‘Kicked Me Off’: LPGA Pro Reveals Shocking Truth Behind Sudden Exit From $4M Event With PGA Tour

Mel Reid is living a quiet life in the 2025 season. However, despite not having played since 2024, the LPGA winner remains as active as she can be. Last month, Reid turned her focus to the Atlantic Beach Classic. She used her experience to advise young golfers on hiring caddies, securing sponsorships, and more! Interestingly, she used to play a significant role in the Grant Thornton Invitational, according to the latest news. Shocked? We are, too!

This was the topic of conversation on the latest episode of Quiet Please! With Mel and Kira. The two hosted Joel Dahman, a PGA Tour pro, to discuss his full swing, caddy relationships, and workout routine. However, it’s the conversation between Reid and Dahman that caught our attention. Talking about their professional career in the sport, Kira shared Reid’s impressive 17 years in the game. Reid laughed and added, “I know it don’t [sic] look like that.” Dahman laughed as well and proceeded to make a fun proposal to her.

“You should invite me back to Grant Thornton and just have player one and done. Um, it won’t be about golf as much about entertainment. And we can just ride off into the sunset once every year.” Sounds like fun, right? However, Mel Reid didn’t take a moment to announce a very important thing. “I know that will [sic] be well–but I am not an ambassador anymore. They kicked me off.” Kira showed some surprise but Dahman nodded and said that he had a feeling about the same. However, Mel Reid reassured with her following comments, “I still have a good relationship with them. But it’s probably because I am not playing. It’s probably not great to have a LPGA ambassador who doesn’t play golf.”

With this news, Mel Reid’s two-year relationship with the Grant Thornton family comes to an end. Interestingly, the Grant Thornton Invitational began in 2023 as a mixed-player event, featuring 16 teams competing for a substantial purse of $4 million. In addition to Reid, the Grant Thornton family has included a strong lineup of star golfers as ambassadors, such as former ambassador Nelly Korda and current ambassador Lydia Ko.

While Mel Reid’s departure is surprising, it is understandable. The golfer has not participated in any LPGA events since the 2024 Meijer LPGA Classic for Simply Give. Here, she missed the cut, as she did in three other tournaments that year. However, Reid is not the first golfer to step away from the event’s ambassadorship; there have been several changes over time.

Grant Thornton Invitational is seeing massive changes ahead of the 2025 event

If you’re keeping up with the news surrounding the Grant Thornton Invitational, you may have noticed a significant change in its ambassadorship early this year. Olympic gold medalist Lydia Ko replaced World No. 1 Nelly Korda as one of the event’s ambassadors. It marked the end of Korda’s two-year journey with the Invitational. Ko viewed this opportunity as a major boost in her golf career and announced the news on social media with the caption, “Excited to join the @grantthorntonusa family.” With this move, she became one of the four remaining ambassadors.

In addition to her, only Jason Day, Tony Finau, Lilia Vu, and Lydia Ko remain as ambassadors for the Grant Thornton Invitational. Jason Day, Lydia Ko, and Lilia Vu were announced as the latest ambassadors in January, while Finau shares a solid 2-year-long relationship with the Grant Thornton family. However, a lot happened leading up to this change.

In its early days, the Grant Thornton Invitational featured a diverse group of ambassadors, including Nelly Korda, Tony Finau, Jessica Korda, Rickie Fowler, Mel Reid, Cameron Champ, and Michael Wilbon, all of whom were present in the 2023 season. Notably, Rickie Fowler and Jessica Korda were the event’s first ambassadors. This year, Fowler’s six-year relationship with Grant Thornton came to an end. Reflecting on his time, he stated in January, “I had an amazing run with Grant Thornton and left on good terms.” He and Lexi Thompson last participated in the Invitational last year.

Will more names be added to the list? Only time will tell. One thing’s certain: Mel Reid will be missed.