In creating the Grant Thornton Invitational, we wanted to do more than bring top LPGA and PGA TOUR talent together in an exciting, innovative way. We wanted to reimagine what a golf tournament could be and create a level playing field where female athletes earned equal visibility, reward, and esteem alongside their male counterparts. We wanted the world to see the gender gap between golfers—and, more importantly, close it. The Grant Thornton Invitational did this by removing those barriers, bringing men and women together to share the spotlight and accolades on a level playing field. Our vision: Make the Grant Thornton Invitational synonymous with visible proof of progress and use it to build a future for golf that is representative of our commitment to parity and equality in the workplace and in sport—to build bridges between what golf is and what it can be, for everyone.

Grant Thornton believes barriers are part of the course, but they should never be part of the game. That’s why we created the Grant Thornton Invitational—to build bridges between what golf is and what it can be for everyone. We didn’t simply revamp an existing tournament; we made an unmissable statement about our values by:

-Uniting the PGA TOUR and LPGA with a historic, mixed-team event and equitable playing format that captured the attention of the golf world. 

-Prioritizing gender parity across event coverage, promotion, marketing representation and payout structure, tackling disparities between PGA TOUR and LPGA players.

-Delivering our equality-focused message and achieving tangible proof that we’re growing the game.

The event not only moved the needle for gender parity and representation in golf; it solidified our commitment to driving inclusivity and providing equal opportunity for all.

As a professional services firm, it’s table stakes to have DE&I goals and objectives for sports sponsorships, but we were determined to outdo the typical diversity-driven activations to achieve an outcome of tangible proof that actually changes the game. We carefully curated every aspect of the brand experience to prove our commitment to parity, including:

Harnessed the growing momentum around women’s sports. The highly vocal response from the golf community and media landscape in the lead-up months solidified our intuition: the sports world was eager for a mixed team event. 

Collaborated with players on format, ensuring parity and equality were ubiquitous.

Committed to a notable $4M purse split equally, the 7th highest payout on the LPGA.

Utilized our brand ambassadors representing diversity in age, gender and culture to tell the story of our brand’s commitments.

Crafted our visual brand to embody our mission and make our event approachable to all.

As a tentpole moment for the Grant Thornton brand and the most public display of our firm’s DEI commitments, Grant Thornton’s brand awareness skyrocketed through 3.95M social impressions, 3B media impressions, 1,271 tournament placements, 391% increase in Share of Voice in December, with 99% positive media coverage sentiment.

YOY metrics included the following INCREASES: 78% in attendance, 30% in broadcast viewership, 127% in concession sales, 566% in on-site media attending.

Search for Grant Thornton outpaced competitors during tournament week and exceeded RSM Classic search (a competitor’s PGA TOUR event) by nearly double.

Our clients (50% female) compared their experience to other corporate events a 9.7/10, with a 94 NPS average.

With $11.4M in wins plus an $80.5M+ pipeline, we’re forecasted to achieve 6:1 ROMI (vs. 4:1 goal) but most importantly, the inaugural Grant Thornton Invitational set a new par for representation, parity, and inclusivity in golf.