--- title: The Grant Thornton Invitational – Two Tours. One Competition. | 7th Hashtag Sports Awards description: Global awards recognizing excellence in fan engagement and celebrating creativity across sports marketing, media & entertainment image: https://www.hashtagsports.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Assets-AF-2025/rENZlDAL-pCZS6tFKuR-file.png --- The Grant Thornton Invitational – Two Tours. One Competition. | 7th Hashtag Sports Awards [The 7th Annual Awards](https://www.hashtagsports.com/awards/shortlist-2025?hsLang=en) # The Grant Thornton Invitational – Two Tours. One Competition. [Grant Thornton](https://www.grantthornton.com/) Share [** ](https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.hashtagsports.com%2Fawards%2Fshortlist-2025%2Fthe-grant-thornton-invitational-two-tours-one-competition) [** ](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.hashtagsports.com%2Fawards%2Fshortlist-2025%2Fthe-grant-thornton-invitational-two-tours-one-competition&text=The+Grant+Thornton+Invitational+%E2%80%93+Two+Tours.+One+Competition.+%7C+7th+Hashtag+Sports+Awards) [** ](https://www.linkedin.com/sharing/share-offsite/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.hashtagsports.com%2Fawards%2Fshortlist-2025%2Fthe-grant-thornton-invitational-two-tours-one-competition) 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, and that’s why we developed the Grant Thornton Invitational. Going beyond the expectations of sports sponsorship and creating a more equal playing field for golf, 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-AF-2025/grant-thornton-2024.jpg?width=1920&height=1080&name=grant-thornton-2024.jpg) How does this represent "Excellence in Engagement"? For the second consecutive year, Grant Thornton united 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 innovative way. By prioritizing gender parity across the event’s coverage, promotion, marketing representation and payout structure, we continued to set a 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 In the second annual Grant Thornton Invitational, Grant Thornton capitalized on the success of year one and continued 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:    * Uniting the PGA TOUR and LPGA with a mixed team event highlighting an equitable playing format that captured the attention of the golf world.  * Prioritizing gender parity across the event’s coverage, promotion, marketing representation and payout structure.  * Delivering our equality message and achieving tangible proof that we’re growing the game. In year two, we continued to take steps 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 is our opportunity to make an impactful statement about our commitment to equity in sports through our unique and 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. ** 2x Nominations ** - Best Women’s Sports Partnership - Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, & Belonging **Organizations** - Grant Thornton - Grant Thornton Invitational - Wasserman - Weber Shandwick - Sugar Shack - PGA TOUR - LPGA - NBC/Golf Channel **Links** - [  Website ](https://grantthorntoninvitational.com) **Featured** - Tony Finau - Rickie Fowler - Nelly Korda - Jessica Korda - Michael Wilbon - Cameron Champ - Mel Reid - Lexi Thompson - Jason Day - Lydia Ko **Credits** **[ Chris Smith](https://www.hashtagsports.com/awards/shortlist-2025/Grant%20Thornton) ** Former Chief Strategy Officer Grant Thornton **[ Allison Kelly](https://www.hashtagsports.com/awards/shortlist-2025/Grant%20Thornton) ** Head of Sponsorship Marketing Grant Thornton **[ Libby Erker](https://www.hashtagsports.com/awards/shortlist-2025/Grant%20Thornton) ** Associate Director, Sponsorship Marketing Grant Thornton **[ Reedy Foster](https://www.hashtagsports.com/awards/shortlist-2025/Grant%20Thornton) ** Associate Director, Sponsorship Marketing Grant Thornton **[ Todd Saunders](https://www.hashtagsports.com/awards/shortlist-2025/Grant%20Thornton) ** Associate Director, Sponsorship Marketing Grant Thornton **[ Kelly Bodi](https://www.hashtagsports.com/awards/shortlist-2025/Grant%20Thornton) ** Senior Associate, Sponsorship Marketing Grant Thornton **[ Amanda Hopkins](https://www.hashtagsports.com/awards/shortlist-2025/Grant%20Thornton) ** Associate Director, Sponsorship Marketing Grant Thornton **[ Anna Gentile](https://www.hashtagsports.com/awards/shortlist-2025/Grant%20Thornton) ** Senior Associate, Sponsorship Marketing Grant Thornton **[ Jon Rucket](https://www.hashtagsports.com/awards/shortlist-2025/Grant%20Thornton) ** Senior Director, External Communications Grant Thornton **[ Adam Bond](https://www.hashtagsports.com/awards/shortlist-2025/Grant%20Thornton) ** Associate Director, External Communications Grant Thornton **[ Chris Castleberry](https://www.hashtagsports.com/awards/shortlist-2025/Wasserman?hsLang=en) ** VP, Golf Wasserman **[ Rob Hartman](https://www.hashtagsports.com/awards/shortlist-2025/Wasserman?hsLang=en) ** Tournament Director (Grant Thornton Invitational) Wasserman **[ Jake Haas](https://www.hashtagsports.com/awards/shortlist-2025/Wasserman?hsLang=en) ** Operations Manager (Grant Thornton Invitational) Wasserman **[ Alex Graf](https://www.hashtagsports.com/awards/shortlist-2025/Wasserman?hsLang=en) ** Manager, Golf Wasserman **[ Andrew Culp](https://www.hashtagsports.com/awards/shortlist-2025/Wasserman?hsLang=en) ** Director, Golf Wasserman **[ Kate Roundy](https://www.hashtagsports.com/awards/shortlist-2025/Wasserman?hsLang=en) ** Senior Manager, Golf Wasserman **[ Brian Gabriel](https://www.hashtagsports.com/awards/shortlist-2025/Weber%20Shandwick) ** SVP, Sports Weber Shandwick **[ Ben Paradossi](https://www.hashtagsports.com/awards/shortlist-2025/Weber%20Shandwick) ** VP, Sports Weber Shandwick **[ Eddie Kopp](https://www.hashtagsports.com/awards/shortlist-2025/Sugar%20Shack) ** Founder Sugar Shack #### INSPIRED TO ENTER WORK? 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