“This is just a great experience” - Lydia Ko shares her Grant Thornton Invitational experience and hopes to inspire junior golfers

Lydia Ko has admitted to enjoying her playing experience at the Grant Thornton Invitational and hopes to inspire many juniors who are either present at the event or following it on TV.

Ko and her partner Jason Day carded 6-under-66 on Friday, which was played in the foursome format. After two rounds at the Tiburon Golf Club, the duo is aggregated at 20-under and has a two-stroke lead over Nelly Korda/Tony Finau and Lucas Glover/Leona Maguire.

Speaking at the post-round interview, Ko explained her sentiments about playing at a mixed event like the Grant Thornton Invitational. She said:

"I think this is just a great experience for me, and I hope a lot of juniors who are either here this week or watching on TV get inspired and hope that one day they play on the PGA or the LPGA and they too are paired up with another fellow player on the other tour."

She added that the outcome and results were secondary. What's more important was the experience of playing with the PGA Tour pros.

"Jason's only the fourth PGA TOUR player I've played with," she said. "I think it's great—something that I can learn a lot from. I think these kind of different formats, it really brings people in that may not necessarily really like to watch 72 holes, your standard event.

"I think this is a great movement, and for Grant Thornton to give us an opportunity like this for not only us but hopefully the future 3 generations, it's an exciting place to be and I'm grateful to be a part of this inaugural event," she concluded.

Ko and Day will begin the final round of the Grant Thornton Invitational on Sunday, December 10, at 10:35 am ET. They are grouped with Nelly Korda and Tony Finau as the last pair to tee off on the day. Korda and Finau are tied for second with Lucas Glover and Leona Maguire at 18-under.

Team Korda/Finau lost their lead after shooting 2-under 70 in the second round, while Glover-Maguire carded 3-under 69 to hold their position.

The final round of the Grant Thornton Invitational will kick off at 8:50 a.m. ET. Cameron Champ and Allisen Corpuz are grouped with Tom Hoge and Cheyenne Knight and will be first to tee off on Sunday.

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How did Lydia Ko perform in the LPGA 2023 season?

Here's a look at Lydia Ko's results in the 2023 season:

• The ANNIKA driven by Gainbridge at Pelican: T31
• Maybank Championship: T11
• BMW Ladies Championship: 3
• Buick LPGA Shanghai: T50
• Walmart NW Arkansas Championship presented by P&G: T48
• Kroger Queen City Championship presented by P&G: T41
• Portland Classic: CUT
• CPKC Women's Open: 71
• AIG Women's Open: CUT
• The Amundi Evian Championship: T61
• Dana Open: T65
• U.S. Women's Open: T33
• KPMG Women's PGA Championship: T57
• Meijer LPGA Classic for Simply Give: CUT
• Mizuho Americas Open: T33
• Cognizant Founders Cup: T42
• The Chevron Championship: CUT
• DIO Implant LA Open: T34
• HSBC Women's World Championship: T31
• Honda LPGA Thailand: T6