Patty Tavatanakit and Jake Knapp held their nerve to close out a one-stroke victory at the joint PGA Tour and LPGA Tour Grant Thornton Invitational.
The pair had hit the ground running on the first day, where they birdied their first nine holes on their way to a 14-under-par 58.
On day two, Tavatanakit and Knapp actually increased their lead to two strokes as they went around in 66 to top the leaderboard at 20-under par.
The final round saw them card a seven-under 65 in the modified four-ball format, finishing 27-under.
Jeeno Thitikul and Tom Kim finished 26-under, with Jennifer Kupcho and Akshay Bhatia third with 25-under.
The mixed team event featuring PGA and LPGA Tour stars at the Tiburon Golf Club in Naples, Florida, employs three different formats over three rounds and finished with a modified four-ball, where both players tee off and switch balls for their second shots before then playing that same ball until it is holed.
Tavatanakit and Knapp admitted they didn’t find it easy on day two as inclement weather made play difficult in the USA’s southernmost state, but a positive mindset proved vital for the pairing.
I feel like I just always tried to give Jake a lot of security out there and just tell him, Send it,'” Tavatanakit said.
“I putted well this week and I just feel like everything’s been fun. I feel like our chemistry has been really, really good, we’d just talk about random things. A lot of golf nerd stuff.”
The pair will share $1m in prize money for the win.
What is the Grant Thornton Invitational?
The 54-hole competition is a mixed-team event that sees 16 LPGA Tour and 16 PGA Tour professionals compete together in a unique co-sanctioned tournament.
The three-day tournament offers three different formats of team play and allows the 32-player field to compete for equal prize money and visibility.
It is the second successive year the tournament has featured on the schedule, having been launched in 2023 as the first co-sanctioned event between the LPGA Tour and PGA Tour since the JCPenney Classic in 1999.
Watch the Grant Thornton Invitational throughout the weekend live on Sky Sports. Live coverage from the third round starts on Sunday from 6pm on Sky Sports Golf. Stream the PGA Tour and more with NOW.
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