The second playing of the Granton Thornton Invitational kicks off this week in Naples, Florida, where plenty of PGA Tour and LPGA stars will team up and vie for a $1 million prize.
Fifteen of the 16 women playing this week played in this year’s Solheim Cup in Virginia, as Mel Reid, who served as a television analyst that week, is the outlier.
But one fan favorite on the men’s side will have to miss out. Tony Finau withdrew, citing his ongoing recovery from an October knee surgery, which means his partner, Nelly Korda, will now play with Daniel Berger.
That should not diminish the fun of this tournament. Players, fans, and the media commended the PGA Tour and LPGA for organizing this event a year ago, one filled with stars, entertainment, and drama. Officials were so satisfied with their maiden event that they did not make any significant changes to this year’s edition besides building a structure around the first tee. Fans wanted to see the stars tee off, similar to the robust grandstands that surround the opening tee at the Ryder Cup, Presidents Cup, and Solheim Cup. Officials estimate that this new structure has about 300 tip-top seats, a much smaller build than what is seen at the aforementioned competitions. But since the first tee had so many fans last year, officials had no choice but to do something. They left room for others to watch while standing too.
The format itself also received critical acclaim, leaving officials no choice but to utilize it again this year. Day One will feature a two-person scramble. Day Two will be an alternate shot, as in the Ryder Cup. The Final Round is a modified four-ball: Both players hit their tee shots, and then they switch golf balls for their approach until their ball is holed. The lower score of the partners is then counted as the team score for the hole.
Jason Day and Lydia Ko won last year, and this Australian-New Zealand duo is back to defend their title. Other notable pairings include Lexi Thompson and Rickie Fowler, as well as Brooke Henderson and Corey Conners, a pair of Canadians.
All 16 teams are listed below, with each player’s rankings included and one tidbit about each team:
1. Lydia Ko and Jason Day
World Golf Rankings: Ko (3), Day (34)
The all-Australiasian duo won last year, so they can undoubtedly do it again in 2024. Ko has had a terrific season, highlighted by her win at St. Andrews. Day, meanwhile, finished 33rd in the FedEx Cup rankings, but his new deal with Malbon Golf drew more attention to him than his play this year.
2. Nelly Korda and Daniel Berger
World Golf Rankings: Korda (1), Berger (133)
Nelly Korda won seven events during her historic 2024 season, five of them coming in a row. She has the best swing in all of golf—you can learn a lot just from watching her tempo. Berger, meanwhile, finished the 2020 season ranked 13th in the world. He then made the 2021 Ryder Cup team, posting a 2-1-0 record to help the Americans steamroll the Europeans at Whistling Straits. His ranking then plummeted in the subsequent years due to a back injury he suffered after missing the cut at the 2022 U.S. Open. Berger went on to miss 18 months, returning to the PGA Tour in January 2024. His most recent start came at the RSM Classic, where he posted a T-2—his best finish since winning the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am in 2021.
3. Lexi Thompson and Rickie Fowler
World Golf Rankings: Thompson (51), Fowler (73)
This could be Lexi Thompson’s swansong, as she announced her retirement from playing full-time earlier this year at the U.S. Women’s Open in Lancaster. Fowler recently posted his first top 10 this season in Japan, thus keeping a 16-year streak intact.
:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25705172/1845835187.jpg)
4. Brooke Henderson and Corey Conners
World Golf Rankings: Henderson (25), Conners (41)
Oh, Canada! My home and native land… Brooke Henderson and Corey Conners finished runner-up to Ko and Day a year ago, and they have the talent to take home the title this year. These two Canadians have 13 top 10s combined in 2024.
5. Lilia Vu and Luke List
World Golf Rankings: Vu (5), List (118)
After teaming up with Joel Dahmen one year ago, Lilia Vu has a new partner in Luke List, who has two career PGA Tour victories. Vu battled a back injury earlier this year but won immediately upon her return in June. She also finished T-2 at Sahalee and St. Andrews.
6. Rose Zhang and Sahith Theegala
World Golf Rankings: Zhang (13), Theegala (13)
California… knows how to party… Californians are also very good golfers and look no further than this duo, who tied for ninth last year. Both Rose Zhang and Sahith Theegala picked up their first career wins in 2023, and Zhang added a second one earlier this year.
