This past weekend was all for the golf fans. The Grant Thornton Invitational, considered the most inclusive tournament in professional golf, brought together 16 male-female pairings at the Tiburón Golf Club in Naples, Florida. Now in the tournament’s third edition, we have seen stellar LPGA golfers take the golf course and make strides in a tournament that is “reimagining what golf can be.”

A New Winner

After a competitive battle to take ownership of the top spot, American golfer Lauren Coughlin and her tournament partner, American Andrew Novak, took the grand prize home when Coughlin sealed the final round with a birdie putt in the last hole.

An All-American from the University of Virginia, Coughlin demonstrates her competitive spirit and dedication to the game. A successful 2024 brought her two LPGA wins and eight Top-10 finishes. At the Grant Thornton Invitational, Coughlin highlighted what this tournament means for camaraderie among both golf associations.

“I think it’s great visibility for the LPGA to be able to partner with the PGA Tour and to get to play with some of the best players in the world on the men’s side,” she told Sports Illustrated.

Past Winners’ Profiles

Alongside Coughlin, defending champion Patty Tavatanakit showed competitors and fans alike why she won last year. The Thailand native, who turned pro golfer in 2019, has been on the rise in the past few years. After playing for the UCLA Bruins, she stayed in the United States to work on her craft. In 2021, she finished in a solid 5th place at the opening LPGA Tour event and then claimed her first LPGA Tour win at the ANA Inspiration tournament in California. Tavatanakit is hoping to be an inspiration for the future of the sports growth in Thailand.

“As a Thai player, I grew up watching Ariya [Jutanugarn] and Moriya [Jutanugarn] play,” she told CNN in 2021. “They have always been inspired and an inspiration to all the young players in Thailand, so I just feel so honored to be recognized as one of the people who would make the game of golf in Thailand grow.”

New Zealand golfer Lydia Ko is no stranger to the podium at Grant Thornton, either—she won the inaugural Invitational in 2023. When she won, she echoed the tournament’s initiative to get across a different perspective of the golf community.

“I think every player that’s here, whether it’s the PGA Tour player or LPGA player, I think we’re here for more than just the prize money and winning. It’s about the growth of the game,” she said, according to LPGA.

As a respected figure in the world of golf, the LPGA inducted Ko into the Hall of Fame in 2024, making her the youngest golfer to accomplish this recognition. Her decorated playing career does it justice—she has 22 LPGA Tour wins, three major championships, and three Olympic medals. At the moment, it felt surreal for Ko, but she knew if she worked hard for it, it would happen at some point.

“Growing up, it wasn’t really a goal of mine to be in the Hall of Fame, because I didn’t really know what was required and I just felt like a little kid that was playing a sport,” she told Golfweek in July. “I just thought if I did the right things and it was meant to be, then at some point I was going to get into the Hall of Fame.”

“I think every player that’s here, whether it’s the PGA Tour player or LPGA player, I think we’re here for more than just the prize money and winning. It’s about the growth of the game.”

Lydia Ko

Jessica Korda Makes a Comeback

Six-time LPGA Tour American golfer Jessica Korda made headlines when she announced that she would be participating in her first ever Grant Thornton Invitational. After putting a pause to her career in 2023 due to an initial back injury and later pregnancy, it had been over two years since she last participated in an LPGA event.

Despite the time off, Korda was determined to get her feet wet once again. In balancing motherhood and a golfing career, she has been open about her experience getting back into the sport and what it was like to compete more than two years later.

“I’m still taking it very much slowly because if I were to come back out on tour, it wouldn’t be until mid-March, so I have plenty of time,” she said in preparation for the tournament. “It was more just the buildup to this event and we’ll see what we need to work on moving forward.”

These professional golfers are proof of how far we can go when it comes to passion and love for the game, especially in our efforts to bring more VISibility.