MIDLAND, Mich. (AP) — Hyo Joo Kim and Hye-Jin Choi handled a swirling wind Saturday and made enough birdies to be among only six teams who broke par, posting a 1-under 69 in foursomes to build a one-shot lead in the Dow Championship.
Double major winner Nelly Korda and Olivia Cowan will need another big showing in Sunday fourballs if they want a chance to catch them. They made only one birdie, had bogey on both par 5s at Midland Country Club and shot 76 to fall six shots behind.
Korda and Cowan were tied for 13th. It will be only the second time this year on the LPGA that Korda is not in the final group.
Kim and Choi, the South Korean duo who are both among the top 20 in the women's world ranking, were at 10-under 200.
“The wind was obviously very strong today so that was a big factor that was different than the first round,” Kim said. They also shot 69 in foursomes in the opening round.
Gina Kim and LPGA rookie Yana Wilson managed a birdie on the par-3 closing hole, which was playing downwind to a front pin over the water. That gave them a 70 and left them one shot back.
Alison Lee and Lilia Vu, former teammates at UCLA, had the lead until they made a triple bogey on the 16th hole when Vu hit the tee shot out-of-bounds. They had to settle for a 69 and were in third place at 8-under 202.
“It’s a pretty meaty hole. I’ve been kind of leaking my drives out right so just wanted to make sure I had a draw but it was a pulled draw instead,” Vu said.
Juli Inkster, who at 66 became the oldest player in LPGA history to make the cut in an official event, teamed with Angel Yin for a 70. They were tied for 20th.
AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf
Ryann O'Toole, right, and Albane Valenzuela, left, celebrate on the 16th green during the first round of the Dow Championship LPGA golf tournament, Thursday, June 11, 2026, at Midland Country Club in Midland, Mich. (AP Photo/Al Goldis)
GENEVA (AP) — Voters in Switzerland are casting final ballots Sunday on an initiative championed by the top right-wing party to cap the rich Alpine country's population at 10 million.
The populist Swiss People's Party, which has the most seats in parliament, has stirred up and fostered anti-migration sentiment over the years, notably about an influx of workers from the neighboring European Union.
Critics call the bid a self-inflicted wound, saying the boom in migration over the last generation has brought foreign labor and skills to sectors such as healthcare, finance, pharmaceuticals, and technology. Some also worry the proposal, if approved, will weaken critical ties with Brussels. The EU is Switzerland’s top trading partner.
Recent polling from the gfs.bern agency suggested that it could be a close contest.
The Swiss People's Party put forward the “sustainability initiative” measure, saying Swiss infrastructure, housing, social programs, natural resources and way of life have been strained by demographic growth.
The federal government and Parliament oppose the idea.
Swiss democracy gives voters a direct say in policymaking through referendums typically held four times a year. Most ballots are cast through the mail, and in-person voting ends at noon local time on Sunday.
A “yes” vote would require the Swiss government to take action to cap the population by 2050.
If the population reaches 9.5 million before then, the government would be forced to restrict asylum, family reunification and residency permits, and may have to scrap Switzerland’s EU deal on the free movement of people.
The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development has reported that Switzerland had a foreign-born population of 32% as of 2024, behind only Luxembourg and Australia among the group's 38 member countries.
International migration has long been a sensitive issue in Europe, as nations grapple with an aging population and increasing anti-foreigner sentiment. While that sentiment in other European countries centers on migrants from the developing world, most foreigners in Switzerland are Europeans.
Since Switzerland and the EU eased restrictions on citizens living and working across their borders in 2002, the Swiss population has grown by 23%, to 9.1 million as of the end of last year. Economic output has also increased, up 24% over the same period, government data show.
Swiss voters have repeatedly tackled the immigration issue over the last half-century. Only one such referendum — “Against mass immigration” in 2014 — narrowly passed, after campaigners stoked fears about overpopulation and rising numbers of Muslims in the country.
While many countries have limits on immigration, none has ever voted to limit its population, Swiss experts say.
A poster reading "Isolate ourselves from Europe? Certainly not now! - No to the SVP/UDC Chaos initiative" featuring images of President Donald Trump, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping, urging people to vote against the Swiss People's Party (SVP) referendum titled "No to a Switzerland with 10 million inhabitants" photographed in Lausanne, May 27, 2026. (Laurent Gillieron/Keystone via AP)
