NAPLES, Fla. — Lexi Thompson and Wyndham Clark shared the lead Friday with Charley Hull and Michael Brennan, both teams making only three pars in the scramble format as each posted a 17-under 55 to set the scoring record in the Grant Thornton Invitational.
Scoring conditions were ideal at Tiburon Golf Club, and the format allowed for it.
Brennan, who started the year on the PGA Tour of Americas and won the Bank of Utah Championship on an exemption, was filling in for Daniel Berger. Brennan and Hull went 13 straight holes with a birdie or an eagle. They had to settle for pars on the 16th and 18th holes.
“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. So I was actually pretty nervous today,” Hull said. “Actually, it worked out pretty well.”
Thompson and Clark made birdie or eagle on nine of the last 10 holes, the only exception coming on the par-3 16th.
“I feel like we kind of have similar games,” 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.”
The 55 broke by one the record at the mixed-team event that began three years ago.
They had a two-shot lead over Lauren Coughlin and Andrew Novak. Rose Zhang and Michael Kim, Nelly Korda and Denny McCarthy, and Jennifer Kupcho and Chris Gotterup were three behind.
The format shifts to foursomes for Saturday, the most difficult of the formats because only one golf ball is in play as players alternate hitting shots. The final round Sunday is modified fourballs.
Defending champions Jake Knapp and Patty Tavatanakit were 7 under through six holes and played the last seven holes in 5 under. They had a 59 and were four shots behind.