NAPLES, Fla. – Lexi Thompson presented partner Rickie Fowler a small cake – orange, of course – on the first tee Friday to celebrate his 36th birthday. Though the wind blew out the candles, the crowd at the Grant Thornton Invitational broke out in song.
Fowler and Thompson are one of only three teams returning from last year’s inaugural mixed-team event at Tiburón Golf Club. Defending champions Lydia Ko/Jason Day and Canadians Brooke Henderson/Corey Conners, who finished in second, are the other two returners. The Grant Thornton is the only co-sanctioned event between the two tours.
For Thompson, this marks her final event of what will be her last full-time season on the LPGA. The 29-year-old 11-time winner turned professional in 2010, only one year after Fowler. A former winner of the CME Group Tour Championship at Tiburon, Thompson experienced an emotional farewell just two weeks ago in Naples. Though she will play in a limited number of events in 2025.
The Grant Thornton begins with a scramble format. Fowler, a six-time winner on the PGA Tour, recorded his first top-10 finish in a span of 29 starts last October with a solo fourth finish at the 2024 Zozo Championship.
This article originally appeared on Golfweek: PGA Tour’s Rickie Fowler, LPGA’s Lexi Thompson at Grant Thornton
