Jason Day says he is a "massive fan" of his teammate at the Grant Thornton Invitational
Jason Day and Lydia Ko will be defending their title at the Grant Thornton Invitational at Tiburon Golf Club in Florida. Day and Ko have been seen in excellent sync, with the Australian declaring himself a "massive fan" of the Kiwi.
The defending champions held a press conference at the Grant Thornton Invitational venue where they exchanged praise. Both were keen to highlight their teammate's sporting and human qualities.
This was part of what Jason Day said (via Golf.com):
"I’m a massive fan of Lydia and her game. More so as a person as well, she’s tremendous...I’ve heard numerous — actually, a lot of stories about how she’s one of the nicest people on the LPGA and obviously I think a lot of people know that by now. Pure class on and off the golf course."
Lydia Ko was no less eloquent when talking about her teammate. This was part of what she said:
"I actually told multiple people this, of all the players I’ve played with, Jason’s game, whether it was ball-striking, with the driver, iron, wedges and putting overall was actually the best player I’ve seen."
Day also highlighted the fact that Ko was recently inducted into the LPGA Hall of Fame, only the 26th player to achieve such a feat. The Australian said that being able to witness firsthand the quality of his teammate is a very special opportunity.
A look back at Jason Day and Lydia Ko winning the 2023 Grant Thornton Invitational
Jason Day and Lydia Ko began the 2023 edition of the Grant Thornton Invitational with a first-round 58, the result of an eagle and twelve birdies with no bogeys in the scramble format. The score put them in a share of fourth place, two shots behind the then-leaders Nelly Korda and Tony Finau.
Day and Ko did not take long to improve their position. The next day, they carded the best score of the round (66) thanks to seven birdies and one bogey in the foursomes format. It was enough to move them up to the top of the leaderboard.
In the third and decisive round, the Canadian duo of Brooke Henderson and Corey Conners made a strong charge to take first place with a final day 63. Day and Ko managed to regain their lead with six birdies and no bogeys in the four-ball format to finish on 26 under, one stroke ahead of the Canadians.
It was the second win of the year for Day, who had won the AT&T Byron Nelson in May. Ko, meanwhile, had just two top-10 finishes in 20 starts on the LPGA Tour in 2023, so the Grant Thornton Invitational victory was a prelude to her breakthrough in 2024.