Tavatanakit and Knapp in control, Boutier and Pavon hold on

The mixed tournament Grant Thornton Invitational is still dominated by the Paphangkorn Tavatanakit/Jake Knapp duo. Already in the lead after the first round, the Thai and the American widened the gap by negotiating the foursomes day well. Once again solid, Céline Boutier and Matthieu Pavon have lost ground, but they remain at the forefront.

In this 2nd round once again contested in ideal conditions, the unexpected leaders of the first round held the course somewhat miraculously, thanks to the quite breathtaking putting of Jake Knapp in particular and also sometimes that of Paphangkorn Tavatanakitswhile the American and the Thai did not always find their way to the fairways.

By scoring an excellent 66 in foursomes, they put themselves two shots ahead of Tom Kim et Atthaya Thitikulauthors of the card of the day (64) and for the quadruple winner on the LPGA Tourthe blow of the day with this exit from the bunker returned.

Two Thai women will therefore face each other in the final part on Sunday. The podium is completed by Jennifer Kupcho et Akshay Bhatiawhile the title holders Lydia Ko et Jason Day are fourth, five shots from the lead and therefore a little behind.

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Boutier and Pavon in the top 5

Excellent fifths, Celine Boutier et Matthew Pavonthey too, risk having difficulty getting involved in the fight for victory. But they were once again solid in a demanding formula. Despite sometimes putting at half mast, the French duo played an excellent 67 (-5). The birdie at 16 returned by the winner of theEvian Championship 2023 was good for morale.

To hope for a podium, they will have to be more efficient on the greens, Sunday, during a final day of a modified four-ball (each player will hit their second shot with the ball put into play by their partner). But the French pair are already living up to this first participation.

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