The inaugural Grant Thornton Invitational is here and it’s sure to be a great week at Tiburon Golf Club in Naples, Florida.
PGA Tour and LPGA stars have teamed up and are ready to do battle over the course of three days. The first round will be a scramble, the second foursomes (alternate shot) and there will be a new format in play on Sunday. The “modified fourball” consists of both players hitting a tee shot, then switching balls for their second shots and playing that ball until they complete the hole. The lowest of the two scores will count for the team.
Here are some of the notable pairings: Tony Finau/Nelly Korda, Rickie Fowler/Lexi Thompson, Sahith Theegala/Rose Zhang and Lydia Ko/Jason Day. The No.1-ranked Lilia Vu will play alongside fan-favorite Joel Dahmen.
This will be the first co-sanctioned event between the Tour and LPGA since 1999.
Golf course
Tiburon Golf Club | Par 72 | Home to LPGA’s CME Group Tour Championship
The 18th hole at Tiburon Golf Club in Naples, Florida. (Photo: Douglas P. DeFelice/Getty Images)
Format, teams and betting preview
| Round/Day | Format |
| Round 1/Friday | Scramble |
| Round 2/Saturday | Alternate Shot |
| Round 3/Sunday | Modified Fourball |
Men’s yardage: 7,382 yards
Women’s yardage: 6,595 yards
| PGA Tour | LPGA |
| Ludvig Aberg | |
| Cameron Champ | Allisen Corpuz |
| Corey Conners | Brooke Henderson |
| Joel Dahmen | Lilia Vu |
| Jason Day | Lydia Ko |
| Harris English | Celine Boutier |
| Tony Finau | Nelly Korda |
| Rickie Fowler | Lexi Thompson |
| Lucas Glover | Leona Maguire |
| Russell Henley | Mel Reid |
| Tom Hoge | Cheyenne Knight |
| Billy Horschel | Andrea Lee |
| Denny McCarthy | Megan Khang |
| Justin Rose | Charley Hull |
| Nick Taylor | Ruoning Yin |
| Sahith Theegala | Rose Zhang |
| Player | Odds | Player | Odds |
| Finau/Korda | (+550) | Taylor/Yin | (+1400) |
| Aberg/Sagstrom | (+700) | Day/Ko | (+1400) |
| Rose/Hull | (+1000) | Dahmen/Vu | (+1400) |
| Theegala/Zhang | (+1100) | McCarthy/Khang | (+1600) |
| Glover/Maguire | (+1100) | Horschel/Lee | (+1800) |
| Fowler/Thompson | (+1100) | Hoge/Knight | (+2000) |
| English/Boutier | (+1200) | Henley/Reid | (+2000) |
| Conners/Henderson | (+1200) | Champ/Corpuz | (+2500) |
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Rose Zhang of the United States prepares to play her shot from the second tee during the first round of the CME Group Tour Championship at Tiburon Golf Club on November 16, 2023 in Naples, Florida. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
Zhang has played some great golf over her last three starts. She tied for third at the Maybank Championship, for 15th at the Toto Japan Classic and for 13th at the CME Group Tour Championship (played at Tiburon).
Theegala on the other hand missed the cut in his latest start (World Wide Technology Championship). However, he won the Fortinet Championship earlier this fall and grabbed a top-20 finish at the Zozo Championship (T-19).
Harris English of the United States and Matt Kuchar of the United and his caddie and son Cameron Kuchar celebrate with the trophy after winning on the 18th green during the final round of the QBE Shootout at Tiburon Golf Club on December 13, 2020, in Naples, Florida. (Photo by Cliff Hawkins/Getty Images)
English, alongside Matt Kuchar, won the QBE Shootout at Tiburon three times (2013, 2016 and 2020). In his lone start during the FedEx Cup Fall, English tied for 28th at the RSM Classic.
Boutier had herself quite the season. She won four times, including the Maybank Championship in late October. After missing the cut at The Annika, Boutier grabbed a share of 16th at the CME.
Jason Day of Australia plays his shot from the fourth tee during the second round of the Hero World Challenge at Albany Golf Course on December 01, 2023 in Nassau, Bahamas. (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)
Ko had a tough season, but she did end it on a high note. In her final three starts, Ko finished third at the BMW Ladies Championship, T-11 at the Maybank Championship and T-31 at The Annika. In 2022, Ko won the CME Group Tour Championship.
The second half of this Aussie pairing is also a past champion at Tiburon, winning the 2014 QBE Shootout alongside Cameron Tringale. Day played great for the first three days at last week’s Hero World Challenge, but a final-round 2-over 74 sent him down the board a bit.
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