Grant Thornton Invitational tees off December 13-15

The team of Tony Finau and Nelly Korda are among the favorites to win this weekend at Tiburon Golf Club in the 2nd annual Grant Thornton Invitational featuring two-player mixed teams.

NAPLES, Florida – Tiburón Golf Club will again host the Grant Thornton Invitational consisting of two-player mixed teams starting on Friday December 13 thru Sunday, December 15th. The Invitational was first played in 2023 replacing the QBE Shootout on the PGA Tour schedule.

The Grant Thornton Invitational features 16 mixed teams with an LPGA Tour golfer linking up with a PGA Tour golfer while teeing it up on Tiburon’s 7,382 yards par 72 Gold Course championship tees. They will be competing for a purse of $4 million over the three days. Each round has a different format starting with 18 holes of scramble, 18 holes of foursomes (alternate shot) and 18 holes of modified four-ball.

“We are thrilled with the collection of world-class players heading to southwest Florida this December. Interest from both tours continues to be strong, and we are incredibly pleased with the 16 mixed teams we’ve assembled,” said Rob Hartman, Grant Thornton Invitational Tournament Director. “These teams are comprised of many of the game’s rising stars, current-year LPGA Tour and PGA TOUR winners and members of both the 2024 Solheim Cup and Presidents Cup. Our inaugural year was extremely well-received, and we know that our tournament partners, fans and our global television audience are sure to again enjoy an exciting and unique three days of competition.”

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Defending champions Jason Day and Lydia Ko take a pose next to the 2023 Grant Thornton Invitational trophy.

There are 10 major champions in the field, including two major winners from the 2024 LPGA Tour season — Lydia Ko and Nelly Korda – winners at Tiburon in stroke play and team events include Jeeno Thitikul, who won the CME Group Tour Championship here in November. Additionally, eight of the LPGA Tour participants competed in this year’s Solheim Cup, while five PGA TOUR players competed in the Presidents Cup.

Several players have earned individual honors recently. Nelly Korda earned Rolex Player of the Year this season—an honor Lilia Vu won in 2023, and Lydia Ko earned in 2022 and 2015. Four players in the field have been nominated for this year’s Arnold Palmer Award, the PGA TOUR’s Rookie of the Year honor — Nick Dunlap, Max Greyserman, Jake Knapp and Matthieu Pavon. Jeeno Thitikul was the LPGA’s Louise Suggs Rookie of the Year in 2022. Additionally, Cameron Young was Rookie of the Year in 2022, and Rickie Fowler earned the honor in 2010.

Twelve players in the field competed in this summer’s Olympic Games held in Paris. Lydia Ko won Gold in the women’s competition, a field that also included Maja Stark, Brooke Henderson, Celine Boutier, Jeeno Thitikul, Nelly Korda, Patty Tavatanakit and Lilia Vu. Jason Day, Corey Conners, Tom Kim and Matthieu Pavon represented their respective countries.

The Golf Channel will broadcast Friday’s first round competition live from 1-4 p.m. ET. Saturday’s coverage will begin from 2-3 p.m. ET on Golf Channel, then switch to NBC from 3-5 p.m. ET. Final round coverage will air Sunday on Golf Channel from 1-2 p.m. ET and then switch to NBC from 2-4 p.m. ET.

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Crowd favorites at 2024 Grant Thornton Invitational include the team of Lexi Thompson & Rickie Fowler.

Following Saturday’s round, Live Fest will once again be held on the Tiburón Driving Range from 5-10 p.m. ET. This year’s lineup includes Lauren Alaina, Goo Goo Dolls and Old Dominion.

2024 GRANT THORNTON INVITATIONAL

Akshay Bhatia / Jennifer Kupcho

Cameron Champ / Mel Reid

Corey Conners / Brooke Henderson

Jason Day / Lydia Ko

Nick Dunlap / Gabriela Ruffels

Tony Finau / Nelly Korda

Rickie Fowler / Lexi Thompson

Max Greyserman / Andrea Lee

Tom Kim / Jeeno Thitikul

Jake Knapp / Patty Tavatanakit

Matt Kuchar / Megan Khang

Luke List / Lilia Vu

Matthieu Pavon / Celine Boutier

J.T. Poston / Maja Stark

Cameron Young / Lauren Coughlin

Sahith Theegala / Allisen Corpuz

https://grantthorntoninvitational.com/

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Bill Sangster, a life-long golf aficionado and former Sergeant in Marines, moved to Cape Cod in 1974 where he raised his family while working as educator with the Sandwich School System for 23 years. With his Falmouth home adjacent to Paul Harney’s Golf Course, Bill spent many days learning and playing the game of golf. He was a member of White Cliffs Country Club and Sandwich Hollows Country on Cape Cod. In 2018 he continued his love for the game of golf by moving to “The Villages” in Florida. He now will admit to anyone who asks that he is addicted to the game of golf! Bill can be reached at sangsterbill33@gmail.com.

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