The inaugural Grant Thornton Invitational field. | Photos by Getty Images and Logo by Grant Thornton Invitational
The Grant Thornton Invitational field is complete as the 16 pairings of PGA Tour and LPGA stars make this December event a must-see tournament.
The 16 teams for the Grant Thornton Invitational have been set as the event announced the final 10 pairings on Wednesday. This three-day event will take place Dec. 8-10 at Tiburón Golf Club at the Ritz-Carlton in Naples, Fla.
An incredible mixture of PGA Tour and LPGA stars shows these mixed events are good for golf. The inaugural event replaces the QBE Shootout to give golf fans the ability to see their favorite men and women play together.
“Interest from professionals on both tours was incredibly strong, and we are thrilled with the compelling mixed teams and world-class players heading to Naples this December,” said Rob Hartman, Grant Thornton Invitational Tournament Director, in a press release.
So much of the attention goes to the PGA Tour, and while it’s understandable, those men respect the women equally.
The Grant Thornton already announced these six pairings before rounding out the entire field:
*Rankings for the women are from the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings, and for the men, are from the Official World Golf Ranking.*
No. 29 Sahith Theegala and No. 32 Rose Zhang
No. 24 Rickie Fowler and No. 26 Lexi Thompson
No. 22 Tony Finau and No. 6 Nelly Korda
No. 153 Joel Dahmen and No. 1 Lilia Vu
No. 33 Corey Conners and No. 12 Brooke Henderson
No. 21 Jason Day and No. 9 Lydia Ko
That left 10 pairings to announce. Joining the six already committed are these 10 duos:
No. 8 Charley Hull and No. 37 Justin Rose
No. 14 Megan Khang and No. 38 Denny McCarthy
No. 5 Céline Boutier and No. 39 Harris English
No. 40 Andrea Lee and No. 52 Billy Horschel
No. 164 Mel Reid and No. 26 Russell Henley
No. 51 Cheyenne Knight and No. 55 Tom Hoge
No. 52 Madelene Sagström and No. 58 Ludvig Åberg
No. 10 Allisen Corpuz and No. 242 Cameron Champ
No. 2 Ruoning Yin and No. 48 Nick Taylor
No. 17 Leona Maguire and No. 32 Lucas Glover
Twenty-four of the 32 players in the field rank inside the top 50 in the world among the PGA Tour and LPGA rankings. There are seven of the women’s top 10 playing that weekend, and 13 are inside the top 50.
Among the 16 teams, there are 141 LPGA and PGA Tour titles. What is even crazier is that 25 of those career victories came this season.
11 major championship winners, including all five from the 2023 LPGA season, will play. Not to mention, there are 12 Solheim Cup and three Ryder Cup members.
So many of these pairings will draw young and old eyes to Naples.
Boutier, who helped Team Europe take home the Solheim Cup will be with Georgia Bulldog Harris English. This pairing is interesting but one that could really work in the various formats.
Theegala and Zhang give fans two of golf’s rising stars to drool over, while Fowler and Thompson give a brother-sister veteran vibe. He had to find a new pairing after Jessica Korda became pregnant, but the team with Thompson is even better.
It’s fantastic to see the all-Aussie group in Ko and Day, along with the Swedish team of Sagström and Aberg.
Each team will compete for an equal purse of $4 million. They will also play from the same tees, and each day will feature a new format. Pairings will compete in Scramble, Foursomes and a Modified Four-Ball.
Golf Channel will broadcast live on Friday from 1-4 p.m. EDT and Saturday from 2-3 p.m. On the final day of play, the coverage will be from 1-2 p.m. on Golf Channel. Then, it will switch to NBC from 2-4 p.m.
The tournament can also be streamed live on Peacock here: https://imp.i305175.net/c/482924/828265/11640
Savannah Leigh Richardson is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. You can follow her on Twitter @SportsGirlSL and Instagram @savannah_leigh_sports for more golf coverage. Be sure to check out @_PlayingThrough too.
