Why did Tony Finau withdraw from the Grant Thornton Invitational? Real reason explored amid LIV rumors
Tony Finau withdrew from another event this week at the Grant Thornton Invitational. The American golfer was scheduled to join the mixed field, playing alongside Nelly Korda. The tournament will start with its first round on Friday, December 13, but ahead of the start, Finau withdrew from the competition citing injury amid the rumors of him joining the LIV Golf.
PGA Tour Communications released a statement from the PGA Tour player's side revealing the reason for the withdrawal. Finau has been struggling with a knee injury, and as he "continues to recover" from it, he will not be playing this week.
Speaking of the withdrawal, Finau said:
"I am disappointed to have to withdraw from the Grant Thornton Invitational as I continue to recover from my knee injury. Playing with Nelly in 2023 was one of the highlights of my year. I look forward to cheering her on this week and am thankful for her support and understanding as I work on getting fully healthy.
"I'm grateful to my partner in Grant Thornton for their support and for diversifying our game by bringing the PGA TOUR and LPGA together in Naples. I look forward to returning to competition in the new year!" he added.
Tony Finau played in the Grant Thornton Invitational last year. He partnered with Korda, and they finished tied for fourth place. Jason Day and Lydia Ko won the event last year and will return to defend the title in 2024 in a star-packed field of 16 top LPGA and 16 PGA Tour players. Meanwhile, Daniel Berger will replace Finau this year.
Here are the teams for the 2024 Grant Thornton Invitational:
- Celine Boutier/Matthieu Pavon
- Allisen Corpuz/Sahith Theegala
- Lauren Coughlin/Cameron Young
- Brooke Henderson/Corey Conners
- Megan Khang/Matt Kuchar
- Lydia Ko/Jason Day
- Nelly Korda/Daniel Berger
- Jennifer Kupcho/Akshay Bhatia
- Andrea Lee/Max Greyserman
- Mel Reid/Cameron Champ
- Gabriela Ruffels/Nick Dunlap
- Maja Stark/J.T. Poston
- Patty Tavatanakit/Jake Knapp
- Jeeno Thitikul/Tom Kim
- Lexi Thompson/Rickie Fowler
- Lilia Vu/Luke List
Tony Finau previously withdrew from the Hero World Challenge 2024
Tony Finau also previously withdrew from the Hero World Challenge last week. He was supposed to play in the 20-player field of the event in the Bahamas, hosted by the legendary golfer Tiger Woods. However, he was forced to withdraw from the competition just before its start due to the injury.
Speaking of the withdrawal from the Hero World Challenge, Finau said (via Golf Week):
"From what my doctor told me, it was a pretty standard clean up. He said it would be helpful and so I did it.”
However, his withdrawal led to rumors of him joining LIV Golf. But Finau cleared his stance and addressed the rumors, saying:
“They’re not true. I’m more than happy where I’m at on the PGA Tour and looking forward to 2025. When I tee it up in Maui, it will all go away, so, I don’t worry about it one bit.”
Scottie Scheffler defended his title at the Hero World Challenge 2024, which concluded on December 7.