The only pair match on the LPGA Women's Golf Tour, the Dow Championship, will begin on June 28 (Japan time) at Midland CC in Michigan. WOWOW will broadcast live the four-day tournament every day. Eleven Japanese players will participate, including Takeda Reo and Yamashita Miyu, twin sisters Iwai Akie and Chirei, Shibuno Hinako and Katsu Minami, and Yoshida Yuri and Baba Saki.
In this championship, the participating pairs choose a theme song along with their team name, and the theme song is played when the team name is introduced. Before the opening, WOWOW interviewed them and released the contents. We will deliver it in two parts.
◇Akinori Iwai
--It's a team tournament. How do you feel about it?
Of course, this will be my first team match overseas, and I'm really looking forward to teaming up with Chirei and fighting.
--The team name is "Aki&Chizzy75", but did you have any other ideas?
There were the Tweeners and the Twisters, but ultimately we wanted everyone to know them, so we decided on nicknames.
--What are your impressions after playing the course?
Personally, I like it. There aren't many ups and downs, but there are some narrow spots, and the greens are a little bit sloping, so I get the impression that it's a little narrow, but I like it.
--Please tell us the name of the song and why you picked it.
The song is "Life is a Highway" and I didn't really have a specific reason for it, but I thought it would be nice for Chirei to listen to it. It's a Disney Cars song, and I quite like Cars, so I thought it would be nice and I chose it.
--Please tell us your enthusiasm for this week.
I hope that everyone will enjoy themselves, and that we too can have fun, and finish with a smile on our faces, together with Chirei and the caddy.
◇ Chirei Iwai
--The team competition is finally here; what are you looking forward to?
What I'm looking forward to is how far it can be stretched and the atmosphere.
--Tomorrow's format will be alternating between batting, what are your thoughts on this?
Just because it's a team competition, I don't think either player will play well if they try to do something different from their usual routine, so I think it's better for them to just play as they normally would (as if it were an individual competition).
--Akemi said she tries not to say "I'm sorry!" too often, but how do you feel about that, Chirei?
I practiced a little bit yesterday, but I ended up saying "I'm sorry." We decided to all try not to say it this week, so I'll try my best not to say it either.
--I heard that Chirei chose the song. Why did you choose it?
I used to watch Cars a lot when I was little, and I loved the movie. I also really liked McQueen's character and the story, and the song is famous, so I thought it would be good, so I chose it.
--Please say a few words in closing.
I'm looking forward to having fun this week and doing my best to liven up the tournament.
◇Yoshida Yuri
--This week's game is a team match. What are you looking forward to?
Our golf styles are quite different, so I'm really looking forward to seeing how well we'll mesh together.
--What made you decide to team up with Baba?
I haven't played a lot of golf with Baba-chan, but I have played in tournaments with her and she seems like a really nice kid, so I thought it would be nice to play a bit of golf with her, so I called out to her.
--What exactly is your team name?
This is Sakurity, I chose it through ChatGPT. The song is one of the opening songs from the anime Hunter x Hunter.
--Did you talk to each other about that?
We were talking about how we watch a lot of anime, and Saki mentioned Hunter x Hunter. I've also watched it, so we decided to use that as the opening theme.
--Please tell us your enthusiasm for this week.
I'll do my best not to hold Baba-chan back!
◇ Yuuna Nishimura
--This week's game is a team match. What are you looking forward to?
Maria (Nam) is a really long player, so I'm looking forward to playing golf in a completely different setting than what I've seen before, and it's rare for the two of us to play golf together, so I'm looking forward to it.
--Please tell us how you came to team up with Maria.
I was also looking for a partner, and my caddy told me about Maria. I think she was a reserve, so she sent me a DM on Instagram directly asking if I wanted to play, and that's how it started.
-What is your team name?
Yuna Nam style (laughs). Maria was a kind person who was like, "Anything is fine," so I decided to rely on ChatGPT.
--What kind of song did you pick for the theme song?
It's a Disney song, but Maria is from Hawaii, so I wanted to make it a Hawaiian-esque song. The singer is Dai Hirai, who is Japanese, so I thought there was a common thread there, so I decided on that.
--Finally, please tell us your enthusiasm for this week.
Above all, we just want to have fun, so I'll do my best to make sure we both play well.
*The Dow Championship will be broadcast live every day on WOWOW. The first day (June 27th) and second day (28th) will be broadcast from midnight, and the third day (29th) and final day (30th) will be broadcast from 4am on WOWOW Live and WOWOW On Demand. WOWOW On Demand will also broadcast live a "camera dedicated to Japanese players" that will focus on the play of Japanese players. The first day (27th) will be broadcast from 1:20am.
