NAPLES – Jason Day and Lydia Ko recorded a 66, the lowest round of the day, to jump atop the leaderboard of the inaugural Grant Thornton Invitational in Naples, Florida, on Dec 9.
The pair sit at 20-under 124 and hold a two-stroke lead over first-round leaders Tony Finau and Nelly Korda, who struggled to a two-under 70.
Lucas Glover and Leona Maguire joined Finau and Korda in joint second after carding a 69 at the Tiburon Golf Club tournament featuring 16 mixed teams of one PGA and one LPGA Tour player.
The Dec 9 format was foursomes, with each team’s players alternate hitting shots with the same ball until the ball is holed.
Day and Ko offset their lone bogey with seven birdies to vault into the lead.
“I think this is just a great experience for me and I hope a lot of juniors who are either here this week or watching on the TV get inspired and hope that one day they play on the PGA or the LPGA and they, too, are paired up with another fellow player on the other tour,” Ko said.
“I think the outcome and result is secondary. I think for us, we don’t really get to, I guess, cross paths that much with other tours. Jason’s only the fourth PGA Tour player I’ve played with. I think it’s great – something that I can learn a lot from.”
Australian Day, meanwhile, said of his Kiwi teammate: “Because she’s been in pressure situations for so long and been under the pump for so long, I knew once the first tee shot was hit, she would go back into the whole mindset of playing competitive golf again and getting it done...
“It’s fun, but I still want to win and I’m sure Lydia wants to win, too. We could definitely use a win like this or even a good finish to propel us into next season.”
Rickie Fowler and Lexi Thompson were the only team with an eagle in the second round, with 11-time LPGA Tour winner Thompson recording an ace at the par-three 16th.
Asked about the quality of that shot, Thompson said: “Definitely up there, probably one of my highest because I’ve only had about four in competition with crowds, with a good amount of crowds, so there was a lot of people around that tee box.
“It was nice to high five everybody and hear all the cheers. Hitting a golf shot or making a putt and just committing to it and seeing the shot at hand and really just pulling it off, it’s always a great feeling.”
They are one of four teams tied for fourth on 128, alongside Corey Conners and Brooke Henderson, Nick Taylor and Angel Yin as well as Denny McCarthy and Megan Khang. REUTERS
