Andrew Novak and Lauren Coughlin have ended the year on a high note. A flurry of birdies on the final day of the Grant Thornton Invitational and the title in the bag. A million to share. Merry Christmas. Novak confirms himself as the great champion of pairs golf, after also winning mid-year at the Zurich alongside Ben Griffin. Put a Novak in your life.
The champion pair signed a 63 (-9) this Sunday in the modified fourball to lift the title with a three-shot lead at Tiburón Golf Club. Novak was the main protagonist with three consecutive birdies (13, 14, and 15) and one more on the 17th where he sealed the deal.
Coughlin, with everything decided, didn’t want to be left out and scored the last birdie of the day on the 18th to seal the tournament record (188 strokes, -28). Thus, the final point was put on this event, more festive than competitive, organized jointly by the PGA Tour and the LPGA Tour.
Until the 17th, the great attempt to dethrone Novak and Coughlin was led by Chris Gotterup and Jennifer Kupcho. They were ahead and held their nerve until the last moment. They made an unforgivable mistake in the fourball. Both missed the green in tricky areas and had to fight for par.
The final standings reflected the equality of the day and, at the same time, the authority of the winning pair. Novak and Coughlin won by three shots over Gotterup-Kupcho (also 63 on Sunday), Denny McCarthy-Nelly Korda (63), and Michael Brennan-Charley Hull (65), all of whom had their chances on Sunday. In fact, Korda had a putt of about three metres on the 18th for birdie that would have given a glimmer of hope or, at the very least, left them alone in second place. It didn’t go in.
The format, by the way, had quite a bit to do with the outcome. The modified fourball requires different thinking: both players tee off, then each plays the partner’s ball and the best result counts. A small twist on the traditional fourball that adds spice to the competition.
Novak, after conquering the Zurich, left the funny quote of the week: “We have won the modern Grand Slam” of team events. He may have said it with a laugh, but the result is very serious: second team title of the year for him and a cheque of 500,000 dollars for each member. For Coughlin, moreover, the biggest financial prize of her career, a golden finish for a player who had already shown last year that she knows how to win on the LPGA Tour.
