PGA and LPGA come together in Florida for first mixed-team event since 1999

For the first time since 1999, the PGA and LPGA are coming together for a mixed-team co-sanctioned event that you’re not going to want to miss.

With $4 million in prize money on the line, the Grant Thornton Invitational will host 16 of each of the best male and female golfers in the world between the 8 - 10 December on the Tiburón Golf Course at The Ritz Carlton in Naples, Florida.

It's a star-studded field with eleven major champions, including Olympic champions Nelly Korda and Justin Rose, as well as 10 more Olympians and all five major winners from the 2023 LPGA Tour season — all of which are in the top five Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings.

The JCPenny Classic was the last mixed-team tournament where the PGA and LPGA Tours came together and it ran from 1960 through to 1999, where John Daly and Laura Davies took the final cup.

Nearly two and half decades later, the inaugural 54-hole Grant Thornton Invitational will see a tight battle between rising stars and golf greats alike.

Here are teams to follow, as well as the weekend schedule and how to watch.

Teams to Watch

Nelly Korda and Tony Finau

Both coming into the tournament on terrific form, Nelly Korda and Tony Finau will be a force to be reckoned with in Florida. Korda took Olympic gold at the Tokyo 2020 Games and currently sits at number five in the world. She also boasts five top 10s at Tiburón.

Finau sits at number 21 on the world leaderboard according to ESPN’s official world golf ranking for 2023 and has two PGA tour wins this year.

“Our games complement each other very well,” Finau said to the media in a press conference ahead of the Invitational.

“She’s been the best player in the women’s game for the past few years.”

Lilia Vu and Joel Dahmen

Lilia Vu headlines this team as the women’s top-ranked golfer in the world, having been named Rolex Player of the Year with four tour wins this year, two of those being majors. Partnered with her is 36-year-old Joel Dahmen, who expressed to the media just how excited he was to be playing with Vu.

“Now I get to play with the best -- you know, she's the best -- I think she's the hottest player in the world right now, doesn't matter what tour it is. So I'm just excited for that,” he said in a press conference ahead of the tournament.

The two have named themselves the ‘Vu-Tang Clan,’ and fans are loving it.

The teams of Céline Boutier/Harris English and Brooke Henderson/Corey Conners are two more to keep eyes on through the weekend.

Rose Zhang and Sahith Theegala

Rose Zhang made headlines earlier this year after taking an LPGA victory on her Tour debut. To make it all the more impressive, she did it less than one month after defending her NCAA title as individual champion. Still enrolled as a student at Stanford, the 20-year-old has partnered with Sahith Theegala, 2022 QBE Shootout champion at the Tiburón Golf Course with partner Tom Hoge.

Theegala ‘half-jokingly’ recruited Zhang when she was still an amateur, but the foresight paid off. The two have officially joined forces and between a win on the course last year and one of the most decorated amateur careers in women’s golf history, the pair should be expected to do some damage on the course.

Rickie Fowler and Lexi Thompson

Fan favorites Rickie Fowler and Lexi Thompson will have eyes on them as the two come together in attempts to become the first ever Grant Thornton champions.

Fowler boasts an impressive six PGA Tour wins and Thompson is an 11-time LPGA Tour winner and major champion who became the seventh woman to ever tee up in a PGA Tour event earlier this year.

“There’s a lot of pride at stake,” Fowler told media in a press conference ahead of the tournament. 

“We’re out there to play some good golf,” Thompson added.

Schedule and how to watch

Schedule and how to watch

Live coverage of the Grant Thornton Invitational can be found on golfchannel.com, Peacock and NBCSports.com.

Friday 8 December - Round 1

Tee Times: 9:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m.

9:10 – Mel Reid/Russell Henley, Allisen Corpuz/Cameron Champ
9:25 – Leona Maguire/Lucas Glover, Madelene Sagstrom/Ludvig Aberg
9:40 – Rose Zhang/Sahith Theegala, Lilia Vu/Joel Dahmen
9:55 – Megan Khang/Denny McCarthy, Cheyenne Knight/Tom Hoge
10:10 – Brooke Henderson/Corey Conners, Ruoning Yin/Nick Taylor
10:25 – Andrea Lee/Billy Horschel, Celine Boutier/Harris English
10:40 – Lydia Ko/Jason Day, Charley Hull/Justin Rose
10:55 – Nelly Korda/Tony Finau, Lexi Thompson/Rickie Fowler

Saturday 9 December - Round 2

Tee Times: 11:30 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.

Sunday 10 December - Final Round

Tee times: 9:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m.