Does the 2023 Grant Thornton Invitational Provide OWGR and Rolex Points to the PGA Tour and LPGA Players?

In just a matter of days, history will be created at the Tiburón Golf Club and the Ritz-Carlton Naples, Tiburón. The top 16 players from the LPGA and the PGA Tour will come together for the first time in over 20 years to share the same grounds at the Grant Thornton Invitational, a co-sanctioned event.

With such a significant event underway, many questions have arisen, arguably the biggest of which is: What are these golf pros playing for? Are there any ranking points on the line for when the two sides of golf pair up and compete? Dive into the answers to these big questions with us.

What’s on the line for the PGA Tour and LPGA golf pros at the Grant Thornton Invitational?

In regular events on the PGA Tour, there is a lot on the line: multi-million-dollar purses, FedEx Cup points, exemptions, and even the most coveted OWGR points. The LPGA Tour too sees similar prizes at stake with their lucrative purses, Race to CME Globe points, and lastly, the Rolex rankings, which, like the OWGR, lead directly to an increase in the pro’s world standings.

Some events, however, don’t follow the stakes of the regular ones, negating some of the winner’s perks, and the Grant Thornton Invitational is one such event. The unofficial co-sanctioned event neither offers FedEx Cup or Race to CME Globe points to the respective tour, nor, as per their websites, does it offer any OWGR or Rolex ranking points. Why though?

The reasons could be many, but arguably the most prominent are that the event has an extremely limited field of 16 golfers from each side, and giving them points for competing this week would be an unfair advantage to them. Moreover, seeing as to how the mixed-field tournament is invitational based on sponsors and not all the other male and female pros had an equal chance of qualification, a payout in ranking points would only be unjust.

Instead, the golf pros will be competing for a whopping $4 million purse at the Grant Thornton Invitational, which will be split equally between both tours (i.e., $2 million for each side in total). The winning team will take home $1 million of the total purse ($500,000 to each pro), and the rest of the purse is divided among the golfers based on their leaderboard standings on Sunday. All the competing players will get a bit of the total purse.

Also Read – Why Are LIV Golfers Not Playing the 2023 Grant Thornton Invitational, Despite It Being the First Mixed Event in 20+ Years?

The likes of Nelly Korda, Tony Finau, Lexi Thompson, and Rickie Fowler will be headlining the event, with one LPGA star paired up with one PGA Tour pro. Tune in to find out which team makes history at this inaugural event.

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