.
