Grant Thornton 2023 champs Lydia Ko and Jason Day face a challenge to win the 2025 tournament. (AP PHOTO)
Inaugural tournament champions Jason Day and Lydia Ko face an uphill battle to catch the runaway leaders after the opening round of the Grant Thornton Invitational.
The Australasian duo, who won the event back in 2023, fired a 12-under 60 in the scrambled event for mixed teams at the Tiburon Golf Club on Friday.
They went bogey-free and had 12 birdies, but men’s world No.53 Day and women’s No.6 Ko still find themselves under the pump in a tie for eighth.
They are one stroke behind defending champions Patty Tavatanakit and Jake Knapp (59).
But the real challenge facing the limited field is catching the joint leaders.
American Michael Brennan and Englishwoman Charley Hull enjoyed a day out, going around in 55 for a 17-under total for the lead.
Apart from the second and 16th holes, the pair made 14 birdies. They added eagles on the sixth and 14th for good measure.
“It’s quite funny because, actually, I was changing my swing last week, and I come on Tuesday and I could not even keep the ball on the planet,” Hull said.
“So I was actually pretty nervous today. Actually, it worked out pretty well.”
It was enough to set a new record in the scramble, only for it to be tied by Lexi Thompson and Wyndham Clark.
Hull and Brennan completed nines of 27 and 28, but the all-American pairing were not to be denied and shot 28 and 27 to earn their slice of history.
Thompson and Clark’s round included a two on the par-four 10th, to go with 13 birdies and an eagle.
“I feel like we kind of have similar games to be honest,” Clark said. “She hits it really far off the tee, and if one of us is in play, we’re significantly past kind of the competitors, and we have our advantage there.
“She’s a great putter. Yeah, I mean, really I felt like our games complement each other perfectly, and I didn’t think there was any flaws in her game.”
The pair hold a two-shot advantage over third-placed Lauren Coughlin and Andrew Novak, while Nelly Korda and partner Denny McCarthy sit a shot further back in a three-way tie for fourth after carding 58.
Coughlin and Novak made nine birdies in a row at Nos.6-14 – not bad after meeting for the first time this week.
“I do like team golf,” said Novak, who paired with Ben Griffin to win the Zurich Classic of New Orleans in April.
“I think it’s just a little bit different aspect to it. I’ve been lucky to have two good partners this year, and the vibes have been good during the tournament.”
Also on 58 are the all-American teams of Rose Zhang and Michael Kim, and Jennifer Kupcho and Chris Gotterup.
There are 12 women and seven men ranked in the world’s top 50 competing in the 16 teams, vying for prizemoney of $US4 million ($A6m).
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