Power Rankings: Grant Thornton Invitational
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Wednesday, Dec. 11 update: Tony Finau has withdrawn from the Grant Thornton Invitational. He is replaced by Daniel Berger who will play with Nelly Korda.
The holidays have a way of bringing people together. So, too, does the Grant Thornton Invitational.
For the second consecutive year, the annual gathering at Tiburón Golf Club at The Ritz-Carlton in Naples, Florida, showcases 16 teams consisting of one member each of the PGA TOUR and the LPGA. The three-day competition begins on Friday and features a different format in every round.
Continue reading beneath the full-field Power Rankings for more details.
| 16. | Mel Reid-Cameron Champ | Both are back this year, albeit with different partners. Reid went just 2-for-6 in 2024 and sits 400th in the world. Champ went 7-for-26 and is outside the top 400 in the OWGR. As a result, they’re the most likely (and dangerous) to feed off each other. |
| 15. | Patty Tavatanakit-Jake Knapp | This is a connection of two first-timers who made their headlines early in 2024 and since have faded overall. Tavatanakit won in consecutive weeks worldwide in February. Knapp broke through as a rookie in the second half of that fortnight. |
| 14. | Gabriela Ruffels-Nick Dunlap | A pair of rookies on their respective circuits, Ruffels rose to as high as 40th in the world but she had only two top 30s in her last 13 starts. The 20-year-old Dunlap has lived a year beyond belief with two wins. He’s been as high as 30th in the world. |
| 13. | Lilia Vu-Luke List | It’s been a long roller coaster ride of a 2024 for Vu, the former world No. 1 who placed T9 (with Joel Dahmen) here last year. Captured her lone victory immediately after a 10-week break for a sore back. Her balance can cover List’s weaknesses and so-so form. |
| 12. | Lauren Coughlin-Cameron Young | Coughlin connected for eight top 10s on the LPGA this year, but it was a four-start blitz across six weeks over the summer that resonates. It included her first two victories. Young’s inconsistency probably can benefit from having a teammate. |
| 11. | Celine Boutier-Matthieu Pavon | The all-French duo effectively is led by Boutier. Since a win on the LET two months ago, she has four top 10s and a pair of T12 in six starts, including her fifth straight top 20 at Tiburón. Also T12 here in last year’s inaugural. Pavon hasn’t made noise in months. |
| 10. | Lexi Thompson-Rickie Fowler | Of the four reunions, this duo was worst among them last year at T6. Thompson just ended her full-time role with a T49 at Tiburón but she’s done damage here with a win and a T2 among six top 10s. Fowler was fourth in his last start at the ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP. |
| 9. | Andrea Lee-Max Greyserman | Lee entered last year’s edition in scuffling form similar to her current. She and Billy Horschel settled for T14. Although having just wrapped his rookie year, Greyserman offers an elixir with red-hot form. Three seconds and a fourth in his last six starts. |
| 8. | Maja Stark-J.T. Poston | Stark had three podiums and a T4 this year but she’s without a top 40 in three tries at Tiburón. Drawing the unflappable Poston ain’t too shabby, especially since he recently won the Shriners Children’s Open. He was T2 in his only prior try here (in 2019). |
| 7. | Jennifer Kupcho-Akshay Bhatia | Kupcho is two years removed from her career year of 2022 during which she won three times, including a major. She’s been a regular at Tiburón but didn’t wrangle a top 25 until a T12 two weeks ago. Bhatia is soaring and in terrific form with a T2-fourth burst. |
| 6. | Allisen Corpuz-Sahith Theegala | Although Corpuz has been quieted since winning the U.S. Women’s Open last year, she’s tops on her tour in hitting fairways and 10th in greens hit. That can free Theegala to do his thing as he feels. Both pegged it here last year and neither threatened. |
| 5. | Megan Khang-Matt Kuchar | After finishing T4 (with Denny McCarthy) last year, Khang now joins forces with the all-time earnings leader at Tiburón. In a dozen starts at the QBE Shootout, Kuchar won thrice among eight top-threes. Both are sharpshooters with good recent form. |
| 4. | Jeeno Thitikul-Tom Kim | Somehow the 22-year-old Kim has a younger partner. Thitikul, 21, just won at Tiburón for her seventh straight top 10 upon arrival. She led the LPGA in greens hit, putting and scoring. Kim just took solo second at the Hero World Challenge. Expect fireworks. |
| 3. | Brooke Henderson-Corey Conners | The Canadian connection checked up one shot shy for solo silver here last year, so there is unfinished business. Neither won in 2024 but Henderson hung up nine top 10s among 12 top 25s. Conners’ totals were four and 13, respectively. Eerily similar profiles. |
| 2. | Nelly Korda-Tony Finau | Korda has seven wins in 2024, including her second major that punctuated a run of five straight victories at the time. She is the Rolex Player of the Year. Finau has rested since surgery on his left knee on Oct. 15. They were T4 here last year. |
| 1. | Lydia Ko-Jason Day | All of the other tandems will need to go through the defending champions. Ko also is a two-time winner here on the LPGA. She qualified for the LPGA Hall of Fame this year with the gold medal at the Olympics and won a major. Day is also on the team. |
Last year’s return to the co-ed competition on the Gold Course at Tiburón was the first of its kind pairing representatives of the PGA TOUR and LPGA since the JCPenney Classic in 1999. Lydia Ko and Jason Day prevailed by one stroke at 26-under 190. Although each wasn’t in tiptop form upon arrival, course familiarity and success could not be ruled out as a weapon. Both previously had lifted trophies on the course. Ko is a two-time winner of the CME Group Tour Championship, which is an official stop on the LPGA, while Day was on the winning team in the 2014 edition of what was then the QBE Shootout consisting only of PGA TOUR golfers.
Ko and Day comprise one of this week’s four teams carried over from 2023. Two of the other 12 teams consist of golfers with new partners who competed last year – Allisen Corpuz and Sahith Theegala; Mel Reid and Cameron Champ. And among the remaining 10 squads, four of the LPGA members have returned – Celine Boutier, Megan Khang, Andrea Lee and Lilia Vu.
The Gold Course is set up to tip at 7,382 yards for the guys and 6,788 yards for the ladies, but it’s a stock par 72 for all. The entire track is blanketed with Bermudagrass and there is no traditional rough framing holes, so fairways are quite wide. Native grass trimmed to four inches and waste bunkers consisting of coquina shells await the most wayward of misses. The putting surfaces are sizable and prepped to reach 12½ feet on the Stimpmeter.
The format for all three rounds follows the same schedule as last year.
The tournament will open with a traditional Scramble on Friday. This gives every team a jolt of confidence to hit the ground running. Nelly Korda and Tony Finau led outright after last year’s first round with a 56.
Foursomes (alternate shot) will guide the second round with partners splitting tee balls via odd and even holes. Ko and Day paced last year’s field in this format with a 66.
Sunday’s close is a modified Four-ball in which both teammates will tee off on every hole. From those landing spots, they will finish each hole with their partner’s ball. The Swedish duo of Madelene Sagström and Ludvig Åberg carded a field-low 60 in this format a year ago. (Neither is competing this week.)
Of the $4 million purse, the winning team will split $1 million evenly.
Fantastic weather is expected throughout the tournament. Sun-soaked days will accompany highs in the 70s. The constant of wind in south Florida should only be a mild nuisance on Friday midday.
Rob Bolton is a Golfbet columnist for the PGA TOUR. The Chicagoland native has been playing fantasy golf since 1994, so he was just waiting for the Internet to catch up with him. Follow Rob Bolton on Twitter.