“It felt like the most stress-free win" - Jason Day, Lydia Ko on winning the inaugural Grant Thornton Invitational
Jason Day and Lydia Ko won the inaugural season of the 2023 Grant Thornton Invitational on Sunday, December 10, at the Tiburon Golf Club in Florida. They registered an essential one-shot victory over Brooke Henderson and Corey Conners.
Throughout the three rounds, Ko and Day have remained steady in the match. They had a good start to the tournament with a round of 58. They played the remaining two of 66 to settle for a scoring deficit of 26.
Ko and Day carded a birdie on the par-5 17th hole on Sunday, which helped them have a one-shot lead in the game before playing on the final hole. They made a par on the 18th hole to win the tournament. The duo received $1 million in prize money from the total purse of $4 million.
During a conversation with the Golf Channel after the tournament, Day appreciated his teammate for her incredible performance and said:
"It felt like the most stress-free win because I just knew she was going to step up in the end, which was fantastic."
Day also expressed gratitude to Ko for her unwavering support during the match.
"She actually has a very strong champion mentality. When you’re out there talking to her, and you’re sitting there and you’re thinking, oh, you got a bad bounce or this and that, it’s never like, you’re right, I got a bad bounce or it went up against the lip … she’s always looking forward,” she was quoted by Golf Week.
Meanwhile, Ko opened up about her performance and said (via Golf Week):
"I’m just trying to keep it really simple and the less manipulation I can do, the better, and I think I have a better understanding of my swing and my tendencies.”
Madelene Sagstrom and Ludvig Aberg took third place on the scoreboard, while Brooke Henderson and Corey Conners trailed the winner by one stroke.
2023 Grant Thornton Invitational Leaderboard
Following the third round of the tournament, the open-round leaders, Nelly Korda and Tony Finau, secured T4 place on the leaderboard with Megan Khang and Denny McCarthy. Lexi Thompson and Rickie Fowler finished in a tie for sixth place with Leona Maguire and Lucas Glover. Rose Zhang and Sahith Theegala finished in a tie for ninth place.
Here is the final leaderboard of the 2023 Grant Thornton Invitational:
1 Lydia Ko / Jason Day -26
- Prize money: $1,000,000
2 Brooke Henderson / Corey Conners -25
- Prize money: $560,000
3 Madelene Sagstrom / Ludvig Aberg -24
- Prize money: $330,000
T-4 Megan Khang / Denny McCarthy -23
- Prize money: $232,500
T-4 Nelly Korda / Tony Finau -23
- Prize money: $232,500
T-6 Leona Maguire / Lucas Glover -22
- Prize money: $185,000
T-6 Lexi Thompson / Rickie Fowler -22
- Prize money: $185,000
8 Angel Yin / Nick Taylor -21
- Prize money: $170,000
T-9 Rose Zhang / Sahith Theegala -20
- Prize money: $151,666
T-9 Lilia Vu / Joel Dahmen -20
- Prize money: $151,666
T-9 Charley Hull / Justin Rose -20
- Prize money: $151,666
12 Celine Boutier / Harris English -19
- Prize money: $140,000
13 Mel Reid / Russell Henley -16
- Prize money: $135,000
T-14 Andrea Lee / Billy Horschel -14
- Prize money: $127,500
T-14 Allisen Corpuz / Cameron Champ -14
- Prize money: $127,500
16 Cheyenne Knight / Tom Hoge -13
- Prize money: $120,000