Golf Canada’s Weekly Leaderboard powered by Titleist

LPGA TOUR

Patty Tavatanakit holed a 25-foot birdie putt on the 16th hole and Jake Knapp gave them the lead on the next hole as the UCLA duo combined for a one-shot victory in the Grant Thornton Invitational. Knapp and Tavatanakit, who both won on their respective tours on the same day this year, finished at 27-under and each picked up $500,000 of the $4 million purse for the victory. Jeeno Thitikul and Tom Kim finished birdie-birdie to end up in second place while Akshay Bhatia and Jennifer Kupcho finished third after making their lone bogey of the day on the final hole. Corey Conners and Brooke Henderson, who were briefly tied for the lead on the final day, played the back nine in seven under par but simply ran out of holes and settled for fourth place. The Canadian pair finished runner-up a year ago. The tournament features three different formats of team competition across the three days of play with round one being a scramble, round two played as foursomes, and the final round a modified four-ball. …Conners and Henderson were one of only three returning teams this year and one of four teams who also participated in the men’s and women’s competitions at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

NEXT EVENT: Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions (Jan 30)

PGA TOUR

Lanto Griffin holed a 40-foot eagle putt on the first hole on his way to a final round 63 and a three shot victory at the PGA Tour Q-School. He was one of six players who earned their tour cards for next season. Griffin started the final round on the bubble to be one of the players to earn promotion but went out in 6-under par and was never really challenged on the back nine. Hayden Buckley made birdies on two of his final three holes to finish second while former world No. 1 amateur and seven-time Japan Tour winner Takumi Kanaya finished solo third. He will be one of five Japanese players on the PGA Tour in 2025. Alejandro Tosti, Will Chandler and Matthew Reidel finished tied for fourth to secure the remaining three tour cards. Tosti was 5-over after the first two rounds but rebounded on the weekend with rounds of 65 and 69 while Chandler shot 30 on the back nine to move up six places and secure his card. Reidel, who started the final day tied for the lead, found himself outside the top five after playing the first 10 holes 3-over par. A birdie on the 16th hole proved pivotal as it helped secure his PGA Tour card for next season. Alistair Docherty, who started the day tied for the lead and with a three shot cushion over the cut line, started with a double bogey and then dropped two more shots before making the turn. He didn’t make a birdie until the 17th hole, leaving him one shot shy of securing promotion to the PGA Tour. …Sudarshan Yellamaraju has earned exempt status through multiple reshuffles on the Korn Ferry Tour, which should guarantee him at least 8 starts next year. …Myles Creighton, Sebastian Szirmak, and Matthew Anderson have earned conditional status on the Korn Ferry Tour and are exempt through the Latin America Swing of the PGA Tour America’s season next year.

NEXT EVENT: The Sentry (Jan 2)

EUROPEAN TOUR

Shaun Norris of South Africa erased a six-stroke deficit to win the Alfred Dunhill Championship by one shot. It is his second career win on the European Tour, with his first also coming in his homeland back in 2022. It is his second win in three weeks after winning the Golf Nippon Series JT Cup in Japan. Third round leader Marcus Kinhult, John Parry and Ryan van Velzen all finished tied for second. Van Velzen was tied for the lead playing the final hole but put his tee shot into the water. He could not convert the par putt which would have forced a playoff.

NEXT EVENT: AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open (Dec 19)