NAPLES, Fla – Tournament officials announced three of the 16 teams who will compete in the second annual Grant Thornton Invitational, set to return Dec. 13-15, 2024, at the Tiburón Golf Club in Naples, Florida.
Lydia Ko and Jason Day are scheduled to defend their title from last December. Ko and Day led after the second round and held on for a one-stroke victory.
World No. 1 Nelly Korda, who has won six times in 11 starts on the LPGA Tour this season, will play with current World No. 18 Tony Finau. Korda and Finau partnered in last year’s inaugural Grant Thornton Invitational and finished T4.
“The Grant Thornton Invitational is truly one of one and getting to drive the game forward alongside such a great player and person in Tony Finau is something I’m really looking forward to doing again this year in Naples,” said Korda.
“I’m excited to reunite Team FiNelly at The Grant Thornton Invitational — seeing the impact Nelly has had on the women’s game this year has been incredible, and I’m thrilled to have her as my partner again at one of the coolest events of the year,” said Finau.
Lexi Thompson, who has announced that this will be her final full season on the LPGA Tour, will conclude her season in Naples this December when she once again partners with Rickie Fowler. This twosome was T6 a year ago. Thompson, 29, turned pro when she was 15 years old and has 11 LPGA Tour wins during her career.
“We are thrilled to welcome back this elite group of players to Naples this December,” said Rob Hartman, Grant Thornton Invitational Tournament Director. “We couldn’t be happier with how the first few teams came together, and we look forward to creating 13 more compelling teams as the year unfolds.”
Tournament officials also announced today that tickets for the 2024 Invitational are now on sale. There are three options to enjoy the mixed-team competition: General admission, the Michelob Ultra Brew House (an upgraded viewing experience between holes eight and 17) and the Garrison Brothers Distillery Bunker (a premier shared hospitality venue on the 18th green).
The tournament’s 32-player field, which is evenly comprised of PGA TOUR and LPGA Tour professionals playing on 16 mixed teams, will compete for an equal purse of $4 million and experience equal visibility and a different format of play each day. The unique and exciting approach during the three-day professional golf competition will include Scramble, Foursomes and a Modified Four-Ball format.
For Grant Thornton Invitational tickets and additional competition format information, visit the official tournament website: https://grantthorntoninvitational.com/tickets/.
About the Grant Thornton Invitational
The second annual Grant Thornton Invitational will be played in Naples, Florida on Dec. 13-15, 2024, at Tiburón Golf Club and The Ritz-Carlton Naples, Tiburón. The invitational is a mixed-team Challenge Season event that will see 16 LPGA Tour and 16 PGA TOUR professionals compete together in a unique co-sanctioned tournament. The three-day tournament will be televised on NBC and Golf Channel and allows the 32-player field to compete for an equal prize and visibility — a format new to the current era of professional golf. The Grant Thornton Invitational supports a variety of worthy charities, including participants in Grant Thornton’s Purple Paladins program, several historically black colleges and universities, CureSearch for Children’s Cancer, Warriors of Collier County and Golisano Children’s Hospital.
About PGA TOUR
By showcasing golf’s greatest players, the PGA TOUR engages, inspires and positively impacts our fans, partners and communities worldwide.
The PGA TOUR, headquartered in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, co-sanctions tournaments on the PGA TOUR, PGA TOUR Champions, Korn Ferry Tour, PGA TOUR Americas and administers PGA TOUR Q-School presented by Korn Ferry and PGA TOUR University. TOUR members represent the world’s best players, hailing from 28 countries and territories. Showcasing the biggest moments in the sport with history and legacy on the line, the PGA TOUR has long-term domestic distribution partnerships for broadcast coverage on CBS, NBC and Golf Channel and video streaming service on ESPN+. Internationally, PGA TOUR coverage is available across 200+ countries and territories in 28 languages via 44 broadcast and digital partners. Virtually all tournaments are organized as non-profit organizations to maximize charitable giving, and to date, tournaments across all Tours have generated more than $3.93 billion.
Fans can follow the PGA TOUR on the new PGA TOUR app and PGATOUR.COM, and on social media channels, including Facebook, Instagram (in Spanish, Korean and Japanese), LinkedIn, TikTok, X (in English, Spanish and Japanese), WhatsApp (in English and Spanish), WeChat, Weibo, Toutiao and Douyin.
About the LPGA
The Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) is the world’s premier women’s professional golf organization. Created in 1950 by 13 pioneering female Founders, the LPGA, whose members now represent more than 60 countries, is the longest-standing professional women’s sports organization. Through the LPGA Tour, the Epson Tour, the LPGA Professionals, and a joint venture with the Ladies European Tour, the LPGA provides female professionals the opportunity to pursue their dreams in the game of golf at the highest level. In addition to its professional tours and teaching accreditation programs, the LPGA features a fully integrated Foundation, which provides best-in-class programming for female golfers through its junior golf programming, and its LPGA Amateurs division, which offers its members playing and learning opportunities around the world. LPGA aims to use its unique platform to inspire, transform and advance opportunities for girls and women, on and off the golf course.
Follow the LPGA online at www.LPGA.com and on its mobile apps. Join the social conversation on Facebook, X (formerly known as Twitter), Instagram and YouTube.
About the LPGA Tour
The LPGA Tour is the world’s leading competitive destination for the best female professional golfers in the world. The Tour hosts more than 30 annual events across 10 countries for over 200 Active Players, awarding total prize funds exceeding $124 million and reaching television audiences in more than 220 countries. Follow the LPGA Tour on its U.S. television home, Golf Channel.
About Grant Thornton
“Grant Thornton” is the brand for two professional-services entities: Grant Thornton LLP, a licensed, certified public accounting (CPA) firm that provides audit and assurance services ― and Grant Thornton Advisors LLC (not a licensed CPA firm), which exclusively provides non-attest offerings, including tax and advisory services. With revenues of $2.4 billion for the fiscal year that ended July 31, 2023, and dozens of offices nationwide, Grant Thornton represents a community of more than 9,000 problem solvers, relationship builders, and industry specialists who know that how we serve matters as much as what we do.
Grant Thornton LLP, Grant Thornton Advisors LLC and their respective subsidiaries operate as an alternative practice structure (APS). The APS conforms with applicable laws, regulations and professional standards, including those from the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.
Grant Thornton LLP and Grant Thornton Advisors LLC serve as the U.S. member firms of the Grant Thornton International Ltd (GTIL) network. GTIL and its member firms are not a worldwide partnership and all member firms are separate legal entities. Member firms deliver all services; GTIL does not provide services to clients.
Contacts
Lee Patterson
Grant Thornton Invitational, Media Director
704.553.4790
lee@grantthorntoninvitational.com
Adam Bond
Grant Thornton
312.602.8332
Adam.Bond@us.gt.com
