Grant Thornton Invitational: Format, field and schedule as Nelly Korda headlines LPGA Tour mixed and PGA Tour team event

The Grant Thornton Invitational returns this week, Live on Sky Sportswith stars of the PGA Tour and LPGA Tour uniting in a unique mixed teams event. Here's a look at the format, scope, schedule and everything you need to know…

What is this?

The 54-hole competition is a coed event featuring 16 LPGA Tour professionals and 16 PGA Tour professionals competing together in a unique, jointly sanctioned tournament.

The three-day tournament offers three different formats for team play and allows a field of 32 players to compete for equal prize money and clear visibility.

It is the second year in a row that the tournament has appeared on the schedule, having been launched in 2023 as the first joint event between the LPGA Tour and PGA Tour since the JCPenney Classic in 1999.

What formats are used?

Friday's events are played under the name of a ScrambleEach player hits the tee shot and the team then chooses the ball that will be used for the next shot. Both players hit their next shot from that point and the process continues until the ball is holed.

The second round is used Quadwhere the players of each team exchange strikes with the same ball until the ball is holed. One player will play on the odd-numbered holes while the other player will play on the even-numbered holes.

Then the final round will be held on Sunday under the leadership of A Modified Fourballwhere both players start play and switch balls for second shots. They then play the same ball until it is holed, with the lowest score between the pair counting as the team's score for that hole.

Where is it played?

The tournament is being held at Tiburon Golf Club, which hosts the LPGA Tour's season-ending CME Group Tour Championship and the QBE Shootout – a group event that continues on the PGA Tour until it is removed at the end of 2022.

Who plays in it?

It features five of the world's top 10 players in the women's game, with world No. 1 Nelly Korda – the LPGA Tour Player of the Year after seven world wins in 2024 – partnering with Toni Finau and two-time major champion Liliya Fu alongside Luc List.

AIG Women's Open champion Lydia Ko returns to defend the title with former men's world number one Jason Day, with Solheim Cup star Celine Pottier also in contention and her compatriot and partner Mathieu Pavon.

Lexi Thompson is paired with Rickie Fowler and Lauren Coughlin plays alongside Cameron Young, while Sahith Thejala is the highest-ranked player in the men's game and will partner Alisin Corpuz.

What's up for grabs?

Although this event is jointly sanctioned by the PGA Tour and LPGA Tour, it does not count as an official tournament and the money won is unofficial in the standings throughout the season.

Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) and Women's Rolex World Golf Rankings points are not awarded, although there is a prize purse of $4 million (£3.1 million) and the winners will share equally $1 million (£784,000).

Who won it before?

Day and Ko are defending the title after last year's win by one shot over Conners and Henderson, while Swedish duo Ludwig Aberg and Madeline Sagström finished two shots back in third.

Theegala and Tom Hoge won the last edition of the QBE Shootout before it was cancelled, with Kuchar and Harris English three-time champions of the event in its old format.

How can I watch live on Sky Sports?

There will be three hours of live coverage for each of the three rounds, with coverage starting at 6pm on Friday and 7pm on Saturday before switching back to 6pm for the final day.

The tournament is one of two live on Sky Sports Golf this week, with the DP World Tour Alfred Dunhill Championship live from 10am on Thursday and Friday before kicking off at 9.30am over the weekend.

Who will win the Grant Thornton Invitational? Watch all week live on Sky Sports. Live coverage of the opening round starts on Friday from 6pm on Sky Sports Golf. Stream the PGA Tour and more now.