NAPLES, Fla. — Patty Tavatanakit and Jake Knapp torched Tiburón Golf Club on Friday at the Grant Thornton Invitational, firing a 14-under 58 to take the first-round lead in Naples, Fla.

The pair birdied every hole on the front nine of Tiburón’s Gold Course to go out in 27 and sit at 9-under total before making the turn. Tavatanakit and Knapp then made three more birdies on the back nine on holes 13, 14 and 18, as well as an eagle on the par-5 17th hole, to post a 58, a round-one performance that has them sitting one stroke ahead of Jennifer Kupcho and Akshay Bhatia and Canadians Brooke Henderson and Corey Conners.

“I think we kind of ham-and-egged it there on the front nine for a while,” said Knapp. “But at the same time, I think we both hit a lot of solid shots, had a lot of good looks and fed off each other in terms of if somebody didn't hit a good shot. There wasn't really much strategy, necessarily. It was more just try to go hit good golf shots and try to put ourselves in good opportunities, and we were able to do that.”

Like many of the teams in the field at the second edition of the Grant Thornton Invitational, Tavatanakit and Knapp hadn’t gotten the opportunity to meet each other before this week, But the pair took advantage of Tuesday practice to get to know each other personally and study each other’s games a little bit before teeing it up on the first day of the 54-hole competition.

“We met on Tuesday for a practice round. I was going to play nine, and then I had so much fun playing with Jake, I ended up playing 14 holes on Tuesday,” said Tavatanakit. “This week playing with (the PGA Tour) guys, seeing some shots, I'm such a golf nerd. I take everything in, and I analyze it right away. It's funny to realize that and be able to share that with him.”

Kupcho and Bhatia are another new partnership in the 2024 Grant Thornton Invitational field, but they sure didn’t play like it in the day-one scramble. The pair, who have a shared Wake Forest, N.C. connection with Kupcho attending Wake Forest University and Bhatia calling the city home, posted a 13-under 59 that saw them birdie 11 holes and card an eagle on the par-5 6th hole at Tiburón Golf Club.

Like Tavatanakit and Knapp, the partners didn’t know each other at all before teaming up this week in Florida. However, unlike the current 18-hole leaders, Kupcho and Bhatia have yet to learn too much about each other’s lives off the golf course.

“I don't think we've gotten that far yet. He asked if I've gone skiing when I was younger, and that was about as far as we've gotten,” said Kupcho with a laugh. But even though she and Bhatia have yet to become super close, the major champion still understands how important these kinds of tournaments are to the growth of golf across both the men’s and women’s games and is excited to have the opportunity to compete in a tournament like the Grant Thornton Invitational.

“I don't know very many PGA (Tour) guys, so it's interesting to hear him and his caddie talking out on the fairways or through every shot,” said Kupcho. “It’s different, I would say, than definitely how I think. It's interesting to see what they're doing. It's exciting to see our tours together for the growth of the game, as well.”

Henderson and Conners nearly captured the inaugural GTI title back in 2023, ultimately finishing runner-up to eventual champions Lydia Ko and Jason Day last year, and are clearly hungry to bring home a victory in the mixed-gender team event this season. The Canadians threw up a 13-under 59 to kick off their second consecutive appearance as partners in Naples, Fla., carding nine birdies and two eagles on holes 14 and 17 to sit in a tie for second alongside Kupcho and Bhatia, a strong start in their pursuit of the Grant Thornton Invitational title.

“It was a really good day, I feel like a really solid start,” Henderson said. “I feel like scramble is a really fun way to start the tournament. Corey hit a lot of really great shots into the greens, gave us a lot of really good looks for birdie, which is always a great thing. We were able to make some putts today, a couple of eagles on the back nine, so overall, it was good, and (we will) try to get a solid game plan going into tomorrow.”

Maja Stark and J.T. Poston are in a tie for fourth at 11-under alongside childhood friends Allisen Corpuz and Sahith Theegala. Defending champions Lydia Ko and Jason Day are tied for sixth at 10-under total, while Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings No. 1 Nelly Korda and Daniel Berger sit in a share of eighth after posting a 9-under 63 on day one of the Grant Thornton Invitational.

Front-Nine 27 Lifts Patty Tavatanakit, Jake Knapp to Top of Leaderboard at Grant Thornton Invitational

Related Articles