7. Jeeno Thitikul and Tom Kim
World Golf Rankings: Thitikul (4), Kim (21)
Call this the ‘Team of Youth.’ Jeeno Thitikul, who is 21 years old, and Tom Kim, who turned 22 in June, will make their debuts at the Grant Thornton Invitational this year. Thitikul and Kim have seven combined career victories, which includes Thitikul’s win at the CME Group Tour Championship last month. She also won the season-long Aon Risk-Reward Challenge and the $1 million prize that comes with it.
8. Patty Tavatanakit and Jake Knapp
World Golf Rankings: Tavatanakit (26), Knapp (87)
This all-UCLA team features Patty Tavatanakit and Jake Knapp, who will debut in this event this year. Tavatanakit has two wins—one of them a major—to her name, while Knapp’s maiden victory on the PGA Tour came in Mexico in February.
9. Megan Khang and Matt Kuchar
World Golf Rankings: Khang (21), Kuchar (117)
This is an interesting pairing, considering Matt Kuchar is 20 years older than Megan Khang. Kuchar has one top-10 finish and a bizarre Monday finish at the Wyndham Championship this season, while Khang posted five top-10s.
10. Celine Boutier and Matthieu Pavon
World Golf Rankings: Boutier (8), Pavon (30)
Watch out for this French duo. Celine Boutier is one of the best players in the world and finally won her first major championship last year in her home country. Matthieu Pavon, meanwhile, has quickly become a PGA Tour stalwart, as he kicked off his rookie season with a win at Torrey Pines.
:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25787948/2186330820.jpg)
11. Andrea Lee and Billy Horschel
World Golf Rankings: Lee (53), Horschel (16)
After a disappointing T-14 finish last year, Billy Horschel and Andrea Lee reunite after both players had strong seasons. In late February, Horschel almost fell out of the top 100 but has since climbed into the top 20, thanks to a solid finish at The Open and an epic playoff win over Rory McIlroy at Wentworth. Meanwhile, Lee tied for third at the U.S. Women’s Open and has five top 10s this year. They should fare much better this time around.
12. Jennifer Kupcho and Akshay Bhatia
World Golf Rankings: Kupcho (47), Bhatia (29)
Another team that will make its Grant Thornton Invitational debut this year is Jennifer Kupcho and Akshay Bhatia, who have five combined career wins. Bhatia won the Valero Texas Open earlier this year, while Kupcho posted six top 10s.
13. Gabriela Ruffels and Nick Dunlap
World Golf Rankings: Ruffels (49), Dunlap (32)
This young team will also make its first start this year. Gabriela Ruffels, 24, has four top 10s on the LPGA this season, an impressive accomplishment as a rookie. Nick Dunlap, another highly touted rookie, burst into the sporting world’s mainstream by winning The American Express in January—the first amateur to win a PGA Tour event since Phil Mickelson did so in 1991.
14. Lauren Coughlin and Cameron Young
World Golf Rankings: Coughlin (15), Young (38)
Another pair of newbies. Lauren Coughlin has had a stellar season, highlighted by her tremendous play at the Solheim Cup in Virginia. Cameron Young, meanwhile, continues to search for his first win. The former Wake Forest Demon Deacon has six top-10s this season, including a T-9 at Augusta National. He also led after the first round of the Hero World Challenge but then faded over the weekend.
15. Mel Reid and Cameron Champ
World Golf Rankings: Reid (404), Champ (403)
Their rankings certainly jump off the page, but Mel Reid and Cameron Champ are Grant Thornton ambassadors, hence their inclusion in the field. These two players have four combined victories; anything can happen in any given week. Plus, Reid played on four European Solheim Cup teams.
16. Maja Stark and J.T. Poston
World Golf Rankings: Stark (27), Poston (33)
Maja Stark made 15-of-19 cuts this season and has four top-10 finishes, including a solo second to Korda at The Chevron Championship in April. J.T. Poston, meanwhile, just won the Shriners Children’s Open, his third career PGA Tour victory. Poston’s rank of 33rd in the Official World Golf Rankings is also a career-high. This duo will team up together for the first time.
Jack Milko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. Follow him on X @jack_milko.
