Five Things to Know About the 2025 Grant Thornton Invitational
Top LPGA and PGA Tour stars are pairing up once again for the third running of the Grant Thornton Invitational, which tees off this Friday at Tiburón Golf Club in Naples, Florida.
Sixteen mixed teams
One woman from the LPGA, one man from the PGA Tour, will battle it out over three days in a mixed format. This year’s field is absolutely stacked: ten major champions between them, boasting a whopping 134 victories on their respective tours. Fancy a proper look at who’s playing, how it all works and who might nick the title? Keep your eyes peeled – full preview coming shortly.
Format
Right then, here’s how the weekend’s going to play out at the Grant Thornton Invitational. Three days, three completely different formats. Proper variety
Friday: Scramble time. Both players smash a drive, pick the one they fancy (usually the one in the fairway rather than the car park), and from there they both hit from the same spot until the ball’s in the cup. Absolute birdie-fest, this one. Expect some ridiculously low scores.
Saturday: Foursomes (or alternate shot if you’re feeling American). One ball, two players taking turns to hit it. The big decision is who tees off on the odd holes and who gets the evens. Get that wrong, and you’re in all sorts of bother. Nerves of steel required.
Sunday: A spicy modified fourball to finish. Both tee off, then – and this is the clever bit – they swap balls for the second shot. So you’re now playing your partner’s drive. From there, everyone plays their own ball in, and the lowest score on each hole counts. Brilliant twist that keeps the drama right until the last putt.
Teams
The Grant Thornton Invitational just keeps getting interesting, doesn’t it? Every year, they roll out a fresh batch of mouth-watering pairings, and this lot teeing it up at Tiburón is properly tasty. Sixteen teams, LPGA and PGA superstars side-by-side, all chasing a chunky $4 million purse down in Naples, Florida.
Some proper firepower in this field this year with major winners, world-beaters, and a few cheeky partnerships that could cause absolute carnage. The full line-up of teams is dropping shortly, so keep your eyes peeled.
Trust me, you’ll absolutely want to see who’s playing with whom this year. Proper juicy pairings incoming. Who are you sticking with? Fancy we’re in for a few shocks?
Take a look at the teams:
Lauren Coughlin and Andrew Novak
Brooke Henderson and Corey Conners
Charley Hull and Michael Brennan
Megan Khang and Keith Mitchell
Lydia Ko and Jason Day
Jessica Korda and Bud Cauley
Nelly Korda and Denny McCarthy
Jennifer Kupcho and Chris Gotterup
Andrea Lee and Billy Horschel
Maja Stark and Neal Shipley
Patty Tavatanakit and Jake Knapp
Lexi Thompson and Wyndham Clark
Lilia Vu and Tony Finau
Lottie Woad and Luke Clanton
Angel Yin and Tom Hoge
Rose Zhang and Michael Kim
Right, pinch me, I can’t believe that Jessica Korda is actually back. The big-hitting blonde we’ve all missed since she packed it in mid-round at the 2023 Founders Cup is finally swinging in competition again after back trouble and welcoming little Greyson into the world last February.
Teaming up with Bud Cauley for her Grant Thornton debut (and with sister Nelly in the field too), this feels proper emotional. Six LPGA wins, three Solheim Cups on the CV – if that back holds, she’s still got serious game. Welcome back, Jessica.
The rookie invasion is ridiculous this year, isn’t it? Eight fresh PGA Tour faces, and the standout pairing has to be Florida State’s finest: Lottie Woad (who only went and won the Scottish Open on debut, cheeky mare) and Luke Clanton, both former world amateur number ones.
Then you’ve got Wyndham Clark linking up with Lexi Thompson, Chris Gotterup (July’s absolute bandit) with Kupcho, and Rose Zhang dragging Michael Kim into the mixed-team madness. Throw in Neal Shipley, Keith Mitchell and Andrew Novak (fresh off a Zurich Classic win) and the “newbies” could easily turn this tournament on its head.
And spare a thought for Patty Tavatanakit and Jake “Rocco” Knapp – the defending champs who went wire-to-wire last year. No one’s ever gone back-to-back in this event, but Patty ended the season strong with a T7 right here at Tiburón, and Knapp’s been peppering top-10s all year. If they bring the same vibes they had in 2024, someone’s going to have to play lights-out to prise that trophy off them. Roll on Friday, this is going to be phenomenal.
Now contact me on X or subscribe to my YouTube channel to continue the discussion. Andre Van Zark, writer for Femme Sports Journal.