Patty Tavatanakit and Jake Knapp posted a six-under-par 66 to open a two-shot lead heading into Sunday’s last spherical of the Grant Thornton Invitational in Naples, Florida.
They mixed for seven birdies and a bogey within the alternate shot format as they improved their rating to twenty beneath on the PGA & LPGA Tour blended occasion.
They lead from Atthaya Thitikul and Tom Kim who shot up the leaderboard with a 64 to shut on 18 beneath.
Jennifer Kupcho holed a 30-foot birdie putt on the final as she and Akshay Bhatia signed for a 68 and they’ll begin the ultimate spherical three again on 17 beneath.
Tavatanakit and Knapp opened with a 58 in Friday’s opening scramble format, the place each gamers hit a tee shot after which the crew selects the ball for use for the subsequent stroke. From there, each gamers hit their subsequent photographs from that spot, with that course of persevering with till the ball is holed.
They usually continued to impress in Saturday’s foursomes on the Tiburon Golf Membership as they chase the primary prize of $1m.
New Zealand’s Lydia Ko and Australia’s Jason Day, who received the inaugural staging of this match in 2023, shot a five-under 67 and are 5 again on 15 beneath.
The third spherical will function a brand new format for crew play. Within the ‘modified fourball’ each gamers will tee off after which they’ll swap balls for his or her second photographs and play that ball till holed. The decrease rating will rely because the crew rating.
