The First Look: Grant Thornton Invitational
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Editor's note: Tony Finau has withdrawn from the Grant Thornton Invitational as of Wednesday, Dec. 11. He is replaced by Daniel Berger, who will play with Nelly Korda.
The Grant Thornton Invitational is back. Last year’s mixed-team, co-sanctioned event was the first between the LPGA and PGA TOUR since the JCPenney Classic in 1999.
A unique, three-round competition is once again on tap and features 16 teams of global stars from both the men’s and women’s game – including LPGA Player of the Year Nelly Korda (after a seven-win campaign) and an impressive handful of 2024 TOUR winners.
Tiburón Golf Club, which has been the long-time host of the previous iteration of this event, also hosts the season finale on the LPGA, the CME Group Tour Championship.
Lydia Ko, who won three times on the LPGA this season – plus Olympic gold – returns to defend alongside Jason Day.
Here’s everything else you need to know from Naples, Florida.
TEAMS:
| LPGA | PGA TOUR | NOTES |
| Lydia Ko | Jason Day | Last year’s champions … Ko earned her way into the LPGA Hall of Fame this year after three wins (including a major) and a gold medal at the Paris Olympics … Day was a member of the Presidents Cup International Team and had four top-10 finishes on TOUR this year |
| Brooke Henderson | Corey Conners | Henderson, the winningest Canadian of all time on the LPGA or PGA TOUR, had nine top-10s this year including a T3 in her title defense at the season opener … Conners had four top-10s, played in the Olympics, and will end the year as Canada’s top-ranked male golfer. |
| Nelly Korda | Daniel Berger (replacing Tony Finau) | Korda had the most incredible of campaigns, winning seven times – including a major. She won the Rolex Player of the Year on the LPGA and will end the year ranked No. 1 in the world. |
| Lexi Thompson | Rickie Fowler | This year marked Thompson’s final year playing a full-time schedule on the LPGA. She had four top-10s in 2024 including a T2 at the Meijer LPGA Classic and was part of the victorious American Solheim Cup team … Fowler’s best result came at the ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP where he finished fourth. |
| Jennifer Kupcho | Akshay Bhatia | Kupcho had an impressive six top-10 results in 2024 highlighted by a runner-up at the LPGA’s team event, the Dow Championship … Bhatia notched his second career TOUR victory in April at the Valero Texas Open, winning in a playoff. |
| Celine Boutier | Matthieu Pavon | The French duo were both Olympians this year in their home country … Both Boutier and Pavon had four top-10s this season on their respective Tours, with Pavon breaking through for his first TOUR title at the Farmers Insurance Open. |
| Mel Reid | Cameron Champ | This is a first-time pairing for Champ and Reid. Reid played with Russell Henley last year and finished 13th while Champ finished T14 with Allisen Corpuz … The duo have combined for four career victories on their respective tours. |
| Andrea Lee | Max Greyserman | Lee recorded five top-10s this year including a T3 at the U.S. Women’s Open … Greyserman had an incredible back half of his 2024 season on TOUR, finishing in the top five in four of his last six events – including three runner-ups. |
| Jeeno Thitikul | Tom Kim | Thitikul had two wins and an incredible 12 top-10s in just 17 starts on the LPGA this season – including a win at the season-ending CME Group Tour Championship (also hosted at Tiburón) … Kim, part of the International Presidents Cup team, had two top-10s on TOUR this season. |
| Patty Tavatanakit | Jake Knapp | Set to be a duo of long-bombers. Knapp sits 24th in Driving Distance in TOUR while Tavatanakit sits 23rd on the LPGA … Tavatanakit had a career resurgence this year, finding the winner’s circle for the first time in three years … Knapp recorded his maiden TOUR victory earlier in 2024 at the Mexico Open at Vidanta. |
| Megan Khang | Matt Kuchar | Khang was part of the American Solheim Cup team and earned her way in thanks to five top-10s this year … Kuchar has won three times in previous team competitions at Tiburón. |
| Lilia Vu | Luke List | Vu returned with a vengeance after a back injury earlier in 2024 sidelined her for nearly three months, winning in her first start back. She also finished T2 the next week, at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship. Vu had four top-10s this year … List’s best result of the season came at The Genesis Invitational where he finished T2 in the Signature Event. |
| Maja Stark | J.T. Poston | Maja Stark’s 2024 campaign was highlighted by back-to-back runner-up results in April, including at The Chevron Championship, the first major of the year on the LPGA … Poston had a tremendous finish to his PGA TOUR season, winning the Shriners Children’s Open for his third career TOUR title and then finishing T5 at The RSM Classic. He had six top-10s this year. |
| Allisen Corpuz | Sahith Theegala | Corpuz was a model of consistency this year, missing just four cuts, notching three top-10s and being part of the winning American Solheim Cup team … Theegala finished third in the FedExCup standings this year on the back of nine top-10s. He comes to the Grant Thornton having finished eighth at the Hero World Challenge. Corpuz and Theegala are long-time friends. |
| Lauren Coughlin | Cameron Young | Coughlin had a career-year on the LPGA, winning twice in a three-tournament span and finishing the year with eight top-10s. She also played on her first Solheim Cup team. It was an extra special week for Coughlin, who grew up just 90 minutes from the Solheim Cup venue in Virginia … Young had just one missed cut all year – and six top-10s – and comes into the Grant Thornton fresh off a 13th at the Hero World Challenge |
| Gabriela Ruffels | Nick Dunlap | Ruffels had a very solid rookie campaign on the LPGA, highlighted by a pair of third-place finishes earlier in 2024 at the Fir Hills Seri Pak Championship and the Founders Cup … Dunlap had a spectacular 2024. He won The American Express as an amateur and then won again, now as a pro, at the Barracuda Championship, making it to the penultimate FedExCup Playoffs event. |
FORMAT: The 16 mixed teams will play three distinct formats including Scramble, Foursome and Modified Four-ball, each played in consecutive rounds. Round 1 will be the Scramble and Round 2 will be Foursomes (or, alternate shot). Round 3 will once again feature a “Modified Four-ball” format. Both players will tee off and then switch balls for their second shots, playing that shot until holed. The lower score of the partners counts as the team score.
COURSE: Tiburón Golf Club
Men: Par 72, 7,382 yards
Women: Par 72, 6,788 yards
The event has been played in Naples, Florida, since 2001. The layout is also the host of the LPGA season finale, the CME Group Tour Championship. For the women, about 200 yards have been added this year.
54-HOLE RECORD: 190, Lydia Ko-Jason Day (2023)
18-HOLE RECORD: 56, Nelly Korda-Tony Finau (Round 1, 2023)
LAST TIME: Lydia Ko-Jason Day topped Canadians Brooke Henderson-Corey Conners by one shot after a final-round 66, also holding off the hard-charging pair of Madelene Sagstrom-Ludvig Åberg. The Swedes’ 12-under 60 was the round of the day Sunday by three shots. Henderson-Conners fired a 9-under 63 Sunday to put a scare into Ko-Day,. but the winning pair made four birdies in the final nine holes, finishing at 26-under for the week. The Canadians finished at 25-under while the Swedes finished at 24-under. Denny McCarthy-Megan Khang along with Nelly Korda-Tony Finau finished at 23-under, tied for fourth.
How to follow (all times ET)
Television:
- Friday: 1-4 p.m. (Golf Channel)
- Saturday: 2-3 p.m. (Golf Channel), 3-5 p.m. (NBC)
- Sunday: 1-2 p.m. (Golf Channel), 2-4 p.m. (NBC)