NAPLES, Fla. — Leona Maguire, Lucas Glover, and others were not well-known when they entered the first Grant Thornton Invitational, even though Glover had won twice this year and Maguire was a Solheim Cup champion.
Maguire is a fan of the underdog.
The LPGA and PGA Tour have never played a mixed team event before, but this is the first time since 1999 that the JCPenney Classic was held.
Maguire and Glover birdied their first 10 holes of the scramble format in order to reach a score of 15 under 57. They are one shot behind Nelly Korda/Tony Finau, and tied with Megan Khang/Dennis McCarthy who shot 27 on their back nine.
Glover and Maguire first met in person at Tiburon on Tuesday’s chipping green.
Glover said that they were assigned to each other and they met via text. They then played some games on Tuesday.
Glover did indeed Google Maguire and learned that she had a twin sister who was in dental school. He was searching for anything to help break the ice. Glover, 44, also asked Justin Thomas and other younger PGA Tour players if they were familiar with Maguire.
Maguire, who already knew Glover won a major in 2009 (the U.S. Open), also searched the web. She probably would’ve made this year’s U.S. Ryder Cup Team.
She said, “Maybe they were lucky that Lucas was not in Rome.”
Megan Khang and Denny McCarthy, both from the United States, talk at the second green of the Grant Thornton Invitational, which took place on December 8, 2023, in Naples, Florida. Douglas DeFelice/Getty Images (Photo)
Nelly Korda said to her former QBE partner McCarthy, that Khang was her best friend. The week was going to be fun.
McCarthy said, “We met Tuesday night, and I felt like we were already good friends.”
Khang said that she had already told McCarthy’s mother that her son was a good one.
Khang said, “I almost forgot that we were playing in a tournament.”
Khang said that the shot of the day was on the par-4 thirteenth hole when she drove the ball into a bunker 35 yards from the hole. McCarthy told Khang to get close and he would hole it.
He did exactly that.
McCarthy said, “Babe Ruth I called my shot and pointed.” “That’s nice.”
For the Saturday round, foursomes will be used.
