While the outstanding scores at the Grant Thornton Invitational highlight just how seriously the players were taking the event, it did appear that many seemed to have a lot more fun than they perhaps do most weeks on either the PGA Tour or the LPGA.
It is no surprise that a number of PGA Tour and LPGA players relish the chance to get involved in the Grant Thornton Invitational, with the event extremely unique in the current golfing calendar. Certainly, it has helped to have the likes of Nelly Korda, Jeeno Thitikul, Lexi Thompson and Lydia Ko involved.
Meanwhile, former world number one Jason Day won the event with Ko in 2023. And there are potential future major champions in the field in the form of Tom Kim and Akshay Bhatia.
Akshay Bhatia wants the PGA Tour and LPGA to create a new event after playing in the Grant Thornton Invitational
Bhatia and Jennifer Kupcho finished third in Naples, with the highlight of their week coming as they posted a 59 on Friday. And speaking after playing alongside Ko and Day during the final round, Bhatia suggested that he would like to see the two tours cross paths more often.
“Yeah, I feel like it’s so great for golf. I mean, I feel like golf has been so separated for the last three years, especially on our tour. For just us to come together as, you know, a collaboration, play together, get to know their games. Obviously I’ve known a lot about LPGA players for a long time, playing with Lydia was amazing, looked up to her. She came out real young,” he said.
“Yeah, I was telling her I feel like a Ryder Cup kind of scenario of LPGA and PGA would be so much fun. I think everyone out here will probably rate this tournament a 10 out of 10 every time. Just so fortunate that Grant Thornton did this event.”
Why an LPGA team could surprise plenty up against a PGA Tour side
A Ryder Cup-style event involving a team of LPGA players and a team of PGA Tour players could be absolutely phenomenal to watch – and may surprise a lot of people with how competitive it could be.
While the PGA Tour players would generally have a big advantage when it comes to distance, the LPGA team’s relentless accuracy could cause plenty of problems. Aaron Rai was the most accurate player off the tee on the PGA Tour in 2024, and his numbers would put him 81st on the LPGA this year.
Meanwhile, Daniel Berger noted that he was left shocked by some of the distances Nelly Korda was hitting.
Linn Grant has won the Scandinavian Mixed – an event co-sanctioned by the DP World Tour and the LET – in two of the last three years. So there is definitely scope for something to come along which gives the fans more matchplay and showcases some of the best across the two tours.
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