In their title defense of the Dow Great Lakes Bay Invitational at Midland Country Club, Cydney Clanton and Jasmine Suwannapura earned a runner-up result. To them, it felt like a win.
“Jasmine and I just talked on the 18th green, ‘Man, it feels like we won this one.’ It was tough conditions today, it was windy,” said Clanton. “We didn’t think anybody would go super low, but Ariya and Moriya played great. They deserve it.”
Team All In ended the week at 21-under par overall, three shots back of the 2021 champions Ariya and Moriya Jutanugarn and six shots shy of the tournament’s 72-hole scoring record that they set in 2019. Nonetheless, it was an all-in effort from both Clanton and Suwannapura in the Great Lakes State.
“Since the first day, we’ve been grinding hard and we stayed patient even though things didn’t drop,” said Suwannapura. “I’m really proud of us to finish second, but for us, I feel like we definitely won again because we grinded a played a lot of good golf this week.”
As it should be, chasing a tournament repeat is no easy task. The duo embraced the role of the hunted and performed admirably under the watchful eye of fans from across the greater Tri-Cities Region. “The fact that we were in contention every day, it was awesome to play consistent,” Clanton said. “We talked about how much we scrambled this week in comparison to two years ago. I don’t feel like we had to scramble as much. I swear, I thought it was way easier two years ago. We held our own out there.”
While it’s too early to commit to teaming up in 2022 and beyond, one thing is certain: the relationship that Clanton and Suwannapura have formed continues to blossom.
“Me and Cyd are great friends. I can talk with her about everything, like my personal life or golf stuff,” said Suwannapura. “We both feel very comfortable around each other. From now on, forever, we are going to root for each other, stay close and be very, very good friends.”
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