PGA Tour, LPGA announce a return to mixed-team tournament, sponsored by Grant Thornton
The PGA TOUR, LPGA Tour and Grant Thornton LLP announced on Wednesday that PGA Tour and LPGA players will compete in a mixed-team event as part of the unofficial money Challenge Season.
The Grant Thornton Invitational will be Dec. 8-10 at Tiburón Golf Club and The Ritz-Carlton Naples. The format was used in an event sponsored from 1960-1999, the last 15 years as the JC Penney Classic at the Innisbrook Resort in Palm Harbor.
The winners of the last JC Penney Classic were John Daly and Laura Davies. The tournament was also won twice by World Golf Hall of Fame members Davis Love III and Beth Daniel (1990 and 1995), Fred Couples and Jan Stephenson (1983), Tom Kite and Daniels (1981) and Curtis Strange and Nancy Lopez (1980).
The field will be 16 two-player teams competing for a $4 million purse, over 54 holes. NBC and Golf Channel will be the broadcast partners.
The trade-off will be the end of the QBE Shootout, a two-player event for PGA Tour players that has been at Tiburon since 2001 and has been a part of the Challenge Season since 1988.
“As we look to capitalize on the growing interest in the game of golf, the addition of a mixed event to the calendar has been a priority, and we greatly appreciate title sponsor Grant Thornton for their support in delivering an event that will make our sport more appealing and welcoming to all,” PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan said in a statement. “We look forward to partnering with the LPGA as we deliver first-class entertainment and competition to our fans and the residents of Southwest Florida, who have embraced the PGA Tour the past 22 years.”
LPGA commissioner Mollie Marcoux Samaan promised “a memorable and entertaining experience for all golf fans.”
“This is an important step forward for golf, women’s golf and the LPGA,” she said in her statement.
It’s also another level of involvement in golf for Grant Thornton, an audit, tax and advisory firm. It’s one of the three presenting sponsors for The Players Championship and an official marketing partner with the PGA Tour and sponsors players such as Tony Finau, Rickie Fowler, Nelly Korda, Jessica Korda, Mel Reid, and Cameron Champ.
The firm also operates an initiative to help Historically Black Colleges and Universities grow the game of golf and create new opportunities for student-athletes. It currently supports golf programs at Alabama State, North Carolina A&T, North Carolina Central, Prairie View A&M, Tennessee State and Texas Southern.
“PGA Tour athletes playing alongside the best athletes from the LPGA Tour is going to be incredible for our fans,” Finau said in a statement. “They’ve been wanting something like this for a long time. Our fans deserve it and seeing Grant Thornton stepping up to help the PGA TOUR and LPGA Tour put together this tournament, I think is very special.”
In a sense, the last QBE Shootout offered a test case of mixed teams. Korda and Denny McCarthy tied for fifth last year and Lexi Thompson and Maverick McNealy tied for 10th.
“The Grant Thornton Invitational really is about being inclusive and showing people that golf can be accessible for everyone, no matter what way you play,” said No. 2-ranked Korda. “This is going to be the perfect opportunity for me to do something important in helping to grow the game and inspire the next generation.”
Tiburon also hosts the LPGA’s season-ended CME Group Tour Championship, \won last year by Lydia Ko, and the PGA Tour Champions Chubb Classic, won last week by Bernard Langer.
“We are particularly excited to host this special event in Southwest Florida, where the PGA Tour has been warmly welcomed every year since 2001 by the Naples community," Monahan said. "The Tour has a loyal partner in Tiburón Golf Club and The Ritz-Carlton Naples, Tiburón, and we look forward to seeing the first-class experience they put on for our fans.”
Samaan said the LPGA players more than held their own.
"When LPGA Tour athletes have played alongside PGA Tour athletes, the men often praise the impressive talent and skills of our women," she said "So far, these compliments have only been based on exposure to a handful of our players at a few select events. I can’t wait to see how amazed everyone will be when we pair up for a three-day competition."
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: PGA Tour, LPGA revives mixed-team event to be played in Naples
