Lilia Vu and Joel Dahmen join forces for 2023 Grant Thornton Invitational

The 2023 Grant Thornton Invitational will be one of the year-end highlights in the world of golf. The co-ed team event will feature 16 duos made up of some of the top players on both the PGA Tour and the LPGA Tour.

On Wednesday (October 18), it was announced that Lilia Vu and Joel Dahmen will be one of the teams participating in the Grant Thornton Invitational. This is the sixth team to announce their participation.

Lilia Vu is number one in the Rolex Rankings and has had a stellar 2023 season, in which she has had three victories, two of them in majors (AIG Women's Open and The Chevron Championship).

Vu has also finished in three other top 10s and has suffered only two cuts in 15 tournaments played on the LPGA Tour. Her meteoric progression has taken her from 33rd to first in the world rankings in less than 10 months.

On the other hand, Joel Dahmen is a player with a lot of experience in the professional circuits and six seasons in the PGA Tour. In 179 tournaments played, he has accumulated 120 cuts passed, one victory and 21 top-10s.

The 2022-23 season has been one of ups and downs for Dahmen, with 30 tournaments played and 18 cuts made. His best result has been third place at the World Wide Technology Championship. He accumulated four other top-10s and is currently ranked 152nd in the world.

On this partnership, Lilia Vu commented for LPGA Tour News Services:

“I think I’m too excited. After watching “Full Swing”, I became a huge fan. I find (Joel) very relatable and funny, and I think Cole (Pesanti, her caddie) and I kind of have the same relationship that him and Geno (Bonnalie, Dahmen’s caddie) have. I think we're gonna have a lot of fun.

"I know Geno and Cole know each other so that's gonna be fun. I feel like I'm gonna get starstruck though. I'm gonna ask him to sign my hat. I hope I play well. I don't want to let him down.”

Grant Thornton Invitational: All the details explored

The 2023 Grant Thornton Invitational will be the inaugural edition of the event. The tournament will be played over three rounds (54 holes) from December 8-10 at the Tiburon Golf Club & The Ritz-Carlton Naples, Florida.

The format includes several changes from traditional tournaments. The first day will be played using a system called "Scramble," which, according to the PGA Tour's official website, works like this:

"Each player hits a tee shot and then the team selects the ball to be used for the next stroke. From there, both players hit their next shots from that spot. This process continues until the ball is holed."

The second round is played in the traditional foursomes system, while the third and deciding round is played in a modified four-ball format. The modification is that each player will tee off, then change balls and play until the ball is holed. The lowest score between the two players is recorded as the team score.

The purse for the Grant Thornton Invitational is $4 million, and prizes will be distributed equally among the players, regardless of the tour on which they play. Proceeds from the event support charitable organizations.

In addition to Lilia Vu/Joel Dahmen, the teams announced for the Grant Thornton Invitational include Nelly Korda/Tony Finau (who will also serve as tournament ambassadors), Lexi Thompson/Rickie Fowler, Lydia Ko/Jason Day, Rose Zhang/Sahith Theegala, and Brooks Henderson/Corey Conners.