Lydia Ko has ended what was set to be a year to forget with a victory, taking out the inaugural Grant Thorton Invitational alongside Australian PGA Tour player Jason Day.
The Anzac duo won the PGA/LPGA co-sanctioned event in Florida by one shot, finishing at 26-under to beat Canadian duoBrooke Henderson and Corey Conners by one shot.
Ko failed to record a win on the LPGA Tour this past season with three top 10 finishes, which saw her finish 100th on the season rankings and missing out on a place in the CME Group Tour Championship. The win today is Ko’s 27th professional title.
The world number 11 hit a stunning approach on the par five 17th hole, with a fairway wood from 208 yards to lead to a birdie putting Ko and Day into the sole lead.
Ko and Day shot a six-under 66 in a modified four-ball format. They share a US$1m winner’s cheque. It’s Ko’s biggest payday of the year with her previous best being a share of third at BMW Ladies Championship, which earned her US$147,030.
“It’s weird because that felt like the most stress-free win, because I knew she was going to step up in the end,” Day said.
The format allowed for both players to hit tee shots, then switch to the other player’s golf ball and finish out the hole. Day was in a bunker right of the green at the par-5 17th, no easy up-and-down. Ko had 208 into a slight wind and her fairway metal never left the target.
“That is so nice,” Day said as Ko’s shot was in the air. It landed near the hole and rolled out about eight feet. Her eagle putt never had a chance, but the hard work was done. Both secured easy pars on the 18th to finish at 26-under.
It was the first time the PGA Tour and LPGA had a mixed-team event since the JC Penney Classic in 1999, and players on both tours spoke endlessly about looking forward to the next one.
Conners holed out from the fairway for eagle on the ninth hole and briefly took the lead until Day made a 15-foot birdie on the 12th. They stayed close the rest of the way.
“We both did a pretty good job of getting the ball in play off the tee,” Conners said. “There’s a few shots we’d both like to have back throughout the day. But we fought hard and gave ourselves a lot of chances.”
They failed to birdie the 17th when Henderson pulled her second shot well left of the green into a waste area, and Conners came up short of the green and couldn’t get up-and-down.
Ludvig Aberg, the sensational rookie who won on the PGA Tour and European tour and played in the Ryder Cup since turning pro in June, teamed with fellow Swede Madelene Sagstrom to post a 60 in the final round. They also briefly had the lead, but ran out of holes and finished third, two shots behind.
Tony Finau and Nelly Korda didn’t make birdie until the sixth hole. They closed with two birdies for a 67 and tied for fourth with Denny McCarthy and Megan Khang (65).
