Lydia Ko of New Zealand birdied the seventeenth gap and had a tap-in par at 18 as she partnered with Australia’s Jason Day to win the inaugural Grant Thornton Invitational on Sunday at Tiburon Golf Club in Naples, Fla.
Ko and Day posted their second straight spherical of 6-under 66 to complete at 26-under 190 for the three-day blended groups occasion. They beat Canadians Brooke Henderson and Corey Conners by one shot.
The match featured 16 blended groups with one male and one feminine participant. The groups performed a scramble format Friday and foursomes (alternate shot) Saturday. Sunday’s last spherical was a modified four-ball, during which each teammates teed off, then switched balls for his or her second pictures and performed that ball the remainder of the opening.
Ko and Day had a two-stroke lead coming into the day. They mixed to card six birdies with no bogey on Sunday.
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“It felt like the most stress-free win because I just knew (Ko) was going to step up in the end, which was fantastic,” Day stated. “It was a fun week. I think having the two tours join this week was a fun way to finish the year out.”
“I learned a lot, whether it was short-sided chips or just how to commit and hit bombs down there,” Ko stated of enjoying with the lads. “I think this has just been a great start for the two tours coming together and having a mixed event, and I really hope this is something that continues for a long time.”
Conners and Henderson had a wild begin. They had been capable of card an eagle on the par-5 first gap and birdied the par-4 second earlier than having to accept a double bogey on the par-4 third.
They added a second eagle when Conners holed out on the par-4 ninth, and so they birdied 5 of the subsequent six holes to get to 25 below total and a final-round 63.
Swedish companions Madelene Sagstrom and Ludvig Aberg had been third at 24 below after firing a final-round 60, with 10 birdies and a late eagle.