Patty Tawatanakit and Jake Knapp birdied their first nine holes and added a late eagle on their way to claiming a one-stroke lead on the first day of the Grant Thornton Invitational.
The mixed team event, featuring PGA and LPGA Tour stars, uses three different formats over three rounds.In Friday’s scramble format, where both players each hit and choose which ball to use for the next shot, Tawatanakit and Knapp combined. are 14-under 58 at Tiburon Golf Club in Naples, Florida.
Patty Tawatanakit and Jake Knapp jumped all over the front to lead the Grant Thornton Invitational by one shot on day one.
That was good enough to move them ahead of Jennifer Kupcho and Akshay Bhatia and Canadians Brooke Henderson and Corey Conners for second place at 13 under.
The second round will be played four-ball (alternate stroke) and the third round will be a modified four-ball, where both players remove and change balls for their second shots, before playing the same ball until it is holed.
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Maja Starc and JT Poston are three off the lead after an opening 61, joined by Sahit Theegala and Alisen Corpuz in fourth.
Three-time major winner Lydia Ko and former men’s No. 1 Jason Day, who won last year’s event, opened Friday with a 10-under 62 and are tied for sixth with Gino Titikul and Tom Kim.
Lexi Thompson and Rickie Fowler follow, along with women’s world No. 1 Nelly Korda and Danielle Berger.
Tony Finau was supposed to be Korda’s partner, but he withdrew while recovering from knee surgery and Berger took his place.
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After he and Knapp took the lead on day one, Tawatanakit said,
“I feel like I haven’t played this much free golf in a long time, so it’s a really nice feeling. I feel very safe out there because I know I have a really good partner.”
What is the Grant Thornton Invitational?
The 54-hole competition is a mixed team event in which 16 LPGA Tour and 16 PGA Tour professionals compete together in a unique co-sanctioned tournament.
The three-day tournament offers three different team play formats and allows a field of 32 players to compete for equal prize money and exposure.
It’s the second straight year the tournament has been on the schedule, which began in 2023 as the first co-sanctioned event between the LPGA Tour and PGA Tour since the 1999 JCPenney Classic.
Watch the Grant Thornton Invitational all week live on Sky Sports Live coverage of the second round starts on Saturday Friday from 7pm on Sky Sports Golf. Stream the PGA Tour and more via NOW.
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