Patty Tavatanakit and Jake Knapp pair up to win the Grant Thornton Invitational. The former UCLA Bruins go wire-to-wire to win the team event in Florida. They set the tournament scoring record at 27-under to beat the team of Tom Kim and Jeeno Thitikul by one stroke.
The pair of Knapp and Tavatanakit came out blistering with a first round 58 on Friday afternoon. They held the 18-hole lead and never relinquished it the rest of the tournament. On Saturday, the pair shot a 6-under 66 during the foursome format to give them a two-shot lead heading into the final round.
“We’re two good grinders. It’s fun to be able to do it, being out of position and saving par and converting birdies when we had to,” Tavatanakit said after Saturday’s round.
The leaders started the final round strong with an eagle on the opening hole but only one other birdie to shoot 33 in the opening nine. Knapp and Tavatanakit made birdies when they needed them most, birdieing three of the five final holes proving crucial for their one-stroke win.
“Everything has been fun. The chemistry has been really good,” Tavatanakit said.
Last year’s winners Jason Day and Lydia Ko finished sixth with a score of 20-under par.
The Grant Thornton Invitational pairs a LPGA and PGA Tour player together for three rounds of golf. The pairs will have to deal with a new format of golf each round.
The first-round format is a scramble where each player hits a tee shot. After that, the pair will decide what tee shot they want to hit from and continue hitting their own shots and choosing the best path forward.
The second round format is alternate shot. One player will tee off every odd numbered hole and the other player will tee off every even numbered hole. The players will alternate hitting the same ball until it is holed.
The third round is a modified four-ball format. Both players will tee off with their own ball. After the tee shot, each player will switch balls and play that ball until it is holed out. The lower score of the two scores will be recorded as the score for the hole.
The last tournament of the year was the PNC Championship in Orlando, Fla., on December 21-22. Bernhard Langer and his son Jason successfully defended their title, having won the event a record-breaking 6 times now. Tiger Woods and his son Charlie, Annika Sorenstam and her son Will and Nelly Korda and her father Petr were in the field as well.
