Day, Ko Team Up to win Grant Thornton Invitational

Welcome back to another edition of the Sunday Swing presented by 2nd Swing Golf. This week the PGA Tour and the LPGA Tour played in the same field on the same course for the debut of the Grant Thornton Invitational. 

This week the PGA and LPGA Tour played in a joint event for the first time since 1999. From Naples, Florida, the ladies and mens best teamed up in duos for a showdown like no other. Playing classic team games like best ball and alternate shot. Some of the notable duos included Rickie Fowler and Lexi Thompson, Tony Finau and Nelly Korda, and Jason Day and Lydia Ko. It seemed to be a trend for players from the same home country to team up as well. There was representation from the US, Canada, Australia, Sweden, England, and more. Ironically, with the news of Jon Rahm leaving the PGA Tour this week, Tiburon Golf Club was designed by Greg Norman. The Australian is the CEO of the LIV Golf League, although he won two majors and 20 PGA Tour events in his career. 

The Sunday Swing goes to the duo of Jason Day and Lydia Ko, who played clutch golf when it was needed most to win the Grant Thorson Invitational this weekend. Although this event was only 54 holes, it was still highly competitive throughout. Korda and Finau jumped out to an early lead after shooting a 16-under par round on Friday. Over the weekend, it turned into a battle between the big names in the field including Korda and Finau, Day and Ko, Thompson and Fowler, and the Canadian duo of Corey Conners and Brooke Henderson. 

Saturday’s round featured plenty of highlights, including a hole in one from Thompson late in the day that kept the Fowler/Thompson team squarely in the mix. But it was Day and Ko shooting the lowest round of the day on Saturday, a six-under 66, that vaulted them into contention. 

Heading into the final round, it was a who’s who at the top of the leaderboard. There were numerous lead changes, and a few teams making a charge from further behind. One of the most notable teams to surge up the leaderboard was the Swedish duo of Ludvig Aberg and Madelene Sagstrom. The duo combined for 10 birdies and an eagle on their way to a 12-under par 60. The Canadian duo of Brooke Henderson and Corey Conners rallied for a 9-under par 63, with a couple of eagles on the card. In the end, it was Day and Ko who came out on top. They combined for six birdies while making no bogeys on their way to a six-under par 66, their 2nd consecutive. They would finish at 26-under par, one clear of Henderson and Conners. 

Jason Day and Lydia Ko needed to make a barrage of birdies over the weekend to win the Grant Thornton Invitational, and that’s exactly what they did. Day’s bag consists of a PING G430 LST driver, TaylorMade SIM Max 3-wood and 7-wood, TaylorMade P770 4-iron, TaylorMade P7MC irons, Titleist Vokey Design SM9 wedges (52, 56, 60 degrees) and a TaylorMade Spider Tour putter. 

Ko’s bag also features both a PING G430 LST driver and Titleist Vokey SM9 wedges (46, 49, 54, 59 degrees). However, Ko’s bag differs from there. She plays a PING G430 Max 3-wood and 5-wood, PING i230 irons, and a Scotty Cameron TG6 putter.