Tavatanakit and Knapp Hold Lead at Mixed PGA/LPGA Tour Event

Patty Tavatanakit and Jake Knapp are competing as a team for the initial time this week. Grant Thornton Invitational – second round leaderboard -20 P Tavatanakit (Tha) & J Knapp (US); -18 J Thitikul (Tha) & T Kim (Kor); -17 J Kupcho & A Bhatia (US), -15 L Ko (NZ) & J Day (Aus) Selected: -11 N Korda (US) & D Berger (US); -9 M Reid (Eng) & C Champ (US); -8 L Thompson (US) & R Fowler (US) Full leaderboard Patty Tavatanakit and Jake Knapp recorded a score of 66, six strokes under par, establishing a two-shot advantage as they head into Sunday’s concluding round of the Grant Thornton Invitational, held in Naples, Florida. Their performance in the alternate shot format included seven birdies and one bogey, elevating their total score to 20 under par at this combined PGA & LPGA Tour competition. They are ahead of Atthaya Thitikul and Tom Kim, who advanced significantly on the leaderboard with a round of 64, finishing at 18 under par. Jennifer Kupcho successfully sank a 30-foot birdie putt on the final hole, contributing to her and Akshay Bhatia’s score of 68; they will commence the final round three shots behind, at 17 under par. Tavatanakit and Knapp began the tournament with a 58 during Friday’s initial scramble format. In this format, both participants drive from the tee, after which the team chooses which ball to play for the subsequent stroke. Both players then strike their next shots from the selected location, repeating this procedure until the ball is putted into the hole. They maintained their strong performance during Saturday’s foursomes event at the Tiburon Golf Club, as they compete for the $1 million first-place prize. Lydia Ko of New Zealand and Jason Day of Australia, the champions of this tournament’s inaugural edition in 2023, posted a 67, five strokes under par, placing them five shots behind at 15 under par. The third round is set to introduce a new team play format. Under the ‘modified fourball’ rules, both players will hit their tee shots, then exchange balls for their second shots, and continue playing that ball until it is holed. The team’s score will be determined by the lower of the two individual scores.