Miami (AFP) – Americans Andrew Novak and Lauren Coughlin won the PGA and LPGA Grant Thornton Invitational pairs tournament on Sunday to split a $1 million top prize at the $4 million event. Novak and Coughlin combined to shoot a nine-under 63 on Sunday to finish on a record 28-under 188 after 54 holes at Tiburon Golf Club in Naples, Florida.
“We were having a good time out there,” Novak said. “We were joking, talking about anything else and playing good golf.” Sixteen duos played a scramble format in round one, an alternate shot format on day two and a modified four-ball on Sunday, with both players teeing off then switching balls.
Related news
Sharing second on 191 were England’s Charley Hull and American Michael Brennan and the US pairings of Nelly Korda and Denny McCarthy and Jennifer Kupcho and Chris Gotterup. World number 32 Novak, 30, took his only PGA victory in this year’s pairs event at New Orleans alongside compatriot Ben Griffin. World number 20 Coughlin, 33, won last year’s Canadian and Scottish Opens for her only LPGA titles and collected her biggest career check with Sunday’s triumph.
“That’s pretty awesome,” Coughlin said. “But I was just so excited to get a win.” Three US duos were deadlocked for the lead on 24-under down the stretch — Coughlin and Novak, Kupcho and Gotterup, and Korda and McCarthy. “I just knew we had a lot of holes left to make birdies so I wasn’t thinking about it,” Kupcho said of the tight title fight.
Kupcho sank a tap-in birdie at the 15th hole to seize the lead at 25-under. Novak, however, made an eight-foot birdie putt at the par-five 14th and a six-foot birdie putt at the 15th to lift his team to the lead at 26-under. McCarthy sank a 10-foot birdie putt at the par-five 17th to pull himself and Korda within one of the lead, but Kupcho-Gotterup and Korda-McCarthy each parred 18 to shoot 63.
Novak sank a four-foot birdie putt at 17 for a two-stroke edge, and Coughlin curled in a long birdie putt at 18 to clinch the victory.
© 2024 AFP
