Grant Thornton Invitational tees off
in Naples December 13-15

By: Bill Stanster – Photo by: Greg and Beverly Wise

Naples, Florida – The Tiburón Golf Club will once again play host to the annual Grant Thornton Invitational consisting of two-player mixed teams starting on Thursday, December 12^th thru Sunday, December 15^th. The Invitational was first playedin 2023 replacing the QBE Shootout on the PGA Tour schedule.

The 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 final 12 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.”

There are 10 major champions in the field, including two major winners from the 2024 LPGA Tour season—Lydia Ko and Nelly 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.

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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.

The the 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.

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.

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