ORLANDO, Fla. — Last year’s ISPS Handa World Invitational winner Alexa Pano held her own on Sunday at the Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions, finishing solo second in her tournament debut after carding a 2-under 70 in the final round at Lake Nona Golf and Country Club.
Starting the day two shots back of Lydia Ko, the 19-year-old had a quiet front nine, making one bogey on the par-3 6th hole, one birdie on the par-5 9th hole and seven pars to turn in 36. Three straight pars on holes 10, 11 and 12 and a bogey on 13 saw Pano drop back to 9-under par, but she floored it down the stretch, grabbing a birdie on the par-4 14th hole and making back-to-back birdies on holes 16 and 17 to ultimately post a four-day total of 12-under and finish runner-up to Ko.
The second-place showing is Pano’s best finish on the LPGA Tour since she won in Northern Ireland last August, and it’s just the second time she’s finished in the top 10 in her LPGA Tour career. While she would’ve liked to give Ko more of a run for her money on Sunday in Orlando, Fla., Pano was pleased with her effort this week at Lake Nona and enjoyed the opportunity to tee it up alongside some Boston sports stars, something that was a treat for the New England Patriots-sponsored Pano.
“This week was super fun,” said the first-time Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions participant. “Got to have a lot of family out here, my sponsors. Got to meet some of my dream celebrities, and on top of it played some good golf. So, I had a pretty special week. It was a great start to the season.”
Comfortability has been key for Pano as she’s worked to feel like she belongs among the world’s best on the LPGA Tour since joining the organization last season. She said earlier in the week at the Tournament of Champions that she felt like she was a “kind of a mess” as a rookie but is now feeling more comfortable competing on the biggest stage in women’s golf, having made friends out on Tour and learned the ropes in 2023.
One can see that comfort in the way Pano carries herself. The 19-year-old is standing up a little taller, striding each fairway more confidently and facing every challenge with a can-do-it kind of attitude that takes some players a bit longer to figure out than others. She’s always known her game is good enough, but now the results are finally proving it, and Pano can’t wait to build upon her solo second finish at the Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions over the rest of her sophomore season on the LPGA Tour.
“It gives me a lot of good confidence going into the rest of the year,” said Pano. “Took me a while last year to get some good finishes in. This is really nice. Having everyone here with me was just a good refresher start to the year. I'm just excited to see what comes this year.”
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