NAPLES (Fla.) – Rose Zhang was not even born when the PGA Tour & LPGA last held a mixed team event. Ludvig was only 2 months old when Laura Davies and John Daly, legends of the JCPenney Classic, won the final edition in December 1999.
What happened this week at Grant Thornton’s inaugural invitation was a brand new concept for generations of players – and now they want to see more.
Billy Horschel said that bringing together the two tours was necessary for golf. We do a lot for the players but we should also be thinking more about the fans.
Tiburon Golf club had more fans than previous QBE Shootouts or CME Group Tour Championships. Cheyenne Knight and partner Tom Hoge teed off with the crowd on the first tee. According to officials, ticket sales and concessions sales have doubled compared to the QBE last year and that hospitality has sold out.
Knight hopes that some of these fans will return next year to the CME. The winner of the CME will receive $4 million, the biggest prize in women’s sport.
Joel Dahmen was amazed at the sheer number of children he saw on the PGA Tour this week. He said that watching Lexi Thompson’s ace Saturday was one of his highlights of the year.
Dahmen said after the Saturday foursomes, “There is no reason why we cannot have more mixed team events.” There are many events on the PGA Tour and ratings are not always great in some fields. It would be great to bring in women’s golf.
Lexi was a better competitor today than I am.
The second round of Grant Thornton Invitational was held at Tiburon golf club in Naples, Florida on December 9, 2023. Lexi Thompson and Rickie Fowler, both of the United States, watched from the first hole. Cliff Hawkins/Getty Images (Photo)
The U.S. was the main topic of conversation at Grant Thornton in early week. Golf Association and R&A news about rollbacks and Jon Rahm’s LIV Golf drama were among the controversies dominating golf talk on social media. However, the action at Tiburon provided golf fans with a welcome escape from what divides them.
Grant Thornton celebrated camaraderie and competition, as well as inspiration. The junior clinic on Thursday with Amy Bockerstette and Jessica Korda was a great example of what golf can achieve. Bockerstette’s “I Got This Foundation” is among the charities to benefit from the money raised during this week.
Sahith Theegala, as he walked onto the first tee on Friday, turned to Dahmen’s caddie, and said how “cool” he thought it was to be in the same group with Lilia Vu. She is the first woman to hold the world number one ranking. He’d never played with a world No. 1 before, but he was excited to play alongside Zhang, an amateur who he thought would become a future LPGA No. The LPGA’s No.
Theegala said that he and Joel joked about how Lilia and Rose would be better than us. He won his first PGA Tour championship at the Fortinet Championship this year.
All week long, PGA Tour players admired LPGA players’ games. It felt real. Former No. Jason Day, former No.
Justin Rose, the major champion, described Charley Hull as an “old-school” player by describing how she shapes her iron shot. He described Hull as “fearless,” and her short game was “unbelievable.”
This kind of praise is a great way to build respect for the female golfers who are constantly fighting for attention from the sporting world and those in the golfing community.
Charley Hull and Justin Rose, both of England, talk at the second green of the Grant Thornton Invitational, which will be held on the 8th of December 2023, in Naples, Florida. (Photo by Douglas DeFelice/Getty Images).
Rose, the woman who created and funded the Rose Ladies Series to provide British players with a venue to compete during the COVID-19 Pandemic, is more fortunate than others.
Rose said, “You have to be aware of the fans in order to achieve pay equality.” “Because at the end, it is a commercial enterprise,” said Rose. It’s important to have people watching the show in order to make money from it.
“I think that fans will be more inclined to watch the game in the future if they can pick their favorite player, are more knowledgeable about the level of skill involved with women’s football, and identify with players’ stories. This is a key event to do this.
Nick Taylor was surprised to see how fans in Naples were shocked when women hit the ball closer than men. Shotlink was not available for this week’s tournament, but next year, the unique formats, such as modified fourball where players drive and then change balls, can provide interesting data.
It has been long discussed that Olympic golf should be a mixed event. This was brought up again in Naples as well as a bigger mixed team event such the Presidents Cup.
Horshel said, “Looking at the grand ball I’ve got going on here, someone has to step up.”
“A team competition Ryder Cup style between the U.S., Europe or the U.S., women and men… I believe that would be another success for all involved. I think it’s on the horizon.
If it isn’t being discussed, I don’t really know. Maybe we should change the people who are in those positions to get more innovative thinkers.
It is essential to the game.
