Tag: mixed golf

PGA Tour, LPGA announce new mixed-team event for 2023 season at Tiburon Golf Club

It will be the first mixed-team event since John Daly and Laura Davies won the JCPenney Classic in 1999.

It’s official. The PGA Tour and LPGA have announced a new mixed-team event for the 2023 season.

The PGA Touis set to debut Dec. 8-10 at Tiburon Golf Club in Naples, Florida, as part of the Challenge Season.

It will be the first mixed-team co-sanctioned event between the two tours since John Daly and Laura Davies won the final edition of the JCPenney Classic in 1999.

The 32-player field will be comprised of 16 PGA Tour and 16 LPGA players competing for a $4 million purse. The three-day event will be televised by NBC and Golf Channel.

“As we look to capitalize on the growing interest in the game of golf, the addition of a mixed event to the calendar has been a priority, and we greatly appreciate title sponsor Grant Thornton for their support in delivering an event that will make our sport more appealing and welcoming to all,” said PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan in a release. “We look forward to partnering with the LPGA as we deliver first-class entertainment and competition to our fans and the residents of Southwest Florida, who have embraced the PGA Tour for the past 22 years.”

Added LPGA commissioner Mollie Marcoux Samaan: “This is an important step forward for golf, women’s golf and the LPGA. We’re incredibly grateful for the leadership of our partners at the PGA Tour and Grant Thornton, and we look forward to producing a best-in-class event that inspires, elevates and advances opportunities for golfers around the globe.”

Grant Thornton is an official marketing partner of the PGA Tour and sponsors a roster of pros that includes Tony Finau, Rickie Fowler, sisters Nelly and Jessica Korda, Mel Reid and Cameron Champ.

“PGA Tour athletes playing alongside the best athletes from the LPGA Tour is going to be incredible for our fans,” said Finau. “They’ve been wanting something like this for a long time. Our fans deserve it, and seeing Grant Thornton stepping up to help the PGA Tour and LPGA Tour put together this tournament, I think is very special.”

Last year, Nelly Korda joined Lexi Thompson as the only women competing in the QBE Shootout at Tiburon. Korda tied for fifth with her partner, Denny McCarthy. Lexi and partner Maverick McNealy tied for 10th.

“The Grant Thornton Invitational really is about being inclusive and showing people that golf can be accessible for everyone, no matter what way you play,” said No. 2-ranked Korda. “This is going to be the perfect opportunity for me to do something important in helping to grow the game and inspire the next generation.”

Tiburon also plays host to the LPGA’s season-ending CME Group Tour Championship, which returns Nov. 16-19 with top-ranked Lydia Ko as defending champion.

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Sarah Jane Smith snaps 15-year victory drought, becomes third woman to win on Australia’s mixed-gender series

Of the eight events that have been staged in the series, women have won three of them.

Sarah Jane Smith snapped a 15-year victory drought in her native Australia, beating a field full of men in the process.

Smith, 38, shot 63-65 over the weekend at the Webex Players Series TPS Murray River mixed-gender event to win by five shots over Victorian Andrew Martin and Queenslander Shae Wools-Cobb. Of the eight events that have been staged in the series, women have won three of them, joining Australia’s Hannah Green last year and South Korea’s Min A Yoon at Rosebud the week prior to Smith.

Smith, whose last victory came on the Epson Tour, was joined by husband Duane and their 3-year-old son Theo at Cobram Barooga Golf Club. After losing her full LPGA card last season, Smith wasn’t sure if she would keep on playing. She finished 170th on the CME points list.

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Then the Orlando-based Smith spent some time during the offseason with Cameron Smith’s instructor, Grant Field, back home in Australia.

“He’s been drumming into me that ‘it’s not over unless I want it to be,’ ” Smith told Australian Golf Media. “To see everything come together this quickly is incredible. Because I was basically done at the end of last year, unless something changed drastically. I’m pretty happy, a little bit surprised with this.”

Next up for Smith is this week’s Vic Open at 13th Beach.

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