NAPLES, Fla. — After a spectacular putting display throughout the week at Tiburón Golf Club, Patty Tavatanakit and Jake Knapp took home the Grant Thornton Invitational title in their shared tournament debut, winning by one stroke over Jeeno Thitikul and Tom Kim on Sunday in Naples, Fla.

The duo began the final round with a two-shot lead over Thitikul and Kim at 20-under total, quickly moving to 22-under with an eagle on the par-5 1st hole to extend their advantage to three shots. After Thitikul and Kim also birdied the first to move to 19-under and sit three strokes behind, Jennifer Kupcho and Akshay Bhatia quickly entered the conservation, carding birdies on holes one, two, four and six to climb to 21-under, now one shot behind Tavatanakit and Knapp. Kupcho and Bhatia then birdied the par-4 7th hole to tie the lead at 22-under.

Tavatanakit and Knapp made a birdie of their own on the seventh hole to move to 23-under total and once again pull ahead, but Kupcho and Bhatia birdied the par-4 9th hole to tie the lead as they made their way to the back nine at the Gold Course. Tavatanakit and Knapp then eventually regained the solo lead with a birdie on 10 that pushed them to 24-under as they worked to stave off charges from a variety of teams trying to move their way up the leaderboard.

After a quiet start to their front nine, Kupcho and Bhatia made their seventh birdie of the round on the par-5 14th hole to tie Tavatanakit and Knapp at 24-under, but the Canadian duo of Brooke Henderson and Corey Conners ultimately made it a three-way tie at the top after grabbing a birdie on the par-5 17th hole to also move to 24-under total and 10-under on the day.

Tavatanakit and Knapp then broke away from the pack with a birdie on 14 to climb to 25-under, now leading by one stroke with four holes to play, but a lengthy eagle putt made by Bhatia on the par-5 17th hole pushed he and Kupcho to 26-under, leaving Tavatanakit and Knapp one shot back once again.

Despite the back-and-forth battle, 36-hole leaders Tavatanakit and Knapp remained unfazed, determined to not let victory slip away coming down the stretch. Tavatanakit rolled in a mid-range birdie putt on 16 to tie the lead at 26-under, and after Kupcho and Bhatia bogeyed the par-4 18th hole to post the clubhouse lead at 25-under, Tavatanakit and Knapp picked up a birdie on 17 to move to 27-under total, now leading by two shots with one hole to play.

The pair peppered the flag with their approach shots on the 18th hole at Tiburón Golf Club, and after Tavatanakit and Knapp both missed their birdie putts, Knapp tapped in for par to give his team the victory, a win that saw Tavatanakit and Knapp go wire-to-wire over 54 holes in Naples, Fla.

“It was nice to put the cherry on top of my 2024 season to win my last event of the year,” said Tavatanakit, who won the Honda LPGA Thailand in February. “It's definitely going to be a nice feeling to take some time off. And to be able to do it alongside Jake, it's just been so fun, and I couldn't have asked for a better partner.”

Knapp readily agreed with that assessment. “Great way to end the year before Christmas,” he said. “I feel like in an event like this, you never really know what your partner's going to be like when you haven't met them before, and I feel like I couldn't have gotten a better partner. I feel like we got along perfectly. Energy was the same. It was a really, really fun week.”

Both Tavatanakit and Knapp spoke highly of each other’s games throughout the week at the Grant Thornton Invitational, lauding each other’s shot-making ability and putting performances in pretty much every interview they did over the past few days. But for Tavatanakit in particular, she appears to have found something with both her flat stick and her confidence level this week at Tiburón Golf Club, things she is looking forward to putting into play next season on the LPGA Tour.

“I feel like Jake was the biggest help out of all the factors, but if anything, I feel I found something those two weeks off just working on some stuff, getting through thoughts in my head,” said Tavatanakit. “He really helped me on the first day just free it up and send it. I hit a couple of good ones, and I found some good feels that worked this week, and we were able to close it out.

“I'm excited going into the next season. I feel like I'm getting the gist of what I actually have to work on, I see a very clear direction on what I'm taking just overall with my game. I'm excited to take some time off and get back to work in January.”

After spending the afternoon just a shot or two out of the lead at any given point, Thitikul and Kim birdied the par-4 18th hole to finish in solo second at 26-under overall, a solid performance from the young talents, who were also making their tournament debuts. Team Tom and Jerry arguably had the most fun out of anybody this week at the Grant Thornton Invitational, and while they ultimately weren’t the ones hoisting the trophy on Sunday in Naples, Fla., the memories they made as partners at Tiburón Golf Club will be something that Jeeno and Tom always cherish.

“It was a great week. Obviously, second sucks,” smiled Kim. “I think walking today, being able to be in the final group with (Jeeno) brings back a lot of good memories from the old days, and to share this experience with her was really special. Hopefully, maybe in the future, we'll have another chance again.”

Kupcho and Bhatia finished third after their 8-under 64 in the final round, while Henderson and Conners were alone in fourth after posting a 10-under 62 in the modified four-ball format. France natives Celine Boutier and Matthieu Pavon rounded out the top five at 21-under overall, and defending Grant Thornton Invitational champions Lydia Ko and Jason Day closed out their week in sixth place with a 54-hole total of 20-under. Rolex Rankings No. 1 Nelly Korda and Daniel Berger finished 13th out of the 16 total teams.

Patty Tavatanakit, Jake Knapp Win Second Edition of the Grant Thornton Invitational

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