LPGA star gives Jake Knapp a unique award for 'babysitting' her

LPGA Tour star Patty Tavatanakit gave a unique title to Jake Knapp. They competed at the recently concluded Grant Thornton Invitational and registered a one-shot win over Jeeno Thitikul and Tom Kim. In the mixed-field event, the duo impressed with their game.

Following the final round of the Grant Thornton Invitational, during the press conference, Tavatanakit spoke about Knapp and gave him the title of "babysitter of the year." She said:

"I think Jake also got a heads-up from Alison to babysit me, so he's probably... he won best babysitter of the year award."

The second edition of the Grant Thornton Invitational wrapped up with its finale on Sunday, December 15, at the Tiburon Golf Club. Last year, Jason Day and Lydia Ko won the tournament. However, they struggled with their game this year and, after three rounds, finished in sixth place.

A look at Patty Tavatanakit and Jake Knapp's performance at the Grant Thornton Invitational

The duo started their game at the mixed-field event with a phenomenal round of 58. They were incredibly amazing in the opening round and shot nine back-to-back birdies on the front nine. They then made pars on the next three holes before adding two more birdies on the 13th and 14th holes and an eagle on the 17th. They wrapped up the game with a birdie on the final hole for a round of 14-under 58.

Patty Tavatanakit and Jake Knapp were equally impressive in the second round, opening with a birdie on the first hole. They shot four birdies and a bogey on the front nine and three birdies on the back nine for an impressive round of 6-under 66.

In the third round, they started with an eagle on the first hole before carding a birdie on the sixth hole. They added four more birdies on the back nine to score 7-under 65 and won the tournament. Jeeno Thitikul and Tom Kim settled in solo second place while Jennifer Kupcho and Akshay Bhatia secured the third spot.

Here is the leaderboard of the 2024 Grant Thornton Invitational Open:

1 Patty Tavatanakit / Jake Knapp -27
2 Jeeno Thitikul / Tom Kim -26
3 Jennifer Kupcho / Akshay Bhatia -25
4 Brooke Henderson / Corey Conners -24
5 Celine Boutier / Matthieu Pavon -21
6 Lydia Ko / Jason Day -20
T7 Lauren Coughlin / Cameron Young -19
T7 Andrea Lee / Max Greyserman -19
T9 Megan Khang / Matt Kuchar -18
T9 Maja Stark / JT Poston -18
T11 Lilia Vu / Luke List -17
T11 Allisen Corpuz / Sahith Theegala -17
13 Nelly Korda / Daniel Berger -16
14 Lexi Thompson / Rickie Fowler -13
15 Mel Reid / Cameron Champ -12
16 Gaby Ruffels / Nick Dunlap -11