--- title: The Grant Thornton Invitational | 6th Hashtag Sports Awards description: Global awards recognizing excellence in fan engagement and celebrating creativity across sports marketing, media & entertainment image: https://www.hashtagsports.com/hubfs/awards/shortlist-2024/gti-two-tours-one-comp.webp --- The Grant Thornton Invitational | 6th Hashtag Sports Awards # The Grant Thornton Invitational - Two Tours. One Competition. [Grant Thornton LLP](https://www.grantthornton.com/) The 6th Annual Awards Nominee ✨ - Best Brand Sponsorship - Diversity Equity Inclusion & Belonging Share [** ](https://www.hashtagsports.com/awards/shortlist-2024/the-grant-thornton-invitational#) [** ](https://www.hashtagsports.com/awards/shortlist-2024/the-grant-thornton-invitational#) [** ](https://www.hashtagsports.com/awards/shortlist-2024/the-grant-thornton-invitational#) ABOUT THIS ENTRY At Grant Thornton, we understand barriers are part of the golf course but believe they shouldn’t be part of the game. That’s why we developed the Grant Thornton Invitational—to go beyond the expectations of sports sponsorship and create a more equal playing field for golf. While the fight for pay equity has made headlines for several sports in recent years, professional golf has lagged in action.  We wanted the world to clearly see the gap in visibility, reward and esteem between male and female golfers—and, more importantly, to close it. ![Image](https://www.hashtagsports.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Assets-2024-shortlisted/pDGabWqM.jpg?width=1920&height=1080&name=pDGabWqM.jpg) How does this represent “Excellence in Engagement”? In uniting the PGA TOUR and LPGA with a barrier-breaking, mixed team, co-sanctioned event highlighting an equitable playing format, we captured the attention of the golf world and engaged fans in an entirely new and innovative way. By prioritizing gender parity across the event’s coverage, promotion, marketing representation and payout structure, we set a new standard for representation, parity, and inclusivity in golf that turned our branding into an unforgettable experience and achieved measurable impact on growing the game of golf. Objective A mixed-team competition had not happened since 1999 and had never been co-sanctioned by both the LPGA and PGA Tours. The Grant Thornton Invitational was our opportunity to challenge expectations, walk our talk on DE&I in golf and take a tangible step to build a future for golf that is more equal, inclusive and representative for all golfers. We distinguished our innovative event from expected diversity-driven sponsorship activations by: 1. Uniting the PGA TOUR and LPGA with a historic, mixed team event highlighting an equitable playing format that captured the attention of the golf world. 2. Prioritizing gender parity across the event’s coverage, promotion, marketing representation and payout structure. 3. Delivering on our equality message and achieving tangible proof that we’re growing the game. If we could make this happen, it would be a monumental step toward putting both male and female players on an equal playing field and moving the needle for gender parity and representation for the game at large. Strategy & Execution The Grant Thornton Invitational was not about re-branding the previous tournament it replaced, but an opportunity to make an impactful statement through our new, innovative event. We collaborated with players to create our format, ensuring parity and equality were at the heart of play. No other professional golf event incorporates players’ voices like this. A notable $4M purse, split equally between the male and female winning team. Our six brand ambassadors represent diversity in age, gender and culture and were featured equally in all event content and promotion. From client entertainment to PR to charitable initiatives, they lent their platforms to promote our shared mission. Our visual brand embodied our mission, including a “pair of tees” secondary logo (playing on the word “parity”) and a re-imagined trophy symbolizing the best of golf coming together for equality. Each client hospitality guest (50% female) had a front-row seat to history. A Women’s Executive Forum highlighted powerful female voices. Through our sponsorship of six HBCU golf teams, we provided the opportunity for one male and female athlete to play in the Pro-Am. During the tournament, we co-hosted a golf clinic for local athletes with intellectual disabilities with the I GOT THIS Foundation. ![Image](https://www.hashtagsports.com/hs-fs/hubfs/awards/shortlist-2024/grant-thornton-hero.webp?width=1920&height=1080&name=grant-thornton-hero.webp) **Organizations** - Grant Thornton - Grant Thornton Invitational - Wasserman - Weber Shandwick - imre - Sugar Shack - PGA TOUR - LPGA - NBC/Golf Channel **Links** - [  Website](https://grantthorntoninvitational.com) **Featured** - Cameron Champ - Nelly Korda - Jessica Korda - Mel Reid - Rickie Fowler - Tony Finau - Michael Wilbon **Credits** **[John Harmeling](https://grantthornton.com/)** former CMO Grant Thornton **[Allison Kelly](https://www.linkedin.com/in/allison-kelly-5050b2b/)** Head of Sponsorship Marketing Grant Thornton **[Libby Erker](https://www.linkedin.com/in/libby-welsch-erker-a7a7285/)** Associate Director, Sponsorship Marketing Grant Thornton **[Reedy Foster](https://www.linkedin.com/in/reedy-foster-b069014/)** Associate Director, Sponsorship Marketing Grant Thornton **[Todd Saunders](https://www.linkedin.com/in/todd-saunders-5b4a944/)** Associate Director, Sponsorship Marketing Grant Thornton **[Kelly Bodi](https://grantthornton.com/)** Senior Associate, Sponsorship Marketing Grant Thornton **[Amanda Hopkins](https://grantthornton.com/)** Associate Director, Sponsorship Marketing Grant Thornton **[Anna Gentile](https://www.linkedin.com/in/anna-gentile-b21323a7/)** Senior Associate, Sponsorship Marketing Grant Thornton **[Jon Rucket](https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonrucket/)** Senior Director, External Communications Grant Thornton **[Adam Bond](https://www.linkedin.com/in/adam-bond/)** Associate Director, External Communications Grant Thornton **[Chris Castleberry](https://www.linkedin.com/in/chris-castleberry-485a618/)** VP, Golf Wasserman **[Rob Hartman](https://www.linkedin.com/in/rob-hartman-5a60685/)** Tournament Director Grant Thornton Invitational **[Andrew Culp](https://www.linkedin.com/in/agds/)** Associate Director, Golf Wasserman **[Kate Roundy](https://www.linkedin.com/in/kate-r-1036b422/)** Senior Manager, Golf Wasserman **[Brian Gabriel](https://www.linkedin.com/in/brian-gabriel-74a06611/)** SVP, Sports Weber Shandwick **[Ben Paradossi](https://www.linkedin.com/in/ben-paradossi-7a895a1a/)** VP, Sports Weber Shandwick **[Nick Eber](https://imre.com/)** VP imre **[Hunter Glasoe](https://imre.com/)** Account Manager imre **[Sami Ari](https://imre.com/)** Senior Director, Digital Experiences imre **[Eddie Kopp](https://www.linkedin.com/in/eddie-kopp-9b529b207/)** Founder Sugarshack **[Arian Antonucci](https://www.sugarshacksessions.com/)** Co Founder, VP Sugarshack #### Celebrate in NYC Join us for the 6th Annual Hashtag Sports Awards™ on the evening of June 6, 2024 as we celebrate finalists and reveal the winners of this year's awards live during the show.   [![RESERVE SEATS](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/834568/c79439a7-e53f-4aa9-9d60-2b68caf80d89.png)](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/834568/c79439a7-e53f-4aa9-9d60-2b68caf80d89)