CBS reporter, Amanda Balionis stopped by the Grant Thornton Invitational this week in the middle of her hiatus from golf coverage. She even hosted the special Purple Paladin program the Grant Thornton company organized ahead of the eponymous mixed-team golf tournament.
Balionis recently took to her Instagram stories to reshare a post from the LPGA Tour of Thai golfer Patty Tavatanakit's quote. The 25-year-old is currently competing at the Grant Thornton Invitational paired opposite Jake Knapp. She spoke highly of the tournament as she said:
"We pour our hearts into the sport and just want to be recognized more and I feel like this event, like Grant Thornton Invitational, is just a great way to expose our love to the game and our hard work and everything,"
The LPGA Tour captioned the post saying:
"Showing the world our love for the game," with a hand-heart emoji.
Amanda Balionis reposted this message from Tavatanakit. The latter and Jake Knapp are currently leading the first round of the Grant Thornton Invitational.
Which golfers were present at the Amanda Balionis-hosted Purple Paladin event?
The Grant Thornton organization runs the Purple Paladin community impact program that invests, recognizes, and celebrates early-stage non-profit entrepreneurs and the non-profits they lead through volunteer work, business guidance, and a platform.
They held a special event ahead of the Invitational that was hosted by CBS reporter Amanda Balionis. Several top golfers such as Nelly Korda, Rickie Fowler, Tony Finau, Mel Reid, and Cameron Champ along with LPGA star and on-field reporter for the event, Jessica Korda.
Balionis had posted a picture with ESPN commentator and on-field reporter for the tournament, Mike Wilbon. She founded a non-profit, Puppies and Golf, that supports and promotes shelters for animals and focuses on developing a connection between humans and dogs.
Grant Thornton thanked the journalist for hosting the night in a heartfelt caption saying:
"What a night! We were thrilled to celebrate the everyday heroes of our Purple Paladin program and their important causes tonight, and to be joined by familiar faces like our CEO Seth Seigel, our ambassadors and Warrior Reunion Foundation founder James Ferguson. Special thanks to journalist Amanda Balionis for hosting and for all those who helped us raise funds for our tournament beneficiaries tonight,"
However, the 39-year-old broadcaster flew to Arizona before the weekend to cover the New England Patriots vs Arizona Cardinals game at the State Farm Stadium.