DOW CHAMPIONSHIP

June 11, 2026

Hira Naveed

Gurleen Kaur

Midland Country Club

Quick Quotes

Q. All right, joining us after the first round of the Dow Championship are Hira Naveed and Gurleen Kaur. Obviously a great round out there today. Currently tied for the lead. What was your strategy going into today and how did you execute on that?

GURLEEN KAUR: Our strategy was I play odds and Hira played evens, and honestly, we didn't decide until last night. I think we play well together because we're both such good friends and it's never like oh, my God, I'm so sorry. It's really just, okay, well, this is the shot, and the next person has to step up and hit it.

We just both mesh well, and I think choosing Hira with the evens and me on the odds just complements our game really well.

HIRA NAVEED: Yeah, I agree. I hit some great approaches today; G holed some phenomenal putts. I think we have good chemistry as she said because we're really good friends. Yeah, we just had a lot of fun out there. This is the most fun I've had in a long time out on the golf course, so do it with G is really, really special. Excited for tomorrow.

Q. Obviously format for tomorrow changes. Is there any strategy with that? Is one of you going to be aggressive, one play safe? What are you thinking and how will it be important to capitalize on this golf course?

HIRA NAVEED: Yeah, just depends hole to hole. We'll see --a couple of the par-5s with my length I can be aggressive on those, and then G with her accuracy with her iron shots can be aggressive on the par-3s.

All in all, just do what we did today and see how we go tomorrow.

GURLEEN KAUR: I think we will probably just talk about it tonight and kind of wing it and just play however we -- like I think it's just better to not be so rigid and strict and just go with the flow. I think we both play our best golf when we go with the flow and have fun. Whatever happens, happens, and we'll deal with it as it comes.

Q. We talked about it a bit with how fun it is this week. The crowd coming out here to support the team format. How does what take pressure off when you're leading golf tournament?

GURLEEN KAUR: I would say that it's kind of like you have, you know, your best friend to rely on you, pick you up when you feel down, and I thin you have to hold each other accountable. It's like if one person is really down the other person will feel it too. So I think both being in in the same spirits.

Yeah, Dow is one of the best tournaments we have of the year, and yeah, we're just so excited to be in this position.

HIRA NAVEED: Yeah, I think we encouraged each other really well today, and, again, that goes with our friendship and just being comfortable with each other and being able to pick each other up when we're feeling down.

Yeah, the crowds are great. They give us a lot of energy, so we're excited for tomorrow.

Q. Last one: You guys are tied for the lead. Also have Nicole and Gemma, two moms and two rookies also up there. What do you think this tournament lends itself to have such unique stories?

GURLEEN KAUR: I would say that if you pick your partner well I think that speaks well into, you know, if -- not if you play well or not, but just to the camaraderie you have out there. Again, there is a little bit of strategy when it comes to picking and understanding your partner, where are their strengths and weaknesses.

I feel like we know each other's games really well, so that's probably why you see a lot more friends and players who may not always be top 10 in the world playing, like Gemma and a couple rookies. So, yeah, I think that's just how we picked it.

HIRA NAVEED: Yeah, I agree. The teams you mentioned are great friends off the golf course. This week makes us feel much more comfortable because we're just having fun with a friend out on the golf course and you feel supported. That's basically it, yeah